Ángel Scull

From BR Bullpen

Ángel Scull Saelz
(Ángel Negro)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 8", Weight 165 lb.

BR minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Ángel Scull (pronounced "School") was a star outfielder in the last decade of the Cuban Winter League. He spent 12 seasons in AAA but never played a game in the major leagues. Bad luck with injuries cost him his best chances in 1954 and 1955; the color barrier is also said to have been an issue in 1954.

Scull was small, strong, and speedy, bearing much resemblance physically to Sandy Amoros. Many people from the area of Matanzas, Cuba - including Amoros and Scull - are called "Congos". As author Roberto González Echevarría notes, in Cuba this is "a common (if tasteless) way of referring to someone who is very black. Cuban blacks themselves apply it to each other [...] Congos are reputed to be short but tough." Scull's listing at 5'8" may have been generous; quite a few articles during his career gave his height as 5'6".

Scull helped the Cuban national team win the 1950 Central American and Caribbean Games. He then was with them when they won the first Pan American Games in 1951. He led that event in RBI (14) and steals (4) and tied Frank Wehner for the most home runs (3). He made his pro debut with the Wellsville Rockets that summer and did very well, hitting .329/?/.437 with 12 triples and 113 runs. He led the PONY League with 60 steals, tied for second in triples and was third with 171 hits (behind Paul Owens and Chuck Harmon). In 1951-1952, he went 0 for 2 with two runs for Almendares in his Cuban Winter League debut.

Joe Cambria signed Scull for the Washington Senators, just one of many Cuban players he found for the organization. Scull split the summer of 1952 between the Havana Cubans and Fort Lauderdale Braves, hitting a combined .274/.343/.358 with 54 steals in the pitcher-friendly Florida International League. He led the FIL with 14 triples, three more than anyone else, and was 8 swipes ahead of runner-up Chico Fernandez.

Ángel hit .231 and slugged .295 as the #4 outfielder for Almendares in 1952-1953, playing behind Paul Smith, Ray Coleman and Roberto Ortiz. He got his first look at the major leagues in spring training 1953, but he reported late, which hurt whatever chances he had of making the team, according to Senators manager Bucky Harris.

In the summer of 1953, he made his AAA debut with the Charleston Senators, producing at a .286/.337/.349 clip while only striking out in 26 of 545 at-bats. He stole 29 bases, third in the 1953 American Association behind Don Nicholas and Luis Marquez. He had 18 outfield assists but also made 15 errors, three more than AA runner-up Wally Post. In 1953-1954, he hit .321/?/.504 for Almendares with 14 steals and 50 runs. He was third in runs after Spook Jacobs and Rocky Nelson and he tied Chico Fernandez for the most thefts. He helped Almendares win the title and was named to the league All-Star outfield alongside Earl Rapp and Amoros. In the 1954 Caribbean Series, he went 9 for 23 with 3 doubles, five runs and four RBI. He tied Joe Tuminelli, Vic Power, Jim Rivera and Sam Chapman for the tournament lead with nine hits, tied Rivera for third in RBI and tied Bobby Prescott and Power for the most doubles.

Scull was given a Topps card for the 1954 Senators on the assumption he would make the team, which would have made him the first black player for the Senators. He injured his leg in spring training, though, and was sold to the Havana Sugar Kings just before the season started. By many accounts, the club simply wasn't yet willing to break the color line. Carlos Paula, who competed for an outfield job with Scull that spring, finally became the first black Senator that September.

Though he missed some time with a broken cheekbone, Scull was healthy for much of 1954, hitting .269/.354/.329 and stealing 31 bases for Havana (which, by intent, featured many native Cubans). He was third in the 1954 International League in steals, trailing Nicholas and Chick King. On August 28th, the Cincinnati Reds - under their working agreement with Havana - purchased Scull's contract, with an eye toward giving him a chance to win a job in spring training in 1955.

It is possible that Scull may have been on the Cincinnati bench at the tail end of the 1954 season. On October 2nd, sportswriter Sam Lacy of the Afro-American wrote, "Among farm players recalled to major league teams during the past week are: Joe Black, by the Dodgers; Bill Powell and Ángel Scull, by the Cincinnati Redlegs; Sam Jethroe, by the Pirates; Bill Greason and Tom Alston, by the Cardinals; and Bob Trice, by the Athletics." None of these men got into a big-league game in September or October, though. Subject to further investigation, this could mean that both Scull and Powell fall into the "phantom major leaguer" category. It could also simply mean that they and the others had been added to the big-league roster ahead of the coming spring.

Scull followed with a very successful winter for Almendares, helping them defend their title successfully. He hit .370 to win the batting title, 26 points ahead of runner-up Pedro Almenares and 30 points better than #3 Bill Virdon. He slugged .508 and had 34 runs and 34 RBI. His 12 steals led the league, three ahead of Amoros. He joined Virdon and Almenares as the All-Star outfielders. He missed the final month of the Cuban season, however; on January 6, he fell hard after tripping over first base in a game and broke a bone in the elbow of his throwing arm. As a result, he did not appear in the 1955 Caribbean Series either.

That injury held Scull out until May 1955, costing him a chance to play in spring training with the Reds. It also may well be the reason that his batting slipped that summer, to .253/.312/.325 with 10 SB for Havana. He batted .284/?/.356 with a league-best 12 steals for Almendares in 1955-1956. In 1956, he rebounded somewhat, hitting .272/.339/.366 with 17 stolen bases for the Sugar Kings. He tied Ed Bouchee for fifth in the 1956 International League with seven triples and was 5th in steals. In the winter, he hit .247/?/.328 for Almendares.

