Campanella practiced and played while growing up at various sandlots in Philadelphia.  Roy’s first pro baseball experience occurred when he was only fifteen years old with the Bacharach Giants.  Due to his very young age “Campy” was only able to play on weekends because he was still attending school at the time.  Campanella’s stint with this local team did not last long though and by the end of 1937 Campanella was the starting catcher for the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro National League.  Campanella continued to be the starting catcher for this Negro National League team until 1942.  While playing for the Baltimore Elite Giants, Roy Campanella made a name for himself for being both an exceptional hitter and fielder at catcher.  During his stint with the Baltimore Elite Giants, like many other Negro League players Campanella would go to Latin America to play during the winters to keep up on his game.  Campanella even played in a Mexican League during his 1942 season for a small amount of time.  Although Campanella’s father was Italian he was still not allowed to play in the major leagues at this time because his mother was of African American descent.  It was not until African Americans were allowed in the major leagues that Campanella could make an impact.  Before the 1956 season Branch Rickey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers      at the time, was seeking some African American players to sign.  Roy Campanella became one of the five that was signed during this time.  Although Jackie Robinson was the first overall African American player to break the color line, Roy Campanella did become the first African American catcher in major league baseball history.  “Campy” played a few seasons in the minor leagues while with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization, but by the end of the 1948 season he was brought up to the Major Leagues and his pro career really started beginning with the 1949 season.  Roy Campanella played with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1949 until 1957.(www.nlbpa.com/campanella__roy.html)

During his ten overall seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers (including his time at the end of the 1948 season) Campanella played in five World Series.  He led the National League in putouts by a catcher six different times.  “Campy” hit 242 home run’s which is quite impressive for a catcher, and he was the National League Most Valuable Player in 1951, 1953, and once again in 1955.  During his 1953 season “Campy” set a single season record for catchers with 41 home runs, 142 runs batted in, and a .312 batting average.  Another interesting stat is that from 1949 until 1953, Roy Campanella caught every single inning for the National League in the All – Star Game.  Campanella’s final career stats included 1,214 games player, 1,161 hits, 242 home runs, 856 runs batted in, and an overall batting average of .276.  “Campy” was an eight time National League All-Star and a three time National League Most Valuable Player.(www.hickoksports.com/biograph/campanel.shtml)

Tragically, Roy Campanella’s career was cut short prior to the 1958 season.  On January 28, 1958 while returning home from the liquor store that he ran in the off-season, Campanella hit a patch of ice in his car and wrecked into a telephone pole.  This unfortunate accident broke ended up leaving Campanella paralyzed from his neck down.  “Campy” remained paralyzed for the rest of his life, but he did not let that bring him down.  Roy Campanella stayed involved in various community relations for the Dodgers, who moved to Los Angeles the year after his injury.  Campanella also served as a coach for the Dodgers during spring training for many more years.  During the rest of his career, “Campy” worked to raise money and awareness for paralyzed people and continued his work in the community.  Roy Campanella died on June 26, 1993 in Woodland Hills, California.  He is buried in Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

References

The Official Site of Roy Campanella     

www.roycampanella.com

Negro League Baseball Players Association:  Roy Campanella

www.nlbpa.com/campanella__roy.html

Campanella, Roy

www.hickoksports.com/biograph/campanel.shtml

Roy Campanella

www.baseball-reference.com/c/camparo01.shtml

It’s Good to Be Alive; By Roy Campanella

Boston, Little, Brown (1959)