Pythias Russ

Pythias Russ (April 7, 1904 – August 9, 1930) was an American catcher, shortstop, and right-handed batter in the Negro leagues whose career and life were cut short by illness.

Pythias Russ
Catcher, Shortstop
Born: (1904-04-07)April 7, 1904 Cynthiana, Kentucky
Died: August 9, 1930(1930-08-09) (aged 26) Cynthiana, Kentucky
Batted: Right Threw: Right
Negro National League debut
1925, Memphis Red Sox
Last appearance
1929, Chicago American Giants
Teams
Memphis Red Sox (1925) Birmingham Black Barons (1925) Chicago American Giants (1926–29)
Career highlights and awards
2× Negro World Series champion (1926, 1927)

Russ was a star college athlete in baseball, basketball, and track and field. He was named an All-American football player in 1924. Candy Jim Taylor signed him to play for the Memphis Red Sox for the 1925 season, where he split catching duties with Larry Brown and hit .327. He moved to the Chicago American Giants in 1926 and hit .268 that season. In 1927, Russ batted .350 and was 8 for 35 in the 1927 Colored World Series.

Russ switched to shortstop in 1928 and hit .405 to win the NNL batting title, and hit .407 in the postseason to help Chicago to the league championship. In 1929, he hit .386 to finish second in that category, and hit 11 triples. He fell ill with tuberculosis early in 1930 and died in August of that year. His lifetime batting average in the Negro leagues was .350.

See also

• List of baseball players who died during their careers

References

• Ashwill, Gary (October 25, 2007). "Pythias Russ". Retrieved July 16, 2013.
• Holway, John B. (2001), The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues: The Other Half of Baseball History, Fern Park, FL: Hastings House Publishers, ISBN 0-8038-2007-0
• Riley, James A. (1994), The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf, ISBN 0-7867-0959-6

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or Baseball Reference and Seamheads