Negro League Players Birthdates taken from their Wikipedia entry:
January
John Beckwith (January 7, 1900 – January 4, 1956) was an American infielder in baseball's Negro Leagues.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he ranked among the Negro Leagues' career leaders in batting average, home runs, RBI and slugging percentage (.587).
A terrific hitter, the right-handed Beckwith was a great player and battled fellow Negro League third baseman Jud Wilson for supremacy at that position during the 1920s. Quite possibly, he may have also been better all-around than even Hall of Famer Pie Traynor during this same period, though it's hard to say definitively.
For the years he didn't play third, he was also an All-Star shortstop, though much of his value and playing time occurred at the "hot corner."
Defensively, it appears that he was steady with the glove based on anecdotal evidence, though not outstanding.
Beckwith died in New York City, three days before his 56th birthday.
Clarence Reginald "Fats" Jenkins (January 10, 1898 - December 6, 1968) was an African American left fielder in the Negro Leagues from 1920 through 1940. He ended his career around seven years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.
Jenkins was born in New York City. His best year, and one of his most well-documented, came with the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants in 1929; he batted .358 that season.
Chester Arthur "Chet" Brewer (January 14, 1907 - March 26, 1990) was an American right-handed pitcher in baseball's Negro Leagues. Born in Leavenworth, Kansas, he played for the Kansas City Monarchs, and from 1957 to 1974 he scouted for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Brewer toiled on the mounds of black baseball for twenty-four years with an assortment of teams throughout the world, including China, Japan, the Philippines, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Santo Domingo, and in forty-four of the forty-eight continental United States. While with the Kansas City Monarchs, he was a part of legendary starting rotations including Satchel Paige and Bullet Rogan. Brewer had a lively fastball and a devastating overhand "drop ball," which was especially tough on left-handed hitters. He also threw a scuffed baseball, known as an "emery ball" (learned from Emory Osborne and Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe.[1]) when such practice was legal.[2]
Louis Santop Loftin (January 17, 1890 - January 22, 1942) was an American catcher in baseball's Negro Leagues, who became one of black baseball's earliest stars. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Santop was born in Tyler, Texas. An amazing .406 lifetime hitter, Santop would often hit long home runs. In 1911, he hit an astonishing .470 and then, three years later, hit .455 for the Lincoln Stars. At this time, he was catching the two players considered the hardest throwing pitchers in the league: Smokey Joe Williams and "Cannonball" Dick Redding.
After military service in the U.S. Navy in World War I, Santop went on to have many more powerful years. After the war, he was the league's biggest drawing card and received $500 a month, one of the highest salaries paid, playing for the Hilldale Daisies.
Samuel Harding Hairston (January 20, 1920 - October 31, 1997) is a former Negro League baseball and Major League Baseball player. He played for the Birmingham Black Barons and the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues and played part of one season (1951) with the Chicago White Sox as a catcher. He is buried in Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery. Hairston comes from the biggest major league baseball family, as the father of MLB players Jerry Hairston, Sr. and Johnny Hairston, and the grandfather of Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Scott Hairston. The five Hairstons that have played in the majors set a record. The two other three-generation MLB families have four members each: the Boone family (Ray, Bob, Bret and Aaron) and the Bell family (Gus, Buddy, David, and Mike).
Charles Isham Taylor (January 20, 1875 - February 23, 1922) was an American second baseman, manager and executive in Negro league baseball. Born in Anderson, South Carolina, he was the oldest among four sons of a Methodist minister - including Candy Jim, Ben and Johnny - who made a remarkable impact on black baseball.
Samuel Jethroe, nicknamed "The Jet" (January 20, 1918 - June 18, 2001), was an American center fielder in Negro League and Major League Baseball. With the Cincinnati & Cleveland Buckeyes he won a pair of batting titles, hit .340 over seven seasons from 1942 to 1948, and helped the team to two pennants and the 1945 Negro League World Series title. He was named the National League's Rookie of the Year in 1950 with the Boston Braves, and led the NL in stolen bases in his first two seasons.
