Albie Pearson

Albert Gregory Pearson (September 12, 1934 – February 21, 2023) was an American professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball as a centerfielder. He appeared for the Washington Senators (1958–59), the Baltimore Orioles (1959–60), and the Los Angeles/California Angels (1961–66). Pearson stood 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 140 pounds, and he batted and threw left-handed.

He was named for college football star Albie Booth, though he grew up wanting to play baseball. Pearson briefly attended Mt. San Antonio College but dropped out to sign with the Boston Red Sox after a psychology professor observed that he was more interested in baseball than in his lectures. He spent five years in Boston's minor-league organization without reaching the majors before being traded to the Senators in 1958.

Pearson made Washington's roster out of spring training that season and batted .275, earning both the American League Rookie of the Year Award and the Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award. He struggled at the start of the 1959 season and was traded to Baltimore during the year, moving between the minor leagues and the majors over the course of that season.