Jerry Summers
One of McCallie School’s all-time athletic greats was also a roommate of Hall of Fame member of the New York Yankees, Mickey Mantle.
Sammy Joyce was also the original emcee for the musical group “Found Sam and the Dismembered Tennesseans” which evolved into the legendary “Dismembered Tennesseans” under the leadership of the late Frank McDonald and the late Fletcher Bright.
Other members of the group were Lorrie Runge, Frank McDonald, Ansley Moses, John Baker and Bob Dickerson.
Fletcher Bright quipped about Sammy, “He was a great guy but he couldn’t sing a lick.”
When Sammy graduated from McCallie he played two seasons in minor league baseball and then served in the Air Force and was replaced as emcee by Frank McDonald of the Chattanooga News Free Press family.
Arnold “Sammy” Joyce was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball at McCallie and was the recipient of the Stephen Athletic Medal as a junior and honoree of the Billy Wemyss Trophy for the Best Spirit in Athletics his senior year.
He signed a minor league baseball contract with the New York Yankees in 1948 and in 1949 was assigned to pitch for the Independence Yankees in the Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League, a Class D minor league.
Mickey Mantle was on the team as a 20-year-old outfielder. Although Sammy only played in 32 games and Mickey in 37, they developed a lifetime friendship. They allegedly roomed together during that short season and found time to have a good time as part of a fun-loving group of players at Independence, Kansas.
Bus trips with water pistol duels were a common occurrence that included watermelon fights in the hotels they stayed in while on the road.
Innocent walkers outside the hotel would often be deluged with plastic bags filled with water from above.
Sammy developed a heart condition and in 1991 a dinner was held in his honor at the Town and Country Restaurant by a group of friends. Mickey Mantle did not forget his former teammate and was in attendance
In attendance with Mickey was another Hall of Fame member Enos “Country” Slaughter as well as Irv Noren of the Washington Senators, and another minor league teammate, Bob Wiesler.
Sammy continued to be in baseball after his playing career was over. He was a scout for the Chicago Cubs and was responsible for the club signing Meigs County star athlete Ronnie Campbell as a third baseman. Unfortunately, Ronnie wound up behind future Hall of Fame member Ron Santo and never got to play beyond Triple A ball, but did play at that level for seven seasons, although he did have a brief appearance with the Cubs.
After Sammy and his wife, Teresa, got married and had a son, Sammy, he remained active in coaching young baseball players in youth leagues including the Dizzy Dean League for 13-14 year olds. His teams won many championships and his efforts to help youngsters were not stopped by heart attacks or strokes.
Around 1963 he formed a baseball team, “Thompson Twins”, to play in the amateur Bi-state League and built a team mixed with former minor league players, college players and other skilled amateur players. The roster included former Memphis Chicks catcher Arnold Davis, former San Francisco Grants farm team member Finley Bandy from Dayton, and former Chattanooga Lookouts outfielder Dan Porter.
Recent City High graduate Bill Eiselstein started at shortstop but was signed by the Atlanta Braves to play minor league baseball and he left the team to play two seasons with their farm club.
After Sammy’s death in 1997, Fletcher Bright and a group of his friends and McCallie School established a substantial scholarship in his name to help a deserving young athlete who needs financial assistance to attend the prestigious school next to Missionary Ridge.
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Jerry Summers
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Mickey Mantle