Gaylord Jackson Perry, an American professional baseball player, was born on September 15, 1938.
From 1962 to 1983, he pitched right-handedly in Major League Baseball for eight different teams. Perry accumulated 314 victories, 3,534 strikeouts, and a 3.11 earned run average over the course of a 22-year baseball career.
In 1991, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Perry participated in semi-pro baseball as a young man for the Alpine Cowboys at Kokernot Field in Alpine, Texas. On June 3, 1958, the San Francisco Giants signed Perry to a lucrative contract worth $90,000 annually. He played for the Class A level St. Cloud Rox team in the Northern League in 1958, compiling a 9-5 record and a 2.39 ERA.
In 1959, he was promoted to the Class AA Corpus Christi Giants, where he went 10-11 with a 4.05 ERA. He stayed with the team when they changed their name to the Rio Grande Valley Giants in 1960, and his improved ERA of 2.82 earned him a promotion to the Class AAA Tacoma Giants for the 1961 season. In 1961, he led the Pacific Coast League in wins and innings pitched at Tacoma. In 1962, he was called up to the Major Leagues for a brief stint, making his debut on April 14 against the Cincinnati Reds. He pitched in 13 games in 1962, but had a 5.23 ERA and was demoted to Tacoma for the rest of the season. Bill James dubbed the 1962 Tacoma squad, which included many future major-league players, the best minor-league lineup of the 1960s after the addition of Perry.
Gaylord Perry wife
Blanche Manning’s Perry is his wife, but Blanche was killed on September 11, 1987, on US Route 27 in Lake Wales, Florida, when another driver ignored a stop sign and collided with her car head-on.
Gaylord Perry children
Perry and Blanche gave birth to three daughters and a son.
Gaylord Perry parent
Gaylord was the son of farmers Evan and Ruby Perry. Evan Perry had previously been a well-known athlete. Gaylord grew up in Williamston and the small community of Farmlife, a populated area within the Township of Griffins, a minor division of Martin County. Gaylord helped his father farm on their family’s property in this area.
Gaylord Perry siblings
His brother is Jim Perry.
