Dave Melton

David Olin Melton

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.
• School Stanford University
• High School Coronado (CA) High School
• Debut April 17, 1956
• Final Game June 11, 1958
• Born October 3, 1928 in Pampa, TX USA
• Died October 23, 2008 in Cupertino, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

An outfielder out of Stanford University Dave Melton started out in 1950 with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League. Dave hit a home run against the Hollywood Stars on the first pitch thrown to him in professional ball. Melton appeared in 38 games his first year hitting at a .339 clip. He was called up for military duty in 1951 and 1952 during the Korean War and arrived back in time for the 1953 season. Melton spent that year with three different teams, winding up with a .273 average in 120 games.

1954 saw Melton in another split year hitting .309 with 17 home runs for the San Francisco club and the Channel Cities Oilers of the California League. In 1955 he was strong again, playing the entire season with the AAA Seals, hitting at a .299 clip with 19 home runs and 116 RBIs. These strong showings got Dave purchased by the Kansas City Athletics from San Francisco on September 21st.

Dave got a couple of brief showings with the Athletics at the start of 1956 and again in 1958 picking up 1 base hit in 9 at-bats while appearing in 12 games. This was it for Melton in the big leagues.

Dave finished out his minor league career in 1962 with the Portland Beavers and his stat sheet shows that he hit for a .287 average with 65 home runs while appearing in 833 games.

After baseball Melton was a probation officer with the San Francisco Adult Probation Department. He also worked as an amateur umpire and on August 25, 1978, he worked a National League game at San Diego Stadium when the regular umpires staged a one-day strike. He resided in Cupertino, CA, where he died of prostate cancer on October 23, 2008, at 81 years of age.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors page