View source for Cowan Hyde

{{Short description|American baseball player (1909–2003)}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name          = Cowan Hyde
| image         = Cowan_Bubba_Hyde.jpg
| position      = [[Left fielder]]
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1909|4|10|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Pontotoc, Mississippi]], United States
| death_date= {{death date and age|2003|11|20|1909|4|10}}
| death_place = [[St. Louis, Missouri]], U.S.
| bats          = Right
| throws        = Right
| debutleague   = [[Negro league baseball]]
| debutdate     =
| debutyear     = 1924
| debutteam     = [[Memphis Red Sox]]
| finaldate     =
| finalyear     = 1951
| finalleague=Negro league
| finalteam     = [[Chicago American Giants]]
| statyear      =
| statleague    =
| stat1label  = [[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
| stat1value  = .266
| stat2label  = [[Hit (baseball)|Hits]]
| stat2value  = 218
| stat3label  = [[Home run]]s
| stat3value  = 1
| stat4label  = [[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
| stat4value  = 85
| stat5label  = [[Stolen base]]s
| stat5value  = 45
| teams         =
*[[Memphis Red Sox]] (1924, 1927, 1938–1950)
*[[Birmingham Black Barons]] (1930)
*[[Indianapolis Athletics]] (1937)
*[[Cincinnati Tigers]] (1937)
*[[Chicago American Giants]] (1951)
| highlights =
* 3x [[East-West All-Star Game|All-Star]] (1943, 1946)
* [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions#Negro leagues|Negro American League batting champion]] (1941)
}}
'''Cowan "Bubba" Hyde''' (April 10, 1909 – November 20, 2003) was an American professional [[outfielder]] who played mostly in the [[Negro leagues]] from the 1920s to the 1950s. In his baseball career, Hyde played with the [[Memphis Red Sox]], [[Birmingham Black Barons]], [[Indianapolis Athletics]], and the [[Cincinnati Tigers]], as well as various teams from other leagues. An exceptional base stealer and above-average [[contact hitter]], albeit with a low walk-ratio, Hyde participated in two [[East-West All-Star Game]]s.
== Life and career ==
Hyde was born in [[Pontotoc, Mississippi]], acquiring his baseball and lifelong nickname, "Bubba", during childhood from his sister.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseballinlivingcolor.com/player.php?card=127|title=Meet the Players: Cowan Hyde|website=baseballinlivingcolor.com|accessdate=January 17, 2017|archive-date=January 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131185052/http://www.baseballinlivingcolor.com/player.php?card=127|url-status=dead}}</ref> At an early age, Hyde's athletic talents became apparent to chief scouts of the [[Memphis Red Sox]], who offered Hyde the opportunity to tryout with the team when he was just 14 years-old.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-u_zAgAAQBAJ&dq=cowan+hyde+baseball&pg=PA69|title=Baseball in Memphis|author=Watkins, Clarence|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2012|page=69|isbn=9781439642238}}</ref> However, after a brief stint with the club, Hyde suffered from homesickness and decided to return to Pontotoc to finish high school. Still, the Red Sox expressed great interest in him, convincing Hyde to return to the team in 1927, hitting a .190 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] on the season. He furthered his education by attending [[Morris Brown College]] and [[Rust College]], where he joined the baseball, football, and track teams. In 1930, Hyde had another brief stint in the Negro leagues, playing with the [[Birmingham Black Barons]] and batting .237.<ref name=state>{{cite web|url=http://coe.k-state.edu/annex/nlbemuseum/history/players/hyde.html|title=Cowan Hyde|website=coe.k-state.edu|accessdate=January 17, 2017|archive-date=June 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622233336/http://coe.k-state.edu/annex/nlbemuseum/history/players/hyde.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
An athlete of modest stature, 5 feet 8 inches and 150 lbs., Hyde compensated for his lack of size with his tremendous speed and agility. Playing with the [[Indianapolis Athletics]] in 1937, Hyde made an impression on manager [[Double Duty Radcliffe]] who signed him to the [[Cincinnati Tigers]].<ref name=state/> When Radcliffe moved to the Red Sox organization the following season, he immediately signed Hyde to the club as the starting [[left fielder]], starting a 12-year stint with the team. Because of his above-average power hitting and speed, Radcliffe regularly penciled Hyde into the [[leadoff hitter|leadoff spot]] and gave him the "green light" to steal whenever he had a sizable lead.{{cn|date=August 2022}} Throughout the remainder of his Negro league career, Hyde consistently batted around .300, albeit with a low walk-ratio, and participated in the [[East-West All-Star Game]] in 1943 and 1946.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WSySCgAAQBAJ&dq=cowan+hyde+baseball&pg=PA153|title=Cool Papas and Double Duties: The All-Time Greats of the Negro Leagues|publisher=MacFarland Publishing|page=153|year=2001|isbn=9780786422296}}</ref>
Aside from the Negro leagues, Hyde spent parts of 1940 in the Mexican league, averaging .306, before venturing to Chicago to play with the Palmer House All-Stars. A prime candidate to earn a roster spot on a [[Major League Baseball]] club, in 1950 he joined the [[Bridgeport Bluefish|Bridgeport Bees]], a minor league affiliate of the [[History of the Boston Braves|Boston Braves]] organization. In his only season with team, a 40 year-old Hyde batted an impressive .327, earning a position on the Braves' spring training squad, but he was soon cut from the team when Hyde left camp to accompany his pregnant wife to the hospital.<ref name=state/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://mobile.nytimes.com/2003/11/26/sports/bubba-hyde-95-negro-leagues-star.html|title=Bubba Hyde 95, Negro Leagues Star|website=[[The New York Times]]|accessdate=January 17, 2017}}</ref>
Hyde concluded his time in baseball with the [[Chicago American Giants]] in 1951, and four years in the [[Mandak League]], where, despite being in his mid-forties, Hyde hit well above .300. Settling in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], he worked for the [[General Cable]] company before retiring in the mid-1980s. He was among the first players inducted into the Negro Leagues Wall of Fame and Hyde had his uniform displayed in the [[Negro Leagues Baseball Museum]].{{cn|date=August 2022}} Before succumbing to an illness on November 20, 2003, Hyde held the distinction of participating in the Negro leagues earlier than any other surviving player.<ref name=state/>
== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==External links==
{{Baseballstats|br=h/hydeco01|brm=hyde--001cow}} and [https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=hyde-01cow Seamheads]
{{Negro league baseball batting champions}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyde, Cowan}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:Birmingham Black Barons players]]
[[Category:Chicago American Giants players]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Tigers (baseball) players]]
[[Category:Indianapolis Athletics players]]
[[Category:Memphis Red Sox players]]
[[Category:People from Pontotoc, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Mississippi]]