Fred Thomas "Pop" "Pops" "Big" Long (January 22, 1896 - March 23, 1966) was an African American professional baseball player in the Negro Leagues and a legendary college football coach.
Clarence Williams (born January 27, 1868 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - unknown) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play catcher and infielder and played from 1885 to 1912.
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was the first African American Major League Baseball (MLB) player of the modern era.[1] Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. As the first black man to openly play in the major leagues since the 1880s, he was instrumental in bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated African-Americans to the Negro leagues for six decades.[2] The example of his character and unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation, which then marked many other aspects of American life, and contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement.[3][4]
Apart from his cultural impact, Robinson had an exceptional baseball career. Over ten seasons, he played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Championship. He was selected for six consecutive All-Star Games from 1949 to 1954,[5] was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949 – the first black player so honored.[6] Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. In 1997, Major League Baseball retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams.
Robinson was also known for his pursuits outside the baseball diamond. He was the first African-American television analyst in Major League Baseball, and the first African-American vice-president of a major American corporation. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank, an African-American-owned/controlled financial institution based in Harlem, New York. In recognition of his achievements on and off the field, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
Ernest "Ernie" Banks (born January 31, 1931 in Dallas, Texas) is an American former Major League baseball player who played his entire career with the Chicago Cubs (1953–1971). Banks is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. His nickname is Mr. Cub.[1] He currently lives in the Los Angeles area.
Banks signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League in 1950 and broke into the Major Leagues in 1953 with the Chicago Cubs as their first black player. He played for the Cubs his entire career, starting at shortstop and moving to first base in 1962.
James Allen "Candy Jim" Taylor (February 1, 1884 – April 3, 1948) was an American third baseman and manager in Negro league baseball.
Born in Anderson, South Carolina, Taylor was one of four brothers who played in the Negro Leagues, along with Ben, C. I. and "Steel Arm" Johnny. He made his professional debut at the age of 19 and spent his entire adult life in the game of baseball, playing primarily at third base. In 1916, he helped the Indianapolis ABC's to win the Black World Championship.
A disciplinarian and a master strategist, as manager Taylor led the St. Louis Stars to their first championship in 1928. The Great Depression took its toll on the economics of the game, and while managing the 1933 Richmond All-Stars, Taylor was forced to sell the team bus, and later had to send the players home.
In 1943 Taylor managed the Homestead Grays to their first Negro League World Series title, repeating their success again the following year.
Candy Jim Taylor died at age 64 in Chicago, Illinois and was interred in the Burr Oak Cemetery, Alsip, Illinois.
Wabishaw Spencer Wiley (born February 1, 1892 in Muskogee, Oklahoma - unknown in Essex County, Virginia) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play catcher and played from 1910 to 1924.
William Holland (born February 2, 1901 in Indianapolis, Indiana - unknown in New York, New York) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play pitcher and played from 1920 to 1941.
Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron (born February 5, 1934), is a retired American baseball player whose Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned from 1954 through 1976. Aaron is widely considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. In 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked Hank Aaron 5th on their list of "Greatest Baseball Players." After playing with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League and in the minor leagues, Aaron started his major league career in 1954. (He is the last Negro league baseball player to have played in the major leagues.)[1] He played 21 seasons with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves in the National League, and his last two years (1975–76) with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League. His most notable achievement was setting the MLB record for most career home runs. During his professional career, Aaron performed at a consistently high level for an extended period of time. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is the only player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times.[2] He is one of only four players to have at least seventeen seasons with 250 or more hits.[3] Aaron made the All-Star team every year from 1955 until 1975[4] and won three Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. In 1957, he won the National League Most Valuable Player Award, while that same year, the Braves won the World Series, his one World Series victory during his career.
