Hall of Fame
Outfielder
USF Career Years: 1944
Birthdate: November 20, 1921
Hometown: Berkeley, CA
High School: Sacramento High School
Neill Rawlins Sheridan was born on November 20, 1921 in Sacramento, CA and attended his local Sacramento High School. At age five, Neill started playing baseball with his brother Bill and friends. He ran track in high school, and earned a football scholarship to the University of San Francisco, but decided to turn his focus to baseball. At age 20, he enlisted in the Marine Corps following the attack on Pearl Harbor, but was discharged due to his asthma. He worked at the Employment Department at the Kaiser shipyard in Richmond, CA during the war. Since there was a shortage of players during the war, he joined the San Francisco Seals in 1943, under Lefty O’Doul (Sabr Analyticas Conference).
At 6’ 1”, 195 lbs. he originally played infield but switched to outfielder, and later to pinch hitting. His best season was in 1947, when he hit .286 with 16 home runs and 95 RBIs, which prompted a 1947 trade to the Boston Red Sox. After two games, he was traded back to the Seals in the MLB League for the 1948 season. It was with the Seals that he was given the nickname "Wild Horse," because of his distinctive gait when he ran (Sabr Analyticas Conference). Most of Sheridan's career was spent in the minors, and he played for five teams, including the Seals and the Oakland Oaks. He appeared in 1,446 games and was a mainstay of the post-World War II Pacific Coast League. He is credited with hitting a record length home run of 613.8 feet in 1953 while playing with the Sacramento Solons. According to the Sacramento Bee, a man found the ball in the back seat of his car with the rear window smashed. A parking lot attendant had heard the sound of glass breaking at the time of the home run. A year later, Sheridan ended his baseball career and worked for a Pleasant Hill, CA liquor store, and for an Orinda, CA grocery store.
Photo courtesy of Saint Hope Sacramento High School.
