A great defensive baseball catcher, Roy Campanella's handling of the Dodgers' pitching staff and his powerful hitting enabled the 'Bums' to win pennants in 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955 and 1957. And in 1950 & 1951, the Dodgers lost out on the last game of the season.

While still in his prime, on Jan. 28, 1958, Roy Campanella was driving slowly on an icy road, his car hit a telephone and flipped over. The accident left Campanella paralyzed in both arms and legs. Baseball fans all over the country, were shocked and sadden by this tragic news.

Baseball Historian notes: A special night was held for Roy Campanella on his birthday on 5/7/59 and the largest crowd in baseball history, over 95,000 fans packed Los Angeles Coliseum to cheer and honor this great individual.

In 1951, his first MVP season, Campy hit .325 , 30 doubles, 33 home runs and drove in 108 runs along with a .590 slugging pct. Again in 1953, his powerful hitting, 41 homers, 142 RBI's, .312 BA helped the Dodgers to win the pennant and Campy was the MVP.

Make no mistake about Roy Campanella's great leadership and clutching hitting, his feats place him as one of the best all-around NL players of all-time.

Roy Campanella career numbers are 1215 games, 4205 at bats, 242 homers, 856 RBI's. The above numbers do not include Campy's great play in the Negro League from 1940-47 - baseballhistorian.com All Rights Reserved 'Campy'

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To view a few newspaper clippings from the 1950s, type in the words Today in Time into our 'Search' located on the Home Page. Thanks