Deacon White given Hall of Fame honor

Former 19th century Buffalo Bisons catcher/infielder JAMES "DEACON" WHITE has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Hall's pre-integration panel (once known as the Veterans Committee). When inducted into Cooperstown on July 28, 2013, White will become the 20th former Bisons player/manager/coach to make it to Baseball's Hall of Fame.

White was elected along with former New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert and longtime umpire Hank O'Day by the pre-integration panel during the baseball Winter Meetings this week.

White, who lived from 1847-1939, played in parts of six seasons with the Bisons. From 1881-1885, he played with Buffalo as part of the National League and then again in 1890 when the Bisons were members of the player's run "Players League." In 585 games with the Bisons, he hit .293 (687-2,342) with 90 doubles, 30 triples, six home runs and 311RBI.

During his time in Buffalo, White also played with Hall of Famers Dan Brouthers, Jim O'Rourke and Jim "Pud" Galvin. White was inducted into the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986.

White played professionally from 1871-1890 with stops in Cleveland, Boston, Cincinnati and Detroit. He started out as a catcher without a glove and later moved to third base. During his time in Buffalo, he was one of the first players to experiment with rubber chest and abdomen protector for catchers. He was a three-time National League RBI leader and hit .312 for his baseball career.

-the herd-