William De Kova "Bill" White (born January 28, 1934 in Lakewood, Florida) is a former professional baseball first baseman who played for the New York and San Francisco Giants (1956, 1958), St. Louis Cardinals (1959-65, 1969) and Philadelphia Phillies (1966-68).

White became a full-time sportscaster for 18 years after his playing career ended.

White then served as president of the National League from 1989 to 1994.

Playing career [edit]

As a minor-leaguer, Bill White was the second black player to ever play for a Carolina League team - the Danville Leafs (1953). Percy Miller Jr. broke the color barrier for that league in 1951.

In his 13-season major league career, Bill White batted .286 with 202 home runs and 870 RBIs in 1673 games. He was also one of the top defensive first basemen of his time, winning seven straight Gold Glove Awards (1960–66). White batted and threw left-handed.

White is also one of the few MLB players who have hit at least .300 and driven in at least 100 runs in three consecutive seasons.

Broadcasting career [edit]

White earned a sports program on KMOX radio in St. Louis while he was still playing for the Cardinals. After he was traded to the Phillies, he did a program there. After ending his playing career White became a sportscaster for WFIL-TV (now WPVI-TV) in Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia, White became the first African-American to broadcast NHL hockey when he called several Flyers' games.

In 1971 White joined the New York Yankees' broadcast team. He called Yankee games from 1971 to 1988, most often with Phil Rizzuto and Frank Messer. He did radio as well as television during most of that stretch. Bill White was the first African-American to do play-by-play regularly for a major-league sports team.

On New York City radio, White was featured on WMCA from 1971 to 1977, after which the Yankees switched over to WINS. In 1981, the Yankee broadcast team moved over to WABC. On television, White worked with Rizzuto and Messer on WPIX.

On October 2, 1978, calling the American League East championship playoff game on WPIX, White authored one of baseball's most famous calls—that of Yankee shortstop Bucky Dent's home run in the seventh inning against the host Boston Red Sox:

White also did sports reports for the CBS Radio Network and helped call several World Series for CBS Radio (along with Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Ross Porter and later, Jack Buck). He also did pre-game reports for the ABC coverage of the 1977 Series, also along with Porter, and handled the post-game trophy presentation for ABC after the Yanks clinched the world title in the sixth game.

WPIX and its usual Rizzuto-Messer-White broadcast trifecta carried the ALCS in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1981, providing New York viewers a local alternative to the nationally-broadcast telecasts.

President of the National League [edit]

From 1989 to 1994, White served as president of the National League. White was the first African-American to hold such a high executive position in sports.

In 2011, White released his autobiography entitled Uppity: My Untold Story About the Games People Play.^[1][2][3][4] Bill White currently resides in Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania.

See also [edit]

• Home run in first Major League at-bat
• Hitting for the cycle

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Baseball Hall of Fame candidate profile
• Baseball Library

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