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- Alvin O'Neal McBean is a retired professional baseball player who played 10 seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. Alvin O'Neal McBean is one of the first Virgin Islanders to enter professional base ball. His exceptional career began through a mere coincidence when, at age 19, he was a newspaper photographer assigned to cover a Pirates tryout camp in the Virgin Islands. The scout leader invited McBean to "make a few throws. " Impressed with his performance, Howie Haak signed him to training camp. McBean subsequently spent eight seasons serving as a starter pitcher or a reliever for the Pittsburgh Pirates. His best years as described in a 1985 interview between the Pittsburgh Press and McBean are reportedly 1963 (13 - 3, 11 saves) and 1964 (8 - 3, 22 saves, 1.91 earned run). He once pitched in 60 consecutive games without a loss going 11 - 0 with 17 saves. The paper summarizes his career record as 67 - 50, 63 saves, 3.13 ERA. However, similar to most blacks in baseball during the 1960s, he was sent to several teams not of his choosing. In 1968, as a result of the extension draft, he was reassigned to the San Diego Padres. By 1969 he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and in 1970 back to the Pirates for one month. He ended his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, Class AAA affiliate in Eugene, Oregon. Distinguishing himself far above many as a relief pitcher in the National League, he was awarded the Sporting News Fireman of the Year Award in 1964. In June 1965, the Sixth Legislature of the Virgin Islands passed Resolution 329 which expressed the pride of the people of the Virgin Islands in Alvin McBean on becoming the first Virgin Islander to receive the Sporting News Fireman Award. The resolution further acknowledged his other achievements and the inspirational model he offered to the Virgin Islanders, especially the youth. A second honor extended to McBean was the establishment of the Alvin McBean Recreational Center Complex in Estate Tutu, one of the island's most populated sections. Completed in 1975, it was dedicated informal ceremonies by former Governor Melvin H. Evans who described the center as the most innovative complex of its type. After he retired from professional baseball in 1971, McBean returned to the Virgin Islands and was immediately employed in the Department of Conservation and Cultural Affairs as Baseball Specialist. He was later named director of Recreation and Sports and also served as Acting Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Cultural Affairs for one and one half years. Currently chief of the Bureau of Recreation and Sports in the Department of Housing, Parks, and Recreation, McBean has oversightresponsi bilities for the department's activities, its employees, and all its centers, including those on St. John. Another major interest in McBean's life is his love for flowers. This childhood affection intensified as he traveled outside the Virgin Islands and observed not only the beautiful imagery created by flowers but the commercial value of flowers. In 1985, he established McBean Landscaping, Inc. , in which he offers such services as garden planning, layout, consulting, interior plant sale and maintenance, landscaping contracts, and submatic irrigation systems. He has designed the landscape of several new enterprises on St. Thomas. He also experiments with simple wild flowers like sage and produces beautiful variations of the original. Born on St. Thomas on May 15, 1938, he is a son of O'Neal McBean and Inger Emanuel McBean Raymond. A product of the local educational system, he is a 1957 graduate of Charlotte Amalie High School. He is married to the former Olga Santos and they are the parents of one daughter, Sarina McBean Swan.
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