Sam Nahem

Sam Nahem
Pitcher
Born: (1915-10-19)October 19, 1915
New York City, New York
Died: April 19, 2004(2004-04-19) (aged 88)
Berkeley, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
October 2, 1938, for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
September 11, 1948, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
Win–loss record 10–8
Earned run average 4.69
Strikeouts 101
Teams

Samuel Ralph "Subway Sam" Nahem (October 19, 1915 – April 19, 2004), born in New York City, was a pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1938), St. Louis Cardinals (1941), and Philadelphia Phillies (1942 and 1948). His professional baseball playing was interrupted by military service (1942–46) with the Army in the European Theater of Operations during World War II.[1]

Nahem was Jewish,[2] growing up in a family of Arabic-speaking Syrian Jews in Brooklyn.[3] Nahem also was the uncle of former MLB outfielder Al Silvera. He was educated at Brooklyn College, where he pitched for the school's baseball team and played fullback for its football team. Whilst at the college he also started participating in Communist Party activities.[3]

Baseball career

After graduating from Brooklyn College in 1935, Nahem signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. During the off-season he attended St. John's University, earning a law degree and passing the bar examination in 1941.[3]

In 1942 Nahem was 9th in the NL in games finished (16), and in 1948 he was 7th in the league (17).

In 4 seasons Nahem had a 10–8 win–loss record. In 90 games, he started 12 games and had 3 complete games, 42 games finished, 224 1⁄3 innings pitched, 222 hits allowed, 138 runs, 117 earned runs, 8 home runs, 127 walks, 101 strikeouts, 7 hit batsmen, 9 wild pitches, and a 4.69 ERA.

Upon joining the military in 1942, Nahem spent two years at Fort Totten, where he pitched for the Anto-Aircraft Redlegs of Eastern Defense Command.Upon being sent abroad in late 1944, in addition to serving in an anti-aircraft artillery division, he organised two servicemen's baseball leagues in Reims, France, and managed and pitched for his own team, the Overseas Invasion Service Expedition All-Stars, which featured Negro League players Leon Day and Willard Brown. The team won the 1945 military European World Series at the Nuremberg grounds, defeating the 71st Infantry Division Red Circlers, who included seven Major League players. Nahem was a strong supporter of the racial integration of baseball.[3]

Nahem played winter ball with the Navegantes del Magallanes club of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, where he pitched 14 consecutive complete games in the 1946–47 season to set a league record that still stands as of July 2017.[4][3]

After his second spell with the Phillies, Nahem combined practising law and working as a longshoremen with playing semi-professionally with the Brooklyn Bushwicks, pitching the team to a 3-0 one-hit victory over the World Series All-Stars, who included Major League players Eddie Stanky, Ralph Branca and Phil Rizzuto.[3]

Later life

Nahem moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1955, partly due to McCarthyite blacklisting which made it difficult for him to secure employment. He worked at the Chevron chemical plant in Richmond for 25 years, retiring in 1980. During his time there he was a rank-and-file leader for the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union.[3]

Nahem died in Berkeley, California at the age of 88.

See also

Sources

  1. ↑ "Baseball in Wartime - Sam Nahem". BaseballinWartime.com. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  2. ↑ Google Books
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dreier, Peter; Elias, Robert (July 11, 2017). "Out of Left Field". Jacobin (magazine). Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  4. ↑ Gutiérrez, Daniel; González, Javier (2006); Records de la Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional. LVBP. ISBN 978-980-6996-01-4
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