The following summer, he produced at a .263/.344/.354 clip with 9 triples, 14 stolen bases and 73 runs for Havana. He tied Pancho Herrera and Don Landrum for fifth in the 1957 IL in steals, tied Len Johnston for fourth in three-baggers, and was 4th with 15 outfield assists (four shy of pacesetter Bobby Del Greco, while fielding .986.

Scull's average was .243 and his slugging percentage .319 for Almendares in the winter of 1958-1959, but he led the league with 18 steals, tied Tony Taylor for second with 36 runs (one behind Nelson), and tied Taylor for the second-most triples (5, one behind Amoros). He helped Almendares win the CWL pennant and was named to the league's All-Star outfield with Willie Tasby and Carlos Paula; his Almendares outfield mates Bob Allison and Amoros did not get selected. In the 1959 Caribbean Series, he went 6 for 26 with two doubles, a triple, six runs, two RBI and two steals for the champion team. He tied Jackie Brandt for the Series lead in runs.

The 30-year-old split the summer of 1959 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Royals, hitting a combined .270/.321/.365, stealing 25 bases, legging out 27 doubles and 7 triples, and scoring 81 runs. His 17 assists were third among outfielders in the 1959 IL, behind Del Greco and Bert Hamric. He also tied Landrum for 10th in runs, tied for 8th in triples and was 5th in steals (between Joe Christopher and Jack Reed). In the winter, he hit .273/?/.374. He led the Cuban Winter League with 14 steals, becoming the only player to lead the league in stolen bases five different seasons. He also scored 39 runs, two behind leaders Marv Breeding and George Altman), had 76 hits (three behind leader Roman Mejias, two behind Breeding) and collected 13 doubles, tying Julio Becquer for third. He did not crack his 4th All-Star outfield, though, as Mejias, Tony Gonzalez and Pedro Cardenal were picked.

Ángel remained productive in AAA with Montreal in 1960, batting .291/.357/.388 with 7 triples and 83 runs, though he only stole 7 bases in 15 tries. He was 6th in the 1960 International League in average (between Landrum and Jim King), 7th in OBP, third in runs (trailing Landrum and Billy Harrell), third in hits (168, behind Landrum and Jim Pendleton) and tied for sixth in triples. In 1960-1961, he hit .260/?/.345 with 8 steals and 39 runs (three behind leader Tony Gonzalez) for Almenadres in the final CWL season. The little outfielder batted .283/.351/.382 for the 1961 Syracuse Chiefs. In 1962, he ended his US career, splitting time between the Atlanta Crackers (.324/.422/.432 in 70 G; had he qualified, he would have been third in the 1962 IL in average behind Vic Davalillo and Pete Ward) and the Vancouver Mounties (.244/.363/.259 in 50 G). He had spent the last decade as a starter in AAA without making it into a major league game.

Scull spent his final seven years as a player in Mexico, though the Mexican League did not reach a AAA rating until 1967. In 1963, he hit .343/.398/.527 for the Petroleros de Poza Rica. He was 5th in the Mexican League in average (between Hector Espino and Oscar Rodríguez) and third with 9 triples. The next year, he batted .331/.399/.540 with 10 triples, 22 home runs, 109 runs and 108 RBI. He was 7th in the LMB in average (between Chico Garcia and Moises Camacho), second in runs (9 behind Espino), tied for first in triples (with Miguel Fernandez), fifth in home runs, tied for fourth in RBI (even with Luis Garcia) and fifth in slugging percentage.

The old-timer hit .311/.383/.434 with 31 doubles, 9 triples, 14 steals, only four home runs and 73 runs for Poza Rica in 1965. He also fielded .931, the worst of any Mexican League outfielder with 100+ games. He did not come close to the top 10 in average (.337 was needed to make the cut). He did finish second in doubles, four behind leader Minnie Minoso, and tied for fourth in triples at age 36 He continued to fade in 1966, with his batting line at .275/.393/.394 with 27 doubles, 5 triples, 75 runs and 73 walks while only striking out 41 times for the Veracruz Eagle. His 16 errors tied for second among LMB outfielders, one behind Gonzalo Villalobos. He tied for second in doubles, 8 behind Oscar Rodríguez.

Scull hit .309/.387/.429 with 7 triples for Veracruz in 1967. He split 1968 between Veracruz (.262/.356/.431 in 44 G) and two teams in the class A Mexican Southeast League (.331/.437/.491 in 44 G), the lowest level competition he had faced in 16 years. In his final year as a player, he batted .325/.394/.413 for the Piratas de Campeche in the Mexican Southeast League. He tied Lucas Buye for the league lead with 120 games played and was third in average behind only Arturo Bernal and Pancho Herrera, his old IL opponent of the 1950s.

He coached for Poza Rica from 1971-1977 then managed Ciudad Valles to a 33-32 record in 1978, the final Mexican Center League season. In 1979, he coached for Poza Rica again.

Overall, his 87 steals are good for 8th in Cuban Winter League history, between Minoso and Mike Gonzalez, even though the CWL ended eight years before Scull's career did; had it remained, he clearly would have risen on that leaderboard.

Scull hit .293 in 2,335 minor league games, with 1,341 runs, 2,532 hits, 358 doubles, 132 triples, 115 home runs, 907 RBI and 345 stolen bases.

Sources[edit]

This biographical article is missing the person's: death place
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