Enos Slaughter

Enos Bradsher Slaughter
Nickname: Country
Born: April 27, 1916 in Roxboro, N.C.
Died: August 12, 2002 in Durham, N.C.
Debut: 1938 | Pos: OF
Ht: 5'9" | Wt: 192 | B: L | T: R

>> Visit the Enos Slaughter biography on Baseball Almanac for complete statistics.

Enos "Country" Slaughter, a Hall of Famer who hit .300 in 19 seasons in major league baseball, died Aug.12, 2002 at the age of 86. Slaughter had been at Duke University Medical Center since July 25 following colon surgery.

The first 13 seasons of his career were spent with the St. Louis Cardinals and he was a part of four World Series Championship teams there. He appeared in 10 consecutive All-Star games and hit .391. In 1946, he led the National League with 130 RBIs.

Slaughter had 2,383 hits, including 169 HRs and 1,304 RBIs in 2,380 games in his career. 

"He was one of the great hustlers of baseball," said Stan Musial, Hall of Famer and Cardinals teammate in a wire report. "He loved baseball. He always ran hard and played hard."

Slaughter made his debut with the Cardinals in 1938 and he stayed with the team, except for 3 years of service in World War II, until he was traded to the New York Yankees in 1954. His baseball career ended with his retirement in 1959. 

One of the biggest moments of his career came during the 1946 World Series in Game 7. In the 8th inning, he scored the tiebreaking run from first base on a hit from Harry Walker. It is often called the "Mad Dash" and it is remembered by St. Louis fans through a statue depicting the moment outside Busch Stadium.

"On that particular play, he outran the ball the last 10 years. He just outran it. It was an exciting play and won the series for us," Musial said.

He was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1985 (he first became eligible in 1964). Some speculated that the delay came from Slaughter's alleged involvement in 2 incidents involving Jackie Robinson. 

The first was an attempt to organize a strike against Robinson in 1947. National League president Ford Frick threatened punishment for any player involved in a strike -- suspension from the league. 

Slaughter denied any involvement in a plan for a strike and he addressed that in an interview with AP in 1994:

"There's been a hell of a lot of stuff written on that because I was a Southern boy. It's just a lot of baloney."

Another incident came in August 1947 when the Dodgers felt Slaughter tried spike Robinson at first base. Slaughter denied any wrongdoing. 

"I've never deliberately spiked anyone in my life," he said.

His illness forced Slaughter to miss this year's Hall of Fame ceremonies when another Cardinal, Ozzie Smith, was inducted into the Hall. It was the first induction he had missed since his own in 1985.

Sources: AP, Baseball Chronicle, Bill James