Albie Pearson

Albert Gregory ("Albie") Pearson (born September 12, 1934) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder for the Washington Senators (1958–59), Baltimore Orioles (1959–60), and Los Angeles/California Angels (1961–66). The smallest MLB player of his era, he stood 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) tall, weighed 140 pounds (64 kg), and batted and threw left-handed.

Albie Pearson
Pearson in 1959
Outfielder
Born: (1934-09-12) September 12, 1934
Alhambra, California
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 14, 1958, for the Washington Senators
Last MLB appearance
July 16, 1966, for the California Angels
MLB statistics
Batting average.270
Home runs28
Runs batted in214
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Pearson was named after star college football player Albie Booth. He inherited his short height from his parents; his father was 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) and his mother was 5 feet 1 inch (1.55 m). He was their only child.[1] From a young age, he had an interest in baseball. When he was six, he borrowed his mother's decorative pillows and used them for a makeshift baseball field, then pretended to hit a home run to beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. During that game, he says that God told him, "Join my team."[2]

Pearson pitched and played the outfield for the baseball team, played halfback for the football team, and played on the basketball team at El Monte High School, earning 13 letters in those three sports. On the baseball team his senior year, he had a 23–6 record and an 0.83 earned run average (ERA) while batting .506, but he drew little interest from scouts because of his height.[1] Though he was offered football scholarships at California Polytechnic State University and Pacific University, he turned them down to attend Pomona Junior College, which was nearer his home.[1] Following part of a semester at Pomona, he was signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1953.[3] He said that he dropped out of Pomona to sign with the Red Sox after a psychology professor suggested he was more interested in baseball than his lectures (which Pearson agreed with).[3]

Baseball career

Minor leagues

Tom Downey was the scout who signed Pearson to his first contract, which amounted to little else besides two pair of cleats, a new suitcase, and a promise of making $225 a month if he made the team.[1][2] "I was afraid they wouldn't give me another chance," Pearson said of his decision to sign. "I realized this was the way it had to be."[1] Pearson was assigned to the San Jose Red Sox of the Class C California League, where he hit .334 in 125 games. Although signed as a pitcher, a shortage in outfielders at San Jose forced Pearson to have a spot in the lineup every day. After getting eight hits in his first two games, Pearson would do little pitching during his minor league career–none with San Jose, in fact, though he spent all of 1953 with them.[3][4]

Promoted to the Class A Albany Senators in the Eastern League in 1954, he hit .269 and earned a two-game promotion to play for the Class AAA Louisville Colonels of the American Association. Person spent 1955 back at Class A, this time hitting .305 for the Montgomery Rebels in the South Atlantic League. He split 1956 between the San Francisco Seals in the Open Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Oklahoma City Indians in the Class AA Texas League, hitting well throughout the season and finishing with a combined .358 batting average with seven home runs, 46 runs batted in (RBI), six triples, and 36 doubles. He had 91 walks and only 41 strikeouts in 153 games, winning the Texas League batting championship.[4][5] Pearson was back with the Seals in 1957 and continued to hit, batting .297 with five home runs, 50 RBI, 11 triples, and 22 doubles.[4] Looking at archived Seals photos, Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle observed in October of 2012 that Pearson stood apart from the other Seals because of "his joyous grin."[6] His clean living also set him apart, as a contemporary Chronicle article observed: "The little man doesn't drink or smoke or swear."[6] With the Seals in 1957, Pearson helped the team win the PCL title in its final season.[6]

Major leagues

On January 23, 1958, Pearson was sent with Norm Zauchin to the Senators in the same trade that brought infielder Pete Runnels to the Red Sox.[7] He wrote Senators' owner Calvin Griffith a letter that month, asking permission to report to camp early, as he wanted to make a good impression despite his short size.[1] Pearson won a spot as the Senators Opening Day centerfielder and played the position all year long for Washington.[8] Hitless in his first three games, his first major league hit came on April 19, a single against Mike Fornieles in a 4–3 victory over the Red Sox.[8][9] On July 28, he had three hits and hit his first major league home run against eventual Hall of Famer Early Wynn in a 6–5 loss to the Chicago White Sox.[10] On September 2, he hit an inside-the-park home run against Hal Brown, driving in three runs in a 4–3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.[11] Three days later, he hit a two-run home run against Bob Turley in a 6–3 victory over the New York Yankees.[12] In 1958, he won both the Major League Baseball (MLB) Rookie of the Year and the Sporting News Rookie of the Year Awards in the American League (AL).[3] Pearson played 146 games for the Senators that year, batting .275 with 63 runs scored, 146 hits, three home runs, and 33 RBI.[13]

