Person:John Singleton (21)

John Edward Singleton

was born on November 27, 1896 in Gallipolis, Ohio to John and Elizabeth Diggins Singleton. ^[1] He was part of a large and growing family (his mother would eventually give birth to fifteen children) when it appears that probably some time after 1912 they moved from Gallipolis to Cincinnati, if only for a few years. ^[2]

It was in Cincinnati where John enlisted with the U.S. Marines on September 23, 1916. He served for four years when he was discharged on September 22, 1920 in Virginia. ^[3]

It is uncertain where John and his wife Anna met and eventually married. Anna was also from Ohio so their vows may have taken place in Cincinnati where they made their home or perhaps back in Gallipolis, Ohio where John's parents had returned in 1920. ^[4] According to census records, John was 25 years old when he and Anna married making the date of their union about 1922. ^[5]

In the spring of 1921, John had tried out as a pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. The Phillies organization had spotted his pitching in 1916 when he was stationed in Cuba. ^[6] A group of soldiers had organized a team with John as their pitcher and, as they say, the rest is history:

"Philly fans are hoping that John Singleton will give them something to race about in their hour of despair.

This young hurler has been recalled from the Toronto International League club under the option agreement under which he was let out. His work with the Canadian team before his recall was such to warrant great expectations. He had won four straight games for the team across the border, according to the most recent records. He had not suffered a single defeat.

Singleton received his tryout with the Phillies in the spring of 1921 and his showing caused the Phils to keep a line on him. They sent him to Newark in the International league where he won 12 and lost 20 games with a fifth place team. He worked in 275 innings and allowed a fraction less than three runs a game. Then he was moved over to Toronto.

He's an Ohio boy, born in Gallipolis Nov. 27, 18[9]6. Chillicothe, in the Ohio State league, gave him his start in 1915. He's a righthander." ^[7]

On June 13, 1922, John "Sheriff" Singleton ^[8] stepped up to the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies and there made his major league debut. He and his team mates shut out the St. Louis Cardinals 14-0. ^[9] It was undoubtedly an exciting beginning for the young pitcher, but unfortunately, his career in the majors was short lived. During the rest of the 1922 season, John did not record another win for his team and by December of that year, he was traded to the minor league team, the Salt Lake Bees, where history records Singleton's saving grace in his hour of defeat with Philadelphia: "[Singleton] pitched about as good [a] ball for the Phillies as that lowly club deserved." ^[10]

Singleton's minor league career after his short stint with the Phillies appears to have been moderately successful. He stayed with the Salt Lake Bees through the 1926 season ^[11] when the team moved to Los Angeles, joined the Coast League and changed their name to the Hollywood Stars. The following year John joined the Sacramento Senators and pitched for them for at least a couple of seasons. ^[12]

By 1928, John, in his early 30's, is called an "old-timer" of the game. As with most sports players, John "Sheriff" Singleton's baseball feats appeared less and less in the papers as he got older, where the nature of the game was more suited to his younger counterparts. It is uncertain whether he was still playing ball when he died on October 23, 1937 in Dayton, Ohio, just one month shy of his 41st birthday. ^[13]

"Funeral rites were planned today for John Singleton, 41, a former pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, who died in a Dayton hospital. Singleton, dubbed "Sheriff" by sports writers in his baseball days, claimed to be the only native of Gallia county, Ohio, to play big league baseball." ^[14]

John's body was shipped from Dayton to Cincinnati where he is buried in the Vine Street Hill cemetery. ^[15]

John and his wife Anna had two known children (there are possibly others) - John, born about 1923 in Ohio ^[16] and Doris, born about 1927 in California ^[17]

References

1. ↑ Death Certificate
2. ↑ Eight month old Alford Singleton, one of John's brothers, died in Gallipolis on January 1, 1912. In 1916, in Cincinnati, there is record of a stillborn birth to John and Elizabeth Singleton. By 1920, John's parents are back living in Gallipolis. An interesting, but tragic side-note regarding the family is that exactly one year before Alford's death, on January 1, 1911, their sister, two year old Leora Singleton, also died.
3. ↑ Ohio Military Men, 1917-1918. Online database. Ancestry.com
4. ↑ 1920 U.S. Census, Ohio, Gallia Co., Gallipolis Twp., Gallipolis City, ED #51, January 12 & 13, Sheet 2A
5. ↑ 1930 U.S. Census, Ohio, Hamilton Co., Cincinnati, ED# 238, April 4, pg. 247, Sheet 1A.
6. ↑ The Charleston Daily Mail (Charleston, West Virginia), "John Singleton Signs As Salt Lake Club Pitcher," Saturday, February 6, 1926.
7. ↑ The Eau Claire Leader (Eau Claire, Wisconsin), Brown, Norman E., "The Fanning Beehive", Tuesday, June 13, 1922, page 2.
8. ↑ Hamilton Daily News Journal (Hamilton, Ohio), October 26, 1937, pg 3.
9. ↑ Nemec, David and Dave Zeman, The Baseball Rookies Encyclopedia (Washington, D.C.: Brassey's, 2004.), 126.
10. ↑ The Ogden Standard-Examiner (Ogden City, Utah), Thursday, December 14, 1922, page 13.
11. ↑ The Charleston Daily Mail (Charleston, West Virginia), "John Singleton Signs As Salt Lake Club Pitcher," Saturday, February 6, 1926
12. ↑ Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California), "Seals Clash With Ryan's Senators," Tuesday, April 24, 1928, page 37
13. ↑ Death certificate
14. ↑ Hamilton Daily News Journal (Hamilton, Ohio), October 26, 1937, pg 3.
15. ↑ http://www.baseball-almanac.com
16. ↑ The Fresno Bee (Fresno, California), "Duffy Lewis Due Here Today," Thursday, February 28, 1924, page 10
17. ↑ 1930 U.S. Census, Ohio, Hamilton Co., Cincinnati, ED# 238, April 4, pg. 247, Sheet 1A.