Another Edition of Baseball’s Forgotten Stars: Sammy Byrd, The Greatest Baseball Golfer Ever!

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Another Edition of Baseball’s Forgotten Stars:  Sammy Byrd, The Greatest Baseball Golfer Ever!

When outfielder Sammy Byrd drew a walk, instead of hearing, “Ball Four,” he probably heard, “Ball …FORE!!” It was rumored Sammy could hit his 5-iron farther than his Yankee teammate, Babe Ruth, could hit his driver. Not surprisingly, this did not sit well with the competitive Bambino…

While researching my recent post about David Bote and Ultimate Grand Slams, I came across the old ball player Sammy Byrd, one of the 27 players in major league history to hit an Ultimate Grand Slam. Playing for the Reds on May 23, 1936, Byrd entered the game as a pinch-hitter for reliever Don Brennan, and hit his slam off Cy Blanton, lifting the Reds to a dramatic walk-off victory over the Pirates. Until Bote’s slam on Sunday night, this had been the last instance of a walk-off grand slam with a team trailing by a 3-0 score. 

Sammy Byrd’s name rang a bell with me. I later remembered he had “traded in his bat for a driver” and turned to professional golf after his baseball career. He is still the only major leaguer to play in the World Series and also play in a Masters Golf tournament.

Known as “Babe Ruth’s legs” because he often pinch-ran for the Bambino in his later years, Byrd played eight season in the majors (1929-1936) for the Yankees (1929-’34), and the Reds (1935-’36). Over his career, Sammy hit a respectable .274 with 38 home runs and 220 RBIs. He made one appearance in the 1932 World Series as a defensive replacement for the Babe in the bottom of the ninth in Game Four.

During his playing days, Byrd was known for possessing a smooth, easy batting swing. It’s well known the baseball swing adapts well to golf. That’s probably why so many ball players are excellent golfers. Sammy had gained the reputation as the best golfer in baseball during his era. He consistently beat his teammates and all other comers who challenged him. And that included Babe Ruth who was known as a pretty good golfer himself. But the Babe was no match for Sammy Byrd…

After he retired from baseball in 1936 Sammy made a successful transition to professional golf, winning 23 tournaments at a time when the game was dominated by Byron Nelson, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. He won six events on the PGA tour between 1942 and 1948, losing the final of the 1945 PGA Championship to Nelson in match play, 4 & 3. He also had two Top-10 finishes at the Masters: third in 1941 and fourth in 1942. Byrd had one bad moment during Masters play: During his last appearance in 1948, he tallied the highest score ever on the second hole recording a 10, and finished the round with a 12-over-par 84.

Byrd’s best year in professional golf was 1942, winning four tournaments. His major golf achievement was winning the Victory Open at Chicago in 1943, a wartime year in which the tournament was rated on a par with the U.S. Open. Byrd was second only to Jug McSpaden on the tour that year. Another career highlight was winning the 1944 Greater New Orleans Invitational Open. Byrd retired from the circuit in 1949.

As a pro he had represented the Plum Hollow Club of Detroit. Later he became resident pro at the Anniston (Ala.) Country Club, a position he held 10 years. Sammy Byrd was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1974. He passed away in Mesa, Arizona in 1981, aged 74.

Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Information: Excerpts edited from the Sammy Byrd Wikipedia page.

Check out my two books, both now available on Amazon in e-book and paperback:  “Paul Pryor in His Own Words: The Life and TImes of a 20-Year Major League Umpire” and “Memorable World Series Moments.” All profits go to the Illinois Veterans Foundation