Joseph Vann Durham (July 31, 1931 –
April 28, 2016) was an American professional baseball player and coach. An outfielder, he appeared in Major League Baseball in
93 games for the Baltimore Orioles (1954 and 1957) and St. Louis Cardinals (1959). Durham
attended Shaw University. He threw
and batted right-handed; he was listed as 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m)
tall and 186 pounds (84 kg). Durham began his professional career in
the Negro Leagues with
the Chicago American Giants, then
was signed by Bill Veeck, president of
the St. Louis Browns, prior to the 1953 season. He was in the Browns' farm system when the franchise moved to Baltimore, Maryland,
in 1954. After an outstanding
season in the Double-A Texas League in 1954, he was recalled by the Orioles in
September and in ten games collected nine hits in 44 plate appearances, including his first Major League home run off Al Sima of the Philadelphia Athletics on
September 12. Durham then missed the 1955–1956 seasons performing military
service. He began the 1957 season in the Texas League — but was recalled by
Baltimore in June after batting a torrid .391
over the first 50 games of the season. He then appeared in 77 games for the
Orioles over the rest of the year, starting 40 games as an outfielder, but he
batted only .186 and was sent to the Triple-A Vancouver Mounties for
1958. A solid season there (.285 and 85 runs batted in) resulted in Durham's selection by the
Cardinals in the 1958 Rule 5 draft. He
began 1959 on the
Cardinals' roster, but appeared in only six games, starting one. He went
hitless in five at bats and scored two runs. He was then returned to Vancouver and the Orioles'
system. Apart from 1963, which he spent in the New York Yankees' system, Durham played at the top level of
the Baltimore organization through 1964, then became the team's batting practice pitcher. He moved into the Orioles' front office in 1986, then
became a coach for the Class A Frederick Keys of the Carolina League. All told, he was a
member of the Orioles' organization for over 40 years. Durham died on April 28,
2016 at the Northwest Hospital Hospice Center in Randallstown, Maryland at
the age of 84.