Childhood and education

Jefferson, who grew up in Co-Op City in the Bronx and played many years in the Co-Op City Little League, graduated from Harry S. Truman High School in 1980, and attended Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida from 1981 to 1983. He later obtained his Bachelor's degree at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York.

Baseball career

He was selected by the New York Mets organization in the first round (20th pick overall) of the free agent draft on June 6, 1983.

After toiling in the minors for three years, Jefferson played in 14 games for the Mets during the last month of the 1986 season before he was sent to the San Diego Padres in the nine-player Kevin McReynolds-Kevin Mitchell deal at the end of the year. Though he became a regular in the Padres outfield in 1987, he clashed with manager Larry Bowa in May and spent much of the first half on the disabled list. Jefferson stole 33 bases but batted just .230 that year, severely hindering his shot at remaining a full-time outfielder with San Diego.

In 1988 Jefferson performed horribly, batting .144 over 111 at bats. At the end of the season he was traded with Jimmy Jones and Lance McCullers to the New York Yankees for Jack Clark and Pat Clements. He logged just 12 at-bats with the Yankees before being shipped to the Orioles for John Habyan in July 1989. For the next year and a half, he played intermittently for the Orioles, Indians and Reds. After just 19 games with the Reds in 1991, Jefferson was released for good.

Jefferson later became a coach for the Pioneer League Butte Copper Kings. When the player's strike threatened the 1995 season, Jefferson became a much-maligned replacement player for his original team, sharing the outfield with fellow ex-Met Herm Winningham.

NYPD career

In 1997, with his baseball career over, Jefferson joined the New York City Police Department. He was on duty during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and worked at Ground Zero after the collapse of the World Trade Center. He suffered health problems as a result of his time at Ground Zero, and retired from the NYPD in 2004.

Stanley Jefferson today

Jefferson currently lives in Co-op City with his wife Christie. He has two grown daughters who live in Virginia.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]