George Altman, one of several Black players signed to the Cubs by famed scout/coach Buck O’Neil, has died, aged 92.
Altman had two outstanding years for the Cubs, in 1961 and 1962. In 1961, he batted .303/.353/.560
with 27 home runs and played in both All-Star Games that year (for four years from 1959-62, MLB had two All-Star Games each season to help benefit the players’ pension fund). The following year, 1962, Altman hit ..318/.393/.511 with 22 home runs and played in the second of that year’s All-Star Games, held at Wrigley Field July 30.
After the 1962 season the Cubs traded Altman, Don Cardwell and Moe Thacker to the Cardinals for Larry Jackson, Lindy McDaniel and Jimmie Schaffer, a very good trade for the team.
For Altman, though, it was the beginning of a career decline. He was injured in St. Louis and again the following year, when he played for the Mets. The Cubs reacquired Altman before the 1965 season for Billy Cowan, but the injuries were too much and his MLB career ended after playing just 15 games for the Cubs in 1967.
That wasn’t the end of baseball for Altman, though, as he then spent eight seasons playing for the Lotte Orions and Hanshin Tigers in NPB, batting .309/.378/.561 with 205 home runs in 935 games, one of the first Americans to become a star player in Japan.
After retiring from NPB in 1975, Altman returned to Chicago and spent many years as a commodities trader at the Chicago Board of Trade, eventually retiring in the St. Louis area, though it was reported a number of times that he continued to root for the Cubs. Of his baseball career, Altman was quoted in his SABR biography:
“I feel I could have been a star in the major leagues, but things worked out pretty well in another way. I did okay. I have a lot of good baseball memories. I met a lot of good people.”
Here is one small bit of Altman’s playing career that survives via video. In 1962, part of a Cubs game at Wrigley Field was shown in Europe on the first Telstar satellite broadcast. At the beginning of this clip, you can see Altman making a catch in right field:
And here he is leading the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field in 2014:
Sincere condolences to Altman’s family, friends and fans on his passing.