Joseph Clifford "Rabbit" Caffie (born February 14, 1931 in Ramer, Alabama) was a baseball player for the Cleveland Indians. He is recorded as weighing 180 pounds, batting left-handed and throwing right-handed. He played 44 Major league games from September 13, 1956 to September 28, 1957.[1] He had previously played for the Cleveland Buckeyes in the Negro leagues.[2]
Frank Duncan (born February 14, 1901 in Kansas City, Missouri - December 4, 1973 in Kansas City, Missouri) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play catcher, infielder, and outfielder and played from 1920 to 1939, them moved into management.
Duncan played for several teams but is most closely associated with his home town team the Kansas City Monarchs who he played for from 1921 to 1934 and managed from 1942 to 1948. [1]
Oscar Estrada (February 15, 1904 - January 2, 1978) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who appeared in one game for the St. Louis Browns in 1929. The 25-year-old left-hander stood 5'8" and weighed 160 lbs.
On April 21, 1929, Estrada came in to pitch the top of the 9th inning in a home game against the Detroit Tigers at Sportsman's Park. He pitched a scoreless inning, although he allowed a hit and a walk, but the Browns lost 16-9. His lifetime ERA stands at 0.00.
Estrada played in 1924 and 1925 for the integrated Cuban Stars (East) in the Eastern Colored League but most of his baseball career was in Cuba (Riley, 268).
He died in his hometown of Havana, Cuba at the age of 73.
Francisco Coimbre (February 17, 1909 – November 4, 1989), more commonly known as Pancho Coimbre, was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player. Coimbre traveled to New York City, after completing his first professional season in Puerto Rico, where he joined the Porto Rico Stars baseball team of the Negro Leagues.
John Wesley Donaldson (February 20, 1892 – April 12, 1970) was an American baseball pitcher in Negro league baseball. He was born in Glasgow, Missouri.
Researchers have documented much of his career. Box scores reveal 235 wins and 84 losses and a winning percentage of .737. He also notched 3,832 strikeouts, an ERA of 1.37 and 86 shutouts against all levels of competition. He completed 296 of 322 starts (92%), had 22 one-hitters, six no-hitters and a perfect game. He also had a 30 strikeout game, 26 games with more than 20 strikeouts and a total of 166 double digit strikeout games. Donaldson could also hit, batting .334 in over 1,800 at bats.
William Walker Cash (born February 21, 1919 in Round Oak, Georgia) is a retired baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play catcher, infielder, and outfielder and played from 1943 to 1950.
Octavius Valentine Catto (22 February 1839 – 10 October 1871) was an African American educator, intellectual, civil rights activist. He was also known for being a cricket and baseball player in 19th-century Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Elston Gene Howard (February 23, 1929 – December 14, 1980) was an American catcher, left fielder and coach in Negro League and Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the New York Yankees. The first African American player on the Yankees roster, he was named the American League's Most Valuable Player for the 1963 pennant winners after finishing third in the league in slugging average and fifth in home runs, becoming the first black player in AL history to win the honor. He won Gold Glove Awards in 1963 and 1964, in the latter season setting AL records for putouts and total chances in a season. His lifetime fielding percentage of .993 was a major league record from 1967 to 1973, and he retired among the AL career leaders in putouts (7th, 6,447) and total chances (9th, 6,977). One of the most regular World Series participants in history, he appeared in ten fall classics and ranks among Series career leaders in several categories. His lifetime slugging average of .427 ranked fourth among AL catchers at the time of his retirement.
Raymond Brown (February 23, 1908 - February 8, 1965) was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro league baseball, almost exclusively for the Homestead Grays. Brown was most notable for many pitching accomplishments. While he was considered a very good pinch hitter and a solid bat, his arm earned him high praise. In February 2006, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin (born February 25, 1919 in Haleburg, Alabama) is a former left fielder and right-handed batter in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball who played with the Newark Eagles (1938-42, 46-48), New York Giants (1949-55) and Chicago Cubs (1956).
