| Ted Radcliffe | |
|---|---|
 Ted Radcliffe c. 1935 | |
| Pitcher, Catcher | |
| Born: July 7, 1902 Mobile, Alabama, U.S. | |
| Died: August 11, 2005 (aged 103) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Negro league baseball debut | |
| 1929, for the Chicago American Giants | |
| Last Negro league baseball appearance | |
| 1946, for the Homestead Grays | |
| Career statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 32–24 |
| Earned run average | 3.68 |
| Strikeouts | 216 |
| Batting average | .271 |
| Home runs | 17 |
| Run batted in | 183 |
| Managerial record | 165–148–5 |
| Teams | |
As player
As manager
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Theodore Roosevelt "Double Duty" Radcliffe (July 7, 1902 – August 11, 2005) was a professional baseball player in the Negro leagues. An accomplished two-way player, he played as a pitcher and a catcher, became a manager, and in his old age became a popular ambassador for the game. He is one of only a handful of professional baseball players who lived past their 100th birthdays, next to Red Hoff (who lived to 107) and fellow Negro leaguer Silas Simmons (who lived to age 111).
Newspaperman Damon Runyon coined the nickname "Double Duty" because Radcliffe played as a catcher and as a pitcher in the successive games of a 1932 doubleheader between the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the New York Black Yankees.[1] In the first of the two games at Yankee Stadium, Radcliffe caught the pitcher Satchel Paige for a shutout and then pitched a shutout in the second game. Runyon wrote that Radcliffe "was worth the price of two admissions." Radcliffe considered his year with the 1932 Pittsburgh Crawfords to be one of the highlights of his career.[2]
Of the six East–West All-Star Games in which he played, Radcliffe pitched in three and was a catcher in three. He also pitched in two and caught in six other All-Star games. He hit .376 (11-for-29) in nine exhibition games against major leaguers.[2]
- ^ "Ted Radcliffe". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ a b McNary 1994