Don White

This page is for Donald William White, major league player in 1948-1949. For other players with similar names, click here

Donald William White

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 195 lb.
• School State College of Washington
• Debut April 19, 1948
• Final Game October 2, 1949
• Born January 8, 1919 in Everett, WA USA
• Died June 15, 1987 in Carlsbad, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Washington State native Don White spent twelve seasons in professional baseball from 1939 to 1952. He also spent just short of four years (1942-1945) in the United States Navy during World War II. He entered into the service in early 1942 and was mustered out late in 1945.

Don had two good seasons in the minor leagues before coming to the majors, hitting .338 in a split-season affair with the Tacoma Tigers of the class B Western International League and the San Francisco Seals of the AA (then the highest classification of the minors) Pacific Coast League in 1940. He also hit .304 for San Francisco in 1941 in 166 games and was at the .463 mark after 13 games when he entered the Military Service in 1942.

White returned from the service in 1945, having just enough time to get into one game with the San Francisco team, picking up one hit in five at-bats with an RBI and the season was over. He had two good years with the Seals in 1946 and 1947, playing both the outfield and third base positions, hitting .288 in '46 and .292 in '47.

On November 10, 1947, White was drafted by the Philadelphia Athletics from the Seals in the 1947 Rule V Draft. He spent the next two seasons (1948-1949) with the Athletics, both as an outfielder and third baseman, appearing in 86 games in 1948 and 57 in 1949. These two seasons were it for White in the big leagues and he finished up with a .232 batting average in 143 games.

The outfielder-third baseman returned to the minors, spending the next three seasons (1951-1953) in the Pacific Coast League. He hit an even .300 for the San Francisco club in 1950 but fell to a split-season .264 for the Portland Beavers and the San Diego Padres in 1951. Don was with the Beavers for just three games in 1952 and called it a career at the age of 33. He had appeared in 928 games in his ten-season minor league run, went to bat 3,397 times, came up with 1,014 base-hits with 30 home runs and a .298 batting average.

White stayed on the west coast after baseball, making his home in Carlsbad, CA, where he worked and lived until his death on June 15, 1987. Donald William White was 68 years of age.