Samuel Wallace Wheeler, Jr. (November 15, 1923 – April 16, 1989), nicknamed "Boom Boom", was an American professional basketball player with the Harlem Globetrotters and Harlem Magicians, and was an outfielder in Negro league baseball for the New York Cubans.
| Sam Wheeler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: November 15, 1923 Little Rock, Arkansas | |
| Died: April 16, 1989 (aged 65) St. Louis, Missouri | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Negro leagues debut | |
| 1948, for the New York Cubans | |
| Last appearance | |
| 1948, for the New York Cubans | |
| Teams | |
|
A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Wheeler attended Dunbar High School and Philander Smith College, where he was a star basketball player.[1] He played professional baseball with the New York Cubans of the Negro National League in 1948, and hit a grand slam in his first game with the team.[1][2] Wheeler joined the Harlem Globetrotters in 1950 and spent several years with them.[3][4][5][6]
Wheeler married educator Betty McNeal, daughter of Theodore McNeal, the first African American to serve in the Missouri Senate, and a union organizer and activist.[7]
Wheeler died in St. Louis, Missouri in 1989 at age 65.
References
edit- ^ a b "Sam Wheeler". Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
- ^ "Sam Wheeler Negro League Statistics & History - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ "Ex-Harlem Globetrotter Wheeler Dead at 64". Tulsa World. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ "Football: Tex Schramm was expected to resign as president..." tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ "1946 Harlem Globetrotters". Thegardenisland.com. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ "Ebony". google.com. Johnson Publishing Company. March 1971. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ "Wheeler, Betty McNeal". dynamic.stlouis-mo.gov. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference and Seamheads
