Bob Veale

Robert Andrew Veale (October 28, 1935 – January 3, 2025) was an American professional baseball pitcher and coach who played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1962 through 1974 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox. Veale was born in Birmingham, Alabama, where he attended Holy Family High School in the Ensley neighborhood. His father had pitched for the Homestead Grays of the Negro National League. As a boy, Veale worked the concession stand at Birmingham's historic Rickwood Field, and Birmingham Black Barons player-manager Piper Davis made him the team's batboy and let him pitch batting practice regularly. In 1948, Davis allowed the underaged Veale to pitch in a Black Barons game. Veale became one of the top strikeout pitchers in the National League during his tenure with the Pirates. A two-time All-Star, he led the league in strikeouts in 1964. He was a member of the Pirates teams that won three consecutive National League Eastern Division titles between 1970 and 1972 and won the World Series in 1971. Veale finished his career with the Boston Red Sox from 1972 to 1974.