RAY POPE

Ray Pope was one of the top hurlers to come out of Saginaw. Pope was discovered by the Chicago White Sox in 1946 while pitching American Legion baseball for Ford AC. That year he tossed three no-hitters and one one-hitter. One of the no-hitters was called after six innings because of darkness as Pope fanned 16 of the 18 batters he faced. He also pitched in the City Baseball Federation while still a junior at Arthur Hill High School and was 1-1. One year later after he graduated from AHHS, he was 3-1 and made the all-star team in the City Baseball loop before signing with the White Sox as a 17-year-old. He was assigned to Lima, Ohio, in Class D ball and appeared in 41 games, pitching 228 innings and was 12-17 with 158 strikeouts and a 4.78 ERA. In 1949 he divided his time between the Class D Wisconsin Rapids in the Wisconsin State League and Oil City, PA., in Class C. For Wisconsin he was 6-4 with 76 strikeouts in 90 innings with a 3.20 earned-run-average. He also hit .325 that season. In 1950 he played for Waterloo, Iowa, in the Class B Three-I League where he was 8-6 in 25 games. He fanned 71 in 99 innings and posted a 3.73 ERA. He was then drafted into the Army where he served from 1951-53. While in the Army he pitched two years at Dixon, Missouri, where he was 18-2 with 245 strikeouts, while also pitching for the Army team at the same time. After leaving the Army he tried to obtain his release from the White Sox and couldn’t, so he quit pro ball. He then played seven more years in the City League with Harry’s Bar, Draper Chevrolet, Drewrys Beer & Ale, Jays, and Reese Massolls. On August 11, 1955, he beat Lynes Brothers 3-1 allowing just one hit while striking out 16 of the 21 batters he faced – including the final 10 batters. In ’57 he averaged 10.7 strikeouts in each seven-inning game he pitched.