John F Douglas was born
on September 14, 1917 in
Thayer, West Virginia. He was a star player for
Woodrow Wilson High School and the Raleigh County League in West
Virginia before going on to become an outstanding athlete at the
University of Miami, Florida. The 6-foot-2 first baseman signed
a professional contract with the Miami Wahoos of the Florida
East Coast League in 1941 and led all first-year hitters in
organized baseball with a .385 batting average. Furthermore,
Douglas
led the circuit with 11 runs scored and added 99 RBIs.
Purchased by the
Montreal Royals of the International League,
Douglas was preparing for the jump from Class D to
Class AA ball when military service beckoned. Douglas served with the Navy at the Miami Naval Air
Station from the beginning of 1942. On July 5, 1942, he
collected two of air station’s three hits in a 9-1 loss to Hugh
Mulcahy. Prior to the game Douglas was awarded the Spalding 1941 rookie batting
championship trophy.
Douglas later suffered a
knee injury while in the Navy that required surgery and kept him
in Portsmouth Naval
Hospital for three months.
He had to wearing a brace to walk and was still wearing the
brace when he reported to
Montreal
– following a medical discharge – in 1945.
Following a good spring,
Douglas
joined the Brooklyn Dodgers for the start of the season. He
became Durocher’s first baseman on April 21, 1945, but failed to
hit in five games (0 for 9) and was sent to
Mobile
of the Southern Association where he batted .328. Douglas spent
the next four years with
St Paul
of the American Association and batted over .300 for three of
those seasons.
Douglas continued to
play in the minors until 1953 with
Louisville, Milwaukee,
San Francisco, Albany
and Syracuse.
John Douglas passed away
on February 11, 1984 in
Miami, Florida. He was 67.