Sam Streeter

Samuel Streeter

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 5' 7", Weight 170 lb.

• Debut 1921
• Final Game 1936
• Born September 17, 1900 in New Market, AL USA
• Died August 9, 1985 in Pittsburgh, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Sam Streeter began his professional baseball career as a 19-year-old with the Montgomery Grey Sox in the minor Negro Southern League. Streeter threw a perfect game that year. By the next season, he was with the Chicago American Giants, losing his only game in Negro National League play. The spitball pitcher bounced around for a couple of years, then joined the Birmingham Black Barons in 1924. Streeter webt 14-8 for Birmingham that season, placing him in a tie for second in the NNL in wins, behind Bullet Joe Rogan. He was 4th in RA (3.82) and led the league with 127 strikeouts. He pitched in the Cuban Winter League that year, going 4-2.

In 1925, Sam slipped to 0-1 for the Black Barons; he was 1-1 in the 1925-26 Cuban Winter season, then was with the Homestead Grays in |1926, winning all three of his games against top-flight black competition. The |1927 season had Sam sporting a 14-12 mark for Birmingham, tying for 4th in the NNL in wins and placing 5th with 80 K's. He hit .370 as well that year, one of six seasons over .300.

In |1928, Streeter followed a 1-1 winter in Cuba with an 0-1 record for Birmingham and a 4-2 mark for Homestead. Sam was 4-4 in Cuba in 1928-29 and 14-6 for the |1929 Grays and finished third in the American Negro League in wins.

The |1930 season saw Sam go 12-12 for Birmingham as he continued to shuffle between the Black Barons and Grays over time. He also was with the Baltimore Black Sox that year, going 2-1.

Streeter finished his career with six years on the Pittsburgh Crawfords staff. He had a 2-2 record his first year there, |1931, then fell to 7-9 in |1932, though his 63 strikeouts were second to teammate Satchel Paige and his 3.53 RA was fifth. In |1933, Sam went 6-4, but his 3.04 RA was second in the NNL behind Raymond Brown. He was voted to represent the East in the first East-West Game, but was the losing pitcher in the game.

In |1934, Streeter is listed at both 15-1 and 10-2 by the same source (Holway's Complete Book of the Negro Leagues). The former mark would place him in a tie third in the NNL in wins. The spitball specialist was 3-0 in |1935 and 6-3 to wrap up his career in |1936.

Overall, Sam Streeter was 117-75 in his Negro League career, placing him 12th all-time in victories.

Notable Achievements

• NNL All-Star (1933)
• 2-time NNL Innings Pitched Leader (1924 & 1927)
• NNL Strikeouts Leader (1924)
• 3-time League Complete Games Leader (1924/NNL, 1929/ANL & 1930/NNL)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 2 (1924 & 1927)

Sources:

• The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway
• The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley

Related Sites

• Sam Streeter at the SABR Bio Project