759:. Maye starred in baseball for both Jefferson High and local semi-pro teams. Milwaukee Braves scout Johnny Moore not only saw his potential as a hitter with line drive power but clocked him in the 100-yard dash at under 10-seconds. Moore convinced the Braves to draft and sign him. Arthur Lee Maye later explained, "Baseball was my first love. I could always sing at fifty, but I couldnβt play baseball at fifty." He began his professional baseball career in 1954 with a Milwaukee Braves Pioneer League farm team in Boise, Idaho. At this time he also started his professional recording career. He joined
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label in 1956, they sang their best known record, "Gloria." They also had an important 1956 record on the DIG label titled "This is the Night for Love." Maye said of his cross country stops, "I'd watch all of them, any entertainer when I was in a town. You learn from each other. My stage presence wasn't polished, so I'd go to learn how to get my stage presence from the other top guys who did it for a living". In 1959 he batted .339 with 17 home runs for the Braves top
Louisville farm team and broke into the Major Leagues.
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requisite hours, I was a year behind in music, and I never got a chance to catch up with the music trend that I should have been with. I truly was behind the time, and I acknowledge that. Baseball and singing collided". He also knew that baseball prevented his going on tour to promote his songs. "When you're playing baseball and singing it's a very tough career for both of those, because you have to be at both places at the same time of the year, and you can't do that".
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In a 13-year Major League
Baseball career Maye played for the Milwaukee Braves, Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, and the Chicago White Sox. From 1961 to 1966, and again in 1969, he started in more than half of his team's games, with a high of 133 games started in 1964. Maye
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Lee Maye tried for ten years after his playing career to find a job in organized baseball. He failed, as few non-playing baseball jobs existed for blacks at the time. His outspoken views on racism in baseball angered its owners. And Maye's artistic temperament sometimes clashed with teammates and
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sold over 500,000 copies. A 1965 ankle injury hurt his season and career. He was traded to the
Houston Astros during the 1965 season. Playing his 1966 home games in the Astrodome, he hit .288 with 9 home runs. Huey Meax managed his music career during this time. Meaux got him studio time with
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Maye played for the Braves minor league teams in Boise, Eau Claire, Yakima, Evansville, Jacksonville, Wichita, Austin, and
Louisville. He also formed the musical group The Crowns. The Crowns had back to back LA area hits on the Modern label with "Truly" and "Love Me Always." On the Specialty
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and recorded "The Fine One" b/w "Please Please Baby" as the "5" Hearts on the Flair label (the company put the "5" in quotes as only three sang on the record). They next released "Sweet Thing b/w "Rock Bottom" under the name "Rams." Maye also sang the "di-di-di's" behind
Richard Berry on the
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in 1965 and soon put up bigger home run and RBI numbers. Only one record credits his dual career. A 1959 release "Will You Be Mine" on CASH had Lee Maye of the
Milwaukee Braves on the label. Playing baseball full-time created a time lag problem. Maye said, "When I was playing baseball all the
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In the mid-1980s, Maye returned to the recording studio with Dave Antrel and his Antrel
Records, recording "Moonlight" b/w "Happy and In Love." "Moonlight" captured the later, early 1960s New York street corner sound. Arthur Lee Maye was very proud of "Moonlight." "Moonlight" made several
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Maye hit over .300 in his first two seasons of Major League
Baseball. A back injury and respiratory illness slowed his progress in 1961 and 1962. In 1964, Maye hit .304, scored 96 runs, drove in 74 runs, and led the National League in doubles with 44; meanwhile, his solo album
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JAMIE and regular bookings at popular
Houston nightclubs. The Astros traded him to Cleveland before the 1967 season. In 1968, the year of the pitcher, Maye hit .281. Maye was traded to the Washington Senators during the 1969 season. He had personality issues with Manager
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career was during baseball's second deadball era. Lee Maye said, "The greatest thrill is not getting to the major leagues. It's staying there. I played 13 seasons when they had only 16 teams and I think that was a great accomplishment for me."
