Wes Covington: The Phillies First African American Star

Baseball historians will tell you that in 1957 the Philadelphia Phillies became the last National League team to integrate when infielder John Kennedy, a veteran of the Negro Leagues, pinch ran in a game on April 16. But Kennedy was only with the team for  five games and two at bats when he was sent down to the minors. From 1957 to 1960, several players of color played for the Phillies including Chico Fernandez, Pancho Herrera, Humberto Robinson, Valmy Thomas, Tony Taylor, Tony Gonzalez, and Ruben Gomez, but these players were either Hispanic or in Thomas' case from the Virgin Islands. The first African American player to have a significant role on the Phillies was John Wesley (Wes) Covington. 

When Covington joined the Phillies in a trade with the Kansas City A's for centerfielder Bobby Del Greco on July 2, 1961, he was already a major league player of considerable repute. Covington had played a significant role in the Milwaukee Braves World Series Championship in 1957 and in their pennant winning 1958 season. Not known as a great outfielder, he made two game saving catches in the 1957 World Series. In 1958 he hit .324 with 24 home runs and 74 runs batted in in just 90 games. He received some MVP votes that season. But his offensive production fell off in 1959 and 1960 and injuries further eroded his defensive abilities. After an acrimonious holdout in the spring of 1961, Braves management soured on him. 

In May of 1961, the Braves left Covington exposed to the waiver wire, where he was claimed by the Chicago White Sox. After just one month with the Sox, where he hit .333, he was traded to the  Kansas City A's in an eight player deal. He didn't even last a month in KC when he was traded to the Phillies. Four teams in one season puts Covington on a fairly exclusive list, but his was able to settle down when he got to Philadelphia.

The Phillies he joined were an awful team. Under second year manager Gene Mauch, the rebuilding Phillies would find a way to lose a major league record 23 straight games in July and August. Covington's arrival was greeted by fans as a breath of fresh air. Although in the words of general manager John Quinn, Covington was "no gazelle" in the outfield, his potent bat was most welcome on a team that featured a bunch of generally punchless .250 hitters.

Part of Covington's appeal was his intimidating pose in the batter's box. Coming up to bat, Covington would take his time, scooping some dirt into his hands, adjusting his cap, knocking dirt from his cleats, outlining the batter's box with his bat. He would then set his feet wide apart in the box and lean way back on his back leg, as if a gale force wind was blowing against him. Finally, he would dangle his bat over his shoulder level to the ground like a polo mallet and make a few menacing loops with it in the air. It was quite a performance and his stance was imitated by Little Leaguers throughout the Philadelphia area much to the consternation of their coaches.

However eccentric the stance might be, it was productive. After a slow start, Covington began to rake line drives all over Connie Mack Stadium. On July 21 he was hitting just .227. By August 27, he was hitting .352. and was rapidly becoming a fan favorite. In 15 games against his old mates in Milwaukee, he hit a cool .375. On July 28, at Connie Mack Stadium against the San Francisco Giants, Wes launched a three-run homerun in the first inning off the Giants Bobby Bolin, and followed that up with a solo shot in his next at bat in the third inning. Unfortunately, Covington was pretty much the whole show as the Phillies and Art Mahaffey went down to defeat, 8-5.

Covington had a particular affinity for the high, metal right field fence at Connie Mack and would frequently ping line drives off of it or launch home run shots over it. Fans would come to games early just to see Wes take batting practice.

Covington had five productive seasons with the Phillies slashing .284/.373/.471 and he remained a key contributor to a team that continued to get better and which came so agonizingly close to a pennant in 1964, before they collapsed with a ten game September losing streak that saw them cough up a 61/2 game lead. Covington himself hit just .150 with no home runs or RBIs in those ten games. He made no friends with management after the season when he went around town pointing fingers of blame for the collapse at everyone but himself.

Despite overall good numbers, Covington had a fraught relationship with manager Gene Mauch. Covington bristled under Mauch's platoon system that saw him out of the lineup when the Phillies faced a left-handed pitcher. Never shy about expressing his feelings, Covington talked freely to the press about his frustration. Mauch responded that Covington was prone to both "pop off and pop up." It didn't help that as he got older his outfield defense continued to erode. After the 1965 season, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for pinch-hitter Doug Clemens.

Despite the unhappy ending of his time with the Phillies, Wes Covington was a groundbreaker for the Philadelphia franchise. An established star when he arrived, he delivered consistent offense for a rising team and clubhouse leadership for the younger players. As the first African American to play a significant role on the team, he paved the way for future African American stars like Dick Allen, Dave Cash, Gary Maddox, Jimmy Rollins, and Ryan Howard. On a team with a poor history of race relations, Covington's imposing presence was an important step in the right direction.