Alfredo Edmead
Francisco Alfredo Edmead (* 1956 in the Dominican Republic , † August 22, 1974 in Salem , Virginia , United States ) was a Dominican baseball player in the Carolina League who worked for the MiLB team Salem Pirates , the then farm team of the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Major League Baseball (MLB), made his appearance.
life and career
Francisco Alfredo Edmead was born in 1956 in the Dominican Republic as one of eleven children. At the age of 17 he came to the United States, where he received a contract with the Salem Pirates of the Carolina League in 1973 after the then 27-year-old scout and also professional player Pablo Cruz discovered him . The Salem Pirates appeared at this time as the MiLB farm team of the Pittsburgh Pirates from Major League Baseball (MLB). Under the former MLB pro Johnny Lipon , Edmead, who had little knowledge of English , made it quickly to a regular player in his first and only year as an outfielder and made 119 league appearances with a batting average of .314.61 stoles by his untimely death Bases and seven home runs . According to the club officials, Edmead received the highest bonus payments ever made for a player from the Dominican Republic. On August 22, 1974, Edmead suffered a serious accident at the Salem Pirates' home game against the Rocky Mount Phillies at Salem Municipal Stadium .
While the opposing pitcher Murray Gage-Cole , who played that night his first professional game, a fly ball to short right field hit, Alfredo Edmead chased that ball afterwards, while his teammate and former mediator Pablo Cruz, who as second baseman came into existence who opened the field to the rear. Since the two did not see each other, they subsequently bumped into each other, with Cruz 'knee shattering Edmead's skull and knocking him out immediately. It was only when Cruz, who suffered a knee injury himself, pulled his pants up and his knee brace with steel struts became visible, that the Dominican's serious injury was noticed. In doing so, Edmead's skull fractured from the frontal lobe on the left side to the back of the head, resulting in significant blood loss. Since the rescue workers did not arrive until ten to 15 minutes later, Alfredo Edmead's life could no longer be saved. Although he officially only died in the LewisGale Hospital in Salem, according to the people present at the time, he should have died on the field due to the high blood loss. To date, Edmead is considered the youngest deceased professional in United States baseball history.
After his death in 1975 the Salem Athletic Club installed a plaque in the stadium in memory of the Dominican, which was then dismantled and transferred to the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame . Just a day before his death, Edmead was voted into the Carolina League All-Star Team .
literature
- Lewiston Evening Journal , Aug. 23, 1974, p. 24
Web links
- Player information and statistics from Baseball Reference (Minor League )
- ALFREDO EDMEAD - Dominican Diamond Death (English)
- Doughty: 1974 death of Alfredo Edmead still haunts (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Salem Municipal Stadium / Kiwanis Field - Still A Fine Old Ballpark (English), accessed May 11, 2016
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Edmead, Alfredo |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Edmead, Francisco Alfredo (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Dominican baseball player in the Carolina League |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1956 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dominican Republic |
| DATE OF DEATH | 22nd August 1974 |
| Place of death | Salem , Virginia , United States |