Roy Campanella, nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily as a catcher.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,849 |
32 Facts About Roy Campanella
2.
Roy Campanella made his Major League Baseball debut in 1948 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, for whom he played until 1957.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,850 |
3.
Roy Campanella's playing career ended when he was paralyzed in an automobile accident in January 1958.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,851 |
4.
Roy Campanella is considered one of the greatest catchers in the history of the game.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,852 |
6.
Roy Campanella was born in Philadelphia to parents Ida, who was African American, and John Campanella, son of Italian immigrants.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,854 |
7.
Roy Campanella was elected captain of every sports team he played on in high school, but baseball was his passion.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,855 |
8.
Mixed race, Roy Campanella was prohibited from MLB play as a result of the baseball color line.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,856 |
9.
Roy Campanella played the rest of the season and the following 1943 season in the Mexican League with the Monterrey Sultans.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,857 |
10.
In 1946, Roy Campanella played in the newly formed Venezuelan Professional Baseball League on the Sabios de Vargas team, which he was co-coach and led to the league championship.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,858 |
11.
Roy Campanella moved into the Brooklyn Dodgers' minor league system in 1946 as the Dodger organization began preparations to break the MLB color barrier with Jackie Robinson.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,859 |
12.
On March 18,1946, Roy Campanella signed a contract to play for Danville Dodgers of the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,860 |
13.
Roy Campanella was the first African American to manage White players of an organized professional baseball team.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,861 |
15.
Roy Campanella played for the Dodgers from 1948 through 1957 as their regular catcher.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,863 |
16.
Roy Campanella was selected to the All-Star Game every year from 1949 through 1956.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,864 |
17.
Roy Campanella received the Most Valuable Player award in the National League three times: in 1951,1953, and 1955.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,865 |
18.
That same year, Roy Campanella hit 40 home runs in games in which he appeared as a catcher, a record that lasted until 1996, when it was exceeded by Todd Hundley.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,866 |
19.
Roy Campanella had five of the seven top caught stealing percentages for a single season in major league history.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,867 |
20.
Roy Campanella caught three no-hitters during his career: Carl Erskine's two on June 19,1952 and May 12,1956 and Sal Maglie's on September 25,1956.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,868 |
22.
Roy Campanella was able to feed himself, shake hands, and gesture while speaking, but he required a wheelchair for mobility for the remainder of his life.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,870 |
23.
In July 1969, Roy Campanella was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the second player of black heritage so honored, after Jackie Robinson.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,871 |
24.
Roy Campanella was elected to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall Of Fame in 1971.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,872 |
25.
In 1978, Roy Campanella moved to California and accepted a job with the Dodgers as assistant to the director of community relations, Don Newcombe, his former teammate and longtime friend.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,873 |
26.
Roy Campanella appeared as himself in the Lassie episode "The Mascot", first broadcast September 27,1959, in a story where he is coaching Timmy Martin's "Boys' League" team.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,874 |
27.
Roy Campanella was honored on the famous Ralph Edwards show This Is Your Life.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,875 |
28.
Roy Campanella died of heart failure at age 71 on June 26,1993, at his home in Woodland Hills, California.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,876 |
29.
Roy Campanella's body was cremated at the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,877 |
30.
In 1999, Roy Campanella ranked number 50 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,878 |
31.
Roy Campanella wrote his autobiography, It's Good to Be Alive, which was published in 1959; he discussed his convalescence and partial recovery after his accident.
| FactSnippet No. 1,925,879 |