Joe Campinha | |
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Catcher | |
Born: East Wareham, Massachusetts | May 11, 1920|
Died: May 21, 2001 Providence, Rhode Island | (aged 81)|
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
Negro league baseball debut | |
1948, for the Baltimore Elite Giants | |
Last appearance | |
1948, for the Baltimore Elite Giants | |
Teams | |
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Joseph Lewis Campinha (May 11, 1920 – May 21, 2001), also known as Joe Campini, was a Cape Verdean-American Negro league catcher in the 1940s. He is believed to be the first professional baseball player of Cape Verdean descent.
A native of East Wareham, Massachusetts of Cape Verdean descent, Campinha played under the name "Campini" for the Baltimore Elite Giants in 1948. A backup for the team's regular catcher Frazier Robinson, Campinha managed a hit and a walk in two plate appearances in his one recorded game for Baltimore, [1] which may have come in April at Bugle Field against the Homestead Grays. [2] Following his stint with Baltimore, Campinha played minor league baseball with the Bangor Pickers in 1949, and the Watertown Athletics in 1950, his final season in professional baseball. [3] Campinha went on to serve in the United States Merchant Marine, and died in Providence, Rhode Island in 2001 at age 81. [4] [5]