A hernia and a serious, lingering cold caused Pearson to miss games in 1959 spring training, but he was healthy enough to play by Opening Day.[1][14][15] However, Pearson started the 1959 season hitting only .188 over the first 25 games with no home runs and only two RBI, after which he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for center fielder Lenny Green.[13][1] With the Orioles in 1959, Pearson was used as a reserve outfielder in all three outfield positions.[14] In 80 games for the Orioles, he batted .232 with 22 runs scored, 32 hits, no home runs, and six RBI. His combined batting average in 105 games between Baltimore and Washington was .216.[13]

Pearson started off the 1960 season again as a reserve outfielder for the Orioles, batting .286 in his first 12 games. By June 12, with his average dropping to .231, Pearson was sent to the Miami Marlins, Baltimore's Class AAA team in the International League.[1][16] After hitting over .300 in Miami, Pearson returned to Baltimore in September.[4][16] He would end the year playing in only 48 games for the Orioles, batting .244 with 17 runs scored, 24 hits, one home run, and six RBI.[13]

Following the 1960 season, the Orioles sent Pearson back to their Class AAA affiliate, which would be the Rochester Red Wings in 1961. Meanwhile, baseball owners approved the creation of the Los Angeles Angels as an expansion team in October 1960, meaning there would be an expansion draft in which the Angels got to select players from all of the major league teams. Since he was from California, Pearson wrote Fred Haney, the Angels' general manager, asking the Angels to pick him. Haney did draft Pearson–as the 30th and last pick.[3] With the expansion Angels, Pearson turned around his career. In the team's first game, Pearson scored the franchise's first run,[2] in a 7-0 win against his old team, the Orioles.[17] Used mostly as a centerfielder early on, Pearson batted .250 in 30 games through May 21. For the next 30 days, he was used mainly as a pinch-hitter, batting .319 over that time period. From June 19 through the end of the year, he made most of the team's starts in right field, batting .296 for the rest of the season.[18] Pearson hit .288 with 7 home runs, 41 RBI, and 92 runs for the season.[13] Pearson had his best season in 1963, when he posted career-highs in runs batted in (47), hits (173), stolen bases (17) and games played (160); led the AL in singles (161), and made the All-Star team. His .305 batting average (also a career-high), ranked him fourth in the batting crown race behind Carl Yastrzemski (.321), Al Kaline (.312) and Rich Rollins (.307).

On June 1, 1962, Pearson became the first player to go hitless when receiving at least 11 at bats in a doubleheader.[19]

Pearson was selected to the All-Star Game in 1963. At the game, he had Mickey Mantle and Brooks Robinson autograph a bat for him. Pearson was chosen to start the game in center field over Mantle, who had gotten off to a slow start to his season.[2] On August 31, 1965, his first-inning home run against Bill Stafford provided all the scoring in a 1–0 win over the Yankees.[20]

Recurring back problems restricted Pearson's career. He retired after the 1966 season, due partly to those and also because he believed God wanted him to retire.[2][6]

In his nine-year career major league career, Pearson was a .270 hitter with 28 home runs and 214 RBI in 988 games. He compiled a 2.45 walk-to-strikeout ratio (477-to-195) and a .369 on-base percentage.

