Vida Blue was the son of Vida Blue Sr. and Sallie Blue.
He was born in Mansfield, a small town in northern Louisiana, on July 28, 1949.
What work did Vida Blue Sr. do?
His father worked at a steel mill and his family lived on an unpaved street.
His father was a laborer, and Blue recalled growing up with everything he needed, if not everything he desired.
What work did Sallie Blue do?
There is no information about Sallie Blue’s professional life.
She could have been a house wife.
Vida Blue’s early life and death
Vida Blue remembered Mansfield as a segregated town with a white high school and a black high school, DeSoto High, which she attended.
Blue used to play baseball and football with his friends when he was younger. He was a good athlete who could throw a baseball very hard even when he was young.
When he started high school, there was no baseball team. However, Blue’s talent was recognized by the principal, who formed a school baseball team around him.
Blue’s pitching ability drew the attention of scouts, including Ray Swallow of the Kansas City A’s.
Blue was assigned to Double-A Birmingham for the 1969 season. In 15 Southern League games, he went 10-3 with 112 strikeouts and 52 walks in 104 innings pitched.
Vida Blue died following medical complications stemming from cancer as a result of his drug problems.
Blue died on Saturday, May 6, 2023 at a hospital in San Francisco’s East Bay area. He was 73.