Hilton Lee Smith (February 27, 1907[1] - November 18, 1983) was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro league baseball. In 2001 he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Born in Sour Lake, Texas, Smith began his professional career in black baseball's equivalent of the minor leagues with the Austin Black Senators in Austin, Texas. His big league debut was with the Monroe Monarchs of Monroe, Louisiana in 1932.
From 1935 to 1936, Smith pitched for the Bismarck semi-professional team organized by Neil Churchill. In 1935 his teammates included Satchel Paige, Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, Quincy Trouppe, Barney Morris, and Chet Brewer. In August, the team won the national semipro championship in Wichita, Kansas. In 1936, Paige, Radcliffe, and Brewer departed and Smith became the ace of the Bismarck team. They returned to the national championship, where Smith won four games, but Bismarck failed to repeat as champions.[2]
In late 1936 Smith signed with the Kansas City Monarchs. From 1937 until his retirement in 1948 Smith was a star pitcher on the Monarchs. He possessed an outstanding curveball, but he was overshadowed by his more flamboyant teammate Satchel Paige. Often Paige would pitch the first three innings of a game, leaving Smith to pitch the remaining six. Also, unlike Paige, Smith was a very good hitter.
Ernest Judson Wilson (February 28, 1894 - June 24, 1963), nicknamed "Boojum," was an American third baseman, first baseman, and manager in Negro league baseball. Born in Remington, Virginia, he served in World War I, and during his career played primarily for the Baltimore Black Sox (1922-30), Homestead Grays (1931-32, 1940-45), and Philadelphia Stars (1933-39). One of the Negro Leagues' most powerful hitters, his career batting average of .351 ranks him among the top five players. He also enjoyed remarkable success in the Cuban Winter League in the 1920s. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Wilson got his nickname "Boojum" because that was the noise his line drives made when they hit the outfield walls. Pitcher Satchel Paige claimed that Wilson and Chino Smith were the two toughest outs he ever faced (Wilson hit .375 against Paige). Catcher Josh Gibson believed that Wilson was a better hitter than he was.
Wilson died at age 69 in Washington, D.C. and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Carlos Manuel Santiago (March 2, 1926 - December 21, 2008) was an infielder in Puerto Rico and the Negro Leagues, and a long-time scout and general manager.
Santiago was selected in 1944 to play for the Puerto Rico All-Star team in the Caribbean World Series, played that season in Caracas, Venezuela. When he returned from Caracas, he signed a professional contract with the Mayaguez Indians for the 1944-45 season. Following the 1945 season, Santiago traveled to New York on a barnstorming trip with other Puerto Rican All-Stars. He was scouted by Negro League veteran John Beckwith who signed him to play for the Atlanta Black Crackers.
Midway through the 1945 season, Santiago left the Black Crackers and signed with the New York Cubans of the Negro National League. He played second base and shortstop for the Cubans in 1945 and 1946.
José Acosta (March 4, 1891 in Havana, Cuba - November 16, 1977) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played three seasons for the Chicago White Sox and Washington Senators. Before joining the white minor leagues he played the 1915 season in "Negro baseball" as a member of the integrated Long Branch Cubans
Walter "Rev" Cannady (born March 6, 1904 in Lake City, Florida - unknown) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play infielder and pitcher and played from 1921 to 1945.
Lyman Wesley Bostock, Sr. (11 March 1918–24 June 2005) was an American baseball player who played first base for several Negro League teams from 1938–1954. He batted and threw left-handed. [1]
Bostock played for the Brooklyn Royal Giants, Birmingham Black Barons, Chicago American Giants, Jackie Robinson All-Stars, Winnipeg Buffaloes, and Carman Cardinals. He played in the 1941 East-West All-Star Game while with Birmingham.
Like many Negro Leaguers, Bostock wanted to play in Major League Baseball, but never got the chance. However, his son, Lyman Bostock, Jr., played for the Minnesota Twins and California Angels from 1975 until his untimely death during the 1978 season.
James Buster Clarkson (March 13, 1915-January 18, 1989), better known as Buster or Bus Clarkson, was a