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Maye sang in a tenor and falsetto. Music journalist and critic Phil
Milstein called his singing "deft" and "authoritative.". Maye recorded on over a dozen labels to include Modern, Tower, Specialty, ABC-Paramount, and Buddah, and opened a
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compilation CDs, played a role in the novel '64 Intruder, and gets airplay on doo-wop radio programs. Maye had a European tour planned when he became stricken with liver cancer.
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Arthur Lee Maye's baseball and music career often conflicted. He sang under the name Arthur Lee Maye but played baseball under Lee Maye. Another
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but respected his knowledge and hit .290. He played his final year in 1971 with the White Sox, hitting .205. All of his
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Arthur Lee Maye's dual career began at Los Angeles' Jefferson High School. Here he sang with
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1141:"The Doo-Wop Society of Southern California: Arthur Lee Maye (1934-2002)"
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personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay
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singer. He was the lead singer of the Los Angelesβbased
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June 29, 1971, for the Chicago White Sox
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June 17, 1959, for the Milwaukee Braves
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player. He played eleven seasons in the majors as an
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List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
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1292:Deaths from pancreatic cancer in California
772:Minor League Baseball career and the Crowns
73:Learn how and when to remove these messages
1342:Louisville Colonels (minor league) players
1337:Jefferson High School (Los Angeles) alumni
1247:21st-century African-American sportspeople
1242:20th-century African-American sportspeople
659:(September 27, 1964) and three singles, a
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299:Learn how and when to remove this message
281:Learn how and when to remove this message
179:Learn how and when to remove this message
126:Learn how and when to remove this message
1171:"The Rare Double-play of Arthur Lee May"
1362:Washington Senators (1961β1971) players
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27:American baseball player (1934β2002)
690:Maye's career totals include 1,288
1277:Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery
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572:Maye was also well known as a
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602:during his 13-season career.
812:(Lee Andrew May) broke into
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1207:Baseball Reference (Minors)
804:Baseball and music conflict
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647:a pair of 5-hit games...4
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830:until his retirement.
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372:Riverside, California
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1218:at Baseball Almanac
788:Halfway Out of Love
621:. He also led the
563:Washington Senators
506:Washington Senators
407:Last MLB appearance
355:Tuscaloosa, Alabama
1307:The Flairs members
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1013:on October 5, 2012
902:on October 5, 2012
574:rhythm & blues
108:encyclopedic style
95:is written like a
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964:on April 15, 2013
896:"Arthur Lee Maye"
855:and is buried at
853:pancreatic cancer
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671:(August 11, 1966)
567:Chicago White Sox
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900:the original
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793:Ted Williams
787:
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757:the Coasters
753:the Penguins
749:the Platters
745:Jesse Belvin
742:
725:Jerry Butler
717:
692:games played
689:
678:, with four
669:Chicago Cubs
642:Chicago Cubs
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611:games played
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600:pinch-hitter
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367:(2002-07-17)
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271:January 2020
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213:Please help
208:verification
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1237:2002 deaths
1232:1934 births
906:February 9,
766:Louie Louie
156:may not be
1226:Categories
1211:Retrosheet
1209:, or
1205:, or
1150:January 9,
1105:January 9,
1017:January 7,
879:References
764:original "
547:outfielder
348:1934-12-11
335:Outfielder
241:newspapers
230:"Lee Maye"
59:improve it
710:of .274.
700:home runs
638:home runs
397:MLB debut
65:talk page
1216:Lee Maye
867:See also
694:, 1,109
667:vs. the
665:home run
663:, and a
655:vs. the
640:vs. the
625:with 44
593:Baseball
549:for the
433:Home run
318:Lee Maye
158:reliable
810:Lee May
676:doubles
653:doubles
649:singles
627:doubles
578:doo-wop
382:Batted:
255:scholar
102:Please
32:Lee May
929:"Maye"
828:Amtrak
755:, and
731:, and
702:, 419
661:double
651:and a
636:hit 2
580:group
388:Threw:
374:, U.S.
357:, U.S.
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851:, of
843:Death
714:Music
698:, 94
613:, 74
456:Teams
390:Right
363:Died:
343:Born:
262:JSTOR
248:books
1152:2020
1107:2020
1019:2014
970:2009
908:2014
696:hits
680:runs
528:1971
524:1970
514:1970
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