Happy Birthday to the late and great Norman Thomas Stearnes, nicknamed “Turkey” for his unusual running style. Along with Josh Gibson and Oscar Charleston, he’s one of the greatest Negro League ballplayers of all time in regard to offense.

Career Statistics (1923-1940):

.348 BA, 1,326 HITS, 187 HR, 1,009 RBI, .417 OBP, 917 RUNS

  • All-Time Leader in HRs 

Stearnes played all over the Outfield, but his strong position was in Left Field. He played for seven teams throughout his career, but most of his career, including his best statistical seasons, took place with the Detroit Stars. 

1925: .371 BA, 136 HITS, 19 HR, 126 RBI, .439 OBP, 24 2B, 14 3B (94 Games)

1926: .383 BA, 131 HITS, 21 HR, 103 RBI, .458 OBP, 33 2B, 9 3B (93 Games)

1927: .350 BA, 119 HITS, 19 HR, 114 RBI, .429 OBP, 25 2B, 12 3B (91 Games)

Let’s not forget that seasons in the Negro Leagues didn’t last 154 games like in the Majors; some seasons only lasted 30 games. So in 1925, Stearnes was on pace for 223 Hits, 31 Home Runs, and 206 RBIs, which would be a record. Stearnes led in AVG and RBIs twice, OBP three times, Triples six times, and HR seven times. In 24 postseason games, he complies together ( .417 BA, 40 HITS, 7 HR, 26 RBI, and .451 OBP).

In 2000, over sixty years after he last played and over 20 years after his passing, Norman Thomas Stearnes was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

References:

  1. Turkey Stearnes Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference:   https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/steartu99.shtml
  2. Turkey Stearnes via Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_Stearnes