Flawed System : Player Whose Career Was Delayed Because He Is Black Isn’t Eligible for Pension

With owners and players fighting to divide their multimillion-dollar pie, former rookie of the year Sam Jethroe has to tend bar to support himself and his family.

Jethroe, 77, wonders why the game he once played so well hasn’t provided him a penny in his twilight years.

Jethroe, whose major league career was delayed because he is black, isn’t eligible for a pension because he didn’t accrue enough time in the majors.

“This is not right,” said former executive Buzzie Bavasi. “I was amazed when I heard he wasn’t on a pension. I couldn’t believe it. He’s certainly earned one.”

Jethroe played so well that Bavasi called him “as fine a ballplayer as I ever saw” when Bavasi was general manager of the Montreal Royals of the International League in 1949.

The next year, at 33, Jethroe became the first black outfielder to be a regular in the National League as well as the first black to play for the Boston Braves, and was voted rookie of the year.

After his outstanding rookie season, Jethroe played two more years for the Braves, and briefly for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1954. That was the extent of his major league career.

Thus, he receives no pension, since players who retired before 1980 had to play four full major league seasons to qualify. Players active since 1980 need only one day in the majors to qualify.

John Puttock, an insurance attorney in Pasadena, learned of Jethroe’s plight this summer at a game in Cleveland honoring former Negro league players, among them Jethroe.

“Sam told me he didn’t have a pension nor did he receive any medical benefits,” Puttock said. “I couldn’t understand why a man who had given so much to baseball had been left behind by both the players and owners. I felt something had to be done.”

Puttock investigated and, with Jethroe’s blessing, filed a notice of claim in Pittsburgh on July 12, the day the All-Star game was played at Three Rivers Stadium. A notice of claim is an action notifying a defendant or defendants that a lawsuit will be filed.

“We filed the action against Major League Baseball and the Major League Players Assn.,” Puttock said. “We’re asking them to give players who played before 1980 the same rights as current players, including medical benefits. We’re also asking that men like Sam Jethroe who were discriminated against by major league baseball be credited with their time in the Negro leagues and in the minors.

“It’s bad enough Sam was discriminated against as a player. He’s still a victim of discrimination and it has to stop. It’s about time the players took care of the former players.”

Like many other outstanding black athletes, Jethroe was a victim of the times. He played in the Negro American League, mostly with the Cleveland Buckeyes, from 1942 to 1948 before being acquired by the Royals, a farm club of the Dodgers, for $5,000.

He played 1 1/2 seasons with the Royals. In 1949, he hit .326 with 17 home runs, 83 runs batted in, 154 runs and 89 stolen bases. After the season, he was sold by the Dodger organization to the Braves for $150,000 and three players.

“We had a great deal of outfielders in the Dodgers organization,” Bavasi said. “But he did fit in the Braves’ picture.”

Jethroe hit .273 with 18 homers, 58 RBIs, 100 runs and a league-leading 35 stolen bases for the Braves in 1950. The next year, he hit .280 with 18 homers, 65 RBIs, 101 runs and 35 steals. In 1952, he dropped to .232 with 13 homers, 58 RBIs, 79 runs and 28 steals.

He played mostly in the minors after that until retiring in 1958.

Jethroe owns what he calls a neighborhood bar in Erie, Pa. Business is not exactly booming.

“I’m squeezing,” he said when asked about his financial status. “Business was pretty good, it’s down to nothing right now. I have to work myself because I can’t afford to hire somebody.

“I figure they have more money in that pension fund than they will ever use. I think I’m entitled to something. I know I’m not the only one. Maybe what I’m doing will help other former players.”

Jethroe, who lives with his wife, Elsie, along with a 15-year-old grandson and 10-year-old granddaughter, said he’s not bitter.

“I’m not the type of person to be bitter,” he said. “I was honored to play. I’m thankful that I was able to do what I did.”

Bavasi said Jethroe was one of his two favorite minor league players. The other was former actor Chuck Connors.

“Sam was a delight to be around,” Bavasi said. “He was a general manager’s delight, never complained, went out and played every day.

“There’s a way to do these things. It’s an obligation of one of the clubs he played with to see that he gets his pension. It should be the Braves or the Dodgers, it’s not an obligation of the players’ union.”

According to Bavasi, the Dodgers or Braves could hire Jethroe briefly as a player or coach to ensure Jethroe gets a pension as the Dodgers did many years ago with former outfielder Sandy Amoros.

“He made the Montreal club a lot of money,” Bavasi said of Jethroe. “The slogan (in 1949) was, ‘Come out and see Sammy run.’ ”

San Diego Padre outfielder Tony Gwynn, who leads the majors in hitting, shook his head when he was advised of Jethroe’s situation.

“It’s not right,” he said. “Guys talk about that all the time. We’re always criticized about how much money we make today. We’re trying to help take care of the players who are deprived. As a player today, you sympathize with the players of the past.”