Minor League Career
In 1936, his first season with the Travelers, Tucker changed fielding positions and became an outfielder. In 117 games, he had a .319 batting average and 25 doubles. The following year, he was to play for the El Dorado Lions of the Cotton States League, but a back injury caused him to miss nearly the entire season. After recovering from the injury, Tucker continued to progress through the minors, spending 1938 with two separate clubs; he played 55 games for the Abbeville A's of the Evangeline Baseball League and 50 games for the Greenville Bucks of the Cotton States League. He remained in the Cotton States League for 1939, playing for the Clarksdale Red Sox, at the time a minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. In 136 games for Clarksdale, Tucker had a .298 batting average and 10 triples. During his first few years in the minor leagues, one manager asked him to take up clowning due to his resemblance to Joe E. Brown and his nickname as a result, Joe E. Tucker objected due to his serious nature and the idea was later dropped.
Tucker's breakthrough minor league year came in 1940, his second with Clarksdale. By the end of June, he was leading the Cotton State League with a batting average of .374. After playing in 97 games, finishing with an average of .390, Tucker was promoted and played in 40 games for the Oklahoma City Indians. At the end of the season, Chicago White Sox farm manager Billy Webb was impressed enough to purchase Tucker's contract from Oklahoma City. At the beginning of the 1941 season, Tucker failed to win the final outfield spot on the White Sox roster from Dave Short, and consequently spent 1941 at Oklahoma City, where he was coached by Rogers Hornsby. In 141 games for the Indians, Tucker had a batting average of .246 and 12 triples.
At spring training for the 1942 season, Tucker competed against Dave Philley for the final outfield spot. White Sox management liked Tucker's defensive abilities, leading to them adding Tucker to their 1942 major league roster; Tucker made his major league debut on April 14, 1942. After playing two games for the White Sox, Tucker was sent down to the Fort Worth Cats of the Texas League, where he spent most of the season and hit .313 in 144 games. When the minor league season ended, Tucker returned to the major league squad, and finished the year having played seven games for the White Sox.
Read more about this topic: Thurman Tucker
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