Chaney White

Chaney Leonard White
(Reindeer, Liz)

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 196 lb.

• Debut 1923
• Final Game 1936
• Born April 15, 1894 in Longview, TX USA
• Died February 23, 1967 in Philadelphia, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Chaney White was a Negro League outfielder for 18 years.

White started off with small clubs in Texas, before signing with Hilldale, debuting in 1919. He hit .094 in 1920 and was 3 for 24 against white major leaguers in exhibitions that off-season. White hit .270 in 1921 with four triples, tying for most among the eastern black teams. In 1922, he again batted .270. He moved to the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants and improved to .295 in 1923. In 1924, he hit .287 for Atlantic City but released in June. Signed by the Washington Potomacs, he batted .284 the rest of the way.

Chaney hit .359 for the 1925 Wilmington Potomacs before returning to Atlantic City, where he hit .321. In 1926, he fell to .281 but finished in the top five in the Eastern Colored League in both doubles (17) and triples (4). He was 8 for 33 in the 1926 Negro World Series. He scored the first run of the Series, coming around from first on a Dick Lundy hit. In the bottom of the 9th of the last game, a hit by Sandy Thompson took a freak bounce past White to score Jelly Gardner with the only run of a 1-0 game.

White batted .279 in 1927 and was 5 for 33 in the 1927 Negro World Series. He starred for Almendares in the 1927-1928 Cuban Winter League, hitting a team-high .363, third-best in the circuit behind Jud Wilson and Martin Dihigo. In 1928, the speedy Texan batted .342. His four triples tied for second in the ECL, one behind Clint Thomas.

White hit .394 for Cienfuegos in 1928-1929, again third on the league, this time behind Alejandro Oms and Wilson and ahead of teammates and future Hall-of-Famers Willie Wells, Cool Papa Bell and Mule Suttles. In 1929, he hit .357 for Atlantic City, with a ECL-best 12 triples. He hit .310 to help Cienfuegos to the CWL title in 1929-1930, his last season on the island.

Chaney hit .312 for the 1930 Homestead Grays. On August 7, he ended the famous 12-inning duel between Chet Brewer and Smokey Joe Williams, when he doubled off Brewer to bring in Oscar Charleston with the only run. White hit .328 in the 1930-1931 California Winter League. He then hit .272 for Hilldale in 1931 and .294 in the 1931-1932 California Winter League. He split 1932 between the Baltimore Black Sox (.240) and Hilldale (.173).

Moving to the Philadelphia Stars in 1933, the 39-year-old hit third in the order and played right field. He batted .318 that year, followed by seasons of .295 in 1934 and .258 in 1935. He ended as a part-timer with the 1936 New York Cubans, hitting .410.

White was noted for his aggressive baserunning and spike-high slides. He once cut the chest protector off Josh Gibson in a collision; another time, he cut Larry Brown's leg badly enough that it needed eight stitches. Perhaps due to his all-out play, he battled knee and leg injuries during his career.

He was on the preliminary ballot for the 2006 Special Committee on the Negro Leagues Election but did not advance to the second round of votes.

Notable Achievements

• ECL At-Bats Leader (1927)
• 2-time ECL Runs Scored Leader (1927 & 1928)
• ECL Hits Leader (1927)
• 2-time ECL Singles Leader (1928 & 1929)
• 2-time ECL Triples Leader (1928 & 1929)

Sources

• The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley
• The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway
• Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History by Jorge Figueredo
• The California Winter League by William McNeil