Jesse Queen

Jesse Queen was already a legend as a teenager in Union County Baseball and local high school sports.

In helping to lead one championship team after another he batted .300 or better for each one of them. With numerous teams Jesse earned the League’s batting championship. His legs, arms, and baseball savvy won as many games as his bat. No one ever recalls Jesse being thrown out at an advancing base. It was no surprise when the Detroit Tigers signed him to a professional baseball contract.

While not a lot of statistics were available for this program two articles did provide impressive numbers. For Jesse’s 1958 season at Idaho Falls, Idaho, in the Class C Pioneer League he earned a .343 batting average. Jesse went to bat 382 times and lashed out 131 safeties, including six home runs, six triples and 19 doubles. He drove in 73 runs and scored 83. This brilliant performance lead Jesse to be named to the League’s All-Star team and selected the “Most Popular Player” on the Idaho Falls squad by the fans.

In 1962, Jesse played for Denver in the American Association and earned a .313 batting average. In the last two weeks of the season Jesse walloped eight homeruns. During the last week he hit 4 homeruns, got nine hits and drove in 11 runs in 21 times at bat averaging a .429 for the week. He also led the league in runs scored with 96 runs scored.

Success and championships always followed Jesse Queen but like many talented minority players he was born too soon. Jesse was a special player and person. We congratulate him as he enters our Hall of Fame.

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