Subby Byas

Richard Thomas Byas
(Subby, Prof)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.
• School Northwestern University, Roosevelt University
• High School Wendell Phillips High School
• Debut 1932
• Final Game 1942
• Born March 19, 1910 in Pineland, TX USA
• Died October 8, 1985 in Chicago, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Subby Byas played for about a decade in the Negro Leagues and was a two-time All-Star. A switch-hitter, he hit better from the left side.

Byas debuted in 1931 with the Kansas City Monarchs but spent the next two years with minor teams. In 1934, he hit .271 as the shortstop for the Newark Dodgers. He moved to Cole's American Giants in 1935 and hit .267 for them in 1936, when he was primarily a catcher. Byas was 4th in votes for the 1936 East-West Game, leading all position players with 10,177, over 2,000 ahead of fellow backstop Josh Gibson. Byas went 1 for 3 in that game after replacing Harry Else at catcher.

In 1937, Byas led the American Giants starters with a .292 average. He was 0 for 1 as a pinch-hitter for Double Duty Radcliffe in a 7-2 East loss in the 1937 East-West Game. In the playoffs, he was 5 for 14 against Kansas City and 1 for 2 against the Homestead Grays. Moving to second base in 1938, Byas improved to .333. He hit .255 in 1939, being used primarily in the outfield.

Byas switched to the Memphis Red Sox for 1941-1942 and hit .368 for them the first year. That concluded his career.

Notable Achievements

• NAL All-Star (1937)

Sources

• The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway
• The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley
• Black Baseball's National Showcase by Larry Lester