By Jon Paul HoornstraShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberGeorge Altman, one of the last stars of the Negro Leagues to transition to stardom in the National League, has died. He was 92.
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Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, announced Altman's death Tuesday on Twitter/X.
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Altman played nine seasons in the major leagues with the Chicago Cubs (1959-62, 1965-67), St. Louis Cardinals (1963) and New York Mets (1964).
...Before the Cubs purchased his contract in August 1955, Altman played for the Kansas City Monarchs under future Hall of Fame manager Buck O'Neil.
Altman's career would extend across the Pacific Ocean to Japan, where he played eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Tokyo Orions (1968), Lotte Giants (1969-74) and Hanshin Tigers (1975).
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Altman was chosen an All-Star in 1961 (when MLB staged two All-Star Games every summer) and 1962 with the Cubs. A left-handed hitting outfielder, Altman retired with 101 home runs, 403 RBIs, and a .269 batting average in MLB.
A two-sport standout growing up in Goldsboro, N.C., Altman would play baseball at Tennessee State University before joining the Monarchs. He would also play for the U.S. Army in service competition, and winter league baseball in Cuba and Panama, before debuting with the Cubs in 1959.
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"Just playing in the major leagues was my number one [highlight]," Altman said in a 2023 interview. "I played in three All-Star Games and that was terrific. Just being with those guys and doing fairly well was great. I actually enjoyed playing winter ball in Cuba too. I had a great year hitting home runs until I got hurt. I could have had a much better career if I didn’t get hurt. At that time, there were no trainers or agents to look out for you."
Altman had just recently inherited the title of oldest living former Mets player from pitcher Jim Marshall, who died in September.
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