Ray Dandridge

CTL-E-6954 · Person · other · 1913–1994

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07826 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-6954.

Raymond Emmett Dandridge (August 31, 1913, Richmond, Virginia – February 12, 1994, Palm Bay, Florida) was a third baseman regarded among the greatest ever at the position in Black baseball. Signed by the Detroit Stars in 1933, he starred for the Newark Dodgers and Newark Eagles in the 1930s — anchoring the Eagles' celebrated 'Million Dollar Infield' — and moved regularly between the Negro National League and the Mexican League in the 1940s, where salaries were better. His batting record is split across sources: the Hall of Fame's league statistics credit him with a .319 average, while SABR's account gives a .355 lifetime average in the Negro leagues — both figures are shown here as their sources state them. Signed by the New York Giants organization at 35, he starred for the Triple-A Minneapolis Millers from 1949 — named the American Association's Rookie of the Year that season and its MVP in 1950 — but was never called up to the majors. The Veterans Committee elected him to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987.

The record

• Also known as: Raymond Emmett Dandridge, Squat, Hooks, Dandy

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0253. Firsts disposition: NO first asserted in the description. A 'first Black player for the Minneapolis Millers' formulation appears in MiLB's account but rests on a single source in this record and is therefore not asserted. Batting-average split shown, not blended: .319 (Hall of Fame league statistics) vs. .355 lifetime Negro leagues average (SABR/Holway, 'using the best data available'). Hall of Fame election 1987 verified (Hall; SABR; MiLB). Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Dandridge is the color line's clearest 'what if' at third base — a Triple-A MVP at 36 who was kept one step from the majors by an informal quota his own organization enforced. Photo: HELD — only a 1926 drawing and a plaque photograph exist on Commons; no verified photograph of Dandridge (see visual_assets basis).

Sources

• National Baseball Hall of Fame. "Hall call brings rightful honors for Dandridge." Accessed 2026-11-03. (primary source · build store)
• National Baseball Hall of Fame. "Ray Dandridge" (Newark Eagles / Richmond Hall profile data). Accessed 2026-11-03. (primary source · build store)
• John Holway. "Dandy at Third: Ray Dandridge." SABR, The National Pastime (1982). Accessed 2026-11-03. (primary source · build store)
• Jonathan Mayo. "'Dandy' of a Negro Leagues star excelled in MiLB." MiLB.com, February 20, 2006. Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)
• National Baseball Hall of Fame. "Picturing America's Pastime: Ray Dandridge." Hall of Fame exhibits. Accessed 2026-11-03. (primary source · build store)
• Encyclopedia.com. "Dandridge, Ray 1913–1994." Accessed 2026-11-03. (build store)

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Record CTL-E-6954 · Combined Graph record U-07826 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 6 sources.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

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