Lester: Bruce Petway, a bad brother
From SABR member Larry Lester at The National Pastime Museum on May 10, 2013:
Bruce “Buddy” Petway was the baddest brother to ever wear the tools of ignorance. Ebonically speaking, Buddy was “bad.” Translation: Good is bad, and bad is about as good as it gets. His slender build allowed him to have jack-in-the-box popupability to deter potential base stealers. Down from his shin guards, up with a nanosecond snap release, his throws to second were on time, on line, low and accurate for tagging ease. “No way with Petway” was the cry of many base bandits.
Unlike most catchers with ketchup in their blood, Petway was a big threat on the basepaths. His happy feet saddened the faces of opposing catchers. In fact, he led the Cuban League in 1912 with 20 steals as a Habana Red. The fleet switch-hitter with awesome bunting abilities and base running skills often batted leadoff, a rarity for any catcher.
In 1906, the Nashville, Tenn., native, dropped out of Meharry Medical College (aka Walden University) to follow his addiction to baseball. He joined the Leland Giants in Chicago, played for the Philadelphia Giants from 1907 to 1909 and rejoined Leland in 1910, partnering with some of baseball’s greatest performers; Rube Foster, Pop Lloyd, Frank Wickware, Grant “Home Run” Johnson and Pete Hill.
Read the full article here: http://www.thenationalpastimemuseum.com/article/bruce-%E2%80%9Cbuddy%E2%80%9D-petway-bad-brother
Originally published: May 13, 2013. Last Updated: May 13, 2013.