Stature

During his career, Pearson was the shortest player in the major leagues.[1] He stood 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) tall and weighed 140 pounds (64 kg).[13] His small size helped make him a favorite of children, as he was closer to their height.[6] Gilbert Rogin of Sports Illustrated wrote that in 1956, the Little Guys and Dolls of America (who did not allow anybody to join who was more than 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m)) voted Pearson their Athlete of the Year.[1] Worried his small size would deter scouts, Pearson credits the 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) Bobby Shantz's successful 1952 season (in which he won 24 games) with helping Boston become interested in him. He took his short size in good humor, saying, "I never have the satisfaction of looking an umpire in the eye, I'm forever signing autographs for kids taller than I am, and human skyscrapers like Norm Zauchin and Jim Lemon of our club make me feel like a midget when they walk by but, hand me a bat and let me step into the box, and I'm as good as the next guy - some of 'em, at least.[3]

Personal life and later years

Pearson and his wife Helen married in 1953. As of mid-2011, they had five daughters, 17 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.[2] Pearson also plays golf; he participated in a 1962 golf tournament with several other major leaguers, including Hall of Famers Bob Lemon and Ralph Kiner.[21] While he was with the Angels, his roommates at various times included Bo Belinsky and Don Lee. Pearson was also an actor and singer. He was offered a part in The Petticoat Pirates, a movie, but he turned it down because the proposed scene involved him drinking. However, he did appear in Day in Court, a TV show, and he would have appeared in an episode of The Roaring 20's, only his scene was cut before the episode was released. In 1961, he made two records for Capitol (only one of which was released), and he sang "Because" when his bride-to-be came down the aisle at his wedding. In the 1961–62 offseason, he served as a disc jockey on KPRO. During his career, he owned 27.5% of the stock in the Mighty Mite Corporation, which made adhesive grips for sporting equipment.[1]

Pearson became an ordained minister in 1972.[2] Even before that, he had taught Sunday school at Baptist churches. "I'm a firm believer in the Bible and the Ten Commandments," he told Gilbert Rogin of Sports Illustrated.[1] He and his wife had moved to Riverside in 1963, and later that decade, he started a Riverside youth foundation which focused on helping children stay off drugs.[2][1] He has founded a non-profit organization providing training for pastors and ministers, and set up churches and orphanages in Ecuador and Zambia. "When you see a life changed, it's worth everything compared to getting a base hit or winning a game," he says.[2]

In 1997, Pearson and his wife sold their home in order to found Father's Heart Ranch in Desert Hot Springs, California, an 11-acre (45,000 m2) home for abused, neglected and abandoned 6- to 12-year-old boys. The ranch includes a Pop Warner football team and a Little League baseball team. "It's interesting and amazing how they respond to love," Pearson said of the boys at Father's Heart Ranch. "We found that to be a key. When they find out that they are not just something to kick and hit, but that they have a purpose, a God who really loves them, they begin to respond in a dramatic way. They are little miracles."[6] The Pearsons' Father's Heart International foundation was, as of mid-2011, providing food to about 4,000 Zambian children each week whose parents had died of AIDS.[2]

See also

References
  1. Rogin, Gilbert (May 27, 1963). "Albie Pearson: The Littlest Angel". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  2. Smith, Marcia C. (April 9, 2011). "Former Angel Albie Pearson heard a higher calling". Orange County Register. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  3. "Albie Pearson Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  4. "Albie Pearson". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  5. "1956 Texas League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  6. Peter Hartlaub (October 22, 2012). "Former S.F. Seal keeps kids safe at home". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  7. "Senators, Bosox trade 3 players". The Deseret News. January 23, 1958. p. B9. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  8. "Albie Pearson 1958 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  9. "Boston Red Sox at Washington Senators Box Score, April 19, 1958". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  10. "Washington Senators at Chicago White Sox Box Score, July 28, 1958". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  11. "Baltimore Orioles at Washington Senators Box Score, September 2, 1958". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  12. "Washington Senators at New York Yankees Box Score, September 5, 1958". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  13. "Albie Pearson Stats". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  14. "Albie Pearson 1959 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  15. Reichler, Joe (March 30, 1959). "Lavagetto Predicts No Definite Finish". The Dispatch. p. 8. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  16. "Albie Pearson 1960 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  17. "Apr 11, 1961, Angels at Orioles Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  18. "Albie Pearson 1961 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  19. Kurkjian, Tim (July 6, 1992). "Baseball". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  20. "New York Yankees at California Angels Box Score, August 31, 1965". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  21. "'Team of the Year' Next Says Philadelphia's Mauch". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. October 23, 1962. p. 7. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
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