J.L. “Skeeter” Webb of Meridian played at Ole Miss from 1928-31. But it was in professional baseball that he left his lasting legacy.
Webb played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1932, for the Cleveland Indians from 1938-39, for the Chicago White Sox from 1940-44, for the Detroit Tigers from 1945-47, and for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1948.
A slick- fielding shortstop, Webb recorded the last out for the 1945 World Series champion Detroit Tigers. Webb scored five runs in the World Series. Webb grew up in Meridian with fellow Mississippi Sports Hall of Famer and Major Leaguer Eric McNair.
Webb died in 1986 at age 76.
Courtesy of Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum director Rick Cleveland, author of Mississippi’s Greatest Athletes. Cleveland can be reached at rcleveland@msfame.com.
