Denny Sothern

Dennis Elwood "Denny" Sothern, (birth name Southern) (January 20, 1904 in Washington, D.C. – December 7, 1977 in Durham, North Carolina) was a major league baseball player and a minor league manager.

While his birth name was actually Southern, he dropped the "u" adopting the name of Sothern. He did this when he was 15 or 16 years old so that he could get into the Marines to fight in World War I, which somehow enabled him to lie about his age (the earliest you could serve was 18).

Sothern was an outfielder during five seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Brooklyn Robins between 1926 and 1931. In 357 games, he compiled a .280 batting average with 19 HRs and 115 RBI. In the field, Sothern was used as an outfielder.

Sothern saw some time as a minor league manager following his major league career including a stint as the skipper of the Kinston Eagles of the Coastal Plain League and the New Bern Bears.

Sothern was considered to be one of the fastest outfielders during his time. He was on his way to being a star professional baseball player with a storied career but it abruptly ended.

Sothern was once the cause of a brawl in the outfield stands among fans. He was being heckled by the home crowd and spit tobacco juice on one of the fans. This started a brawl in the stands but was able to escape actually getting involved in the melee.

He was married multiple times fathering several children but the number is not known.

He died in New Bern, North Carolina in the Veterans Hospital. It is unknown where he is buried.

Sources

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Gaunt, Robert (1997). We Would Have Played Forever: The Story of the Coastal Plain Baseball League. Baseball America, Inc. ISBN 0-945164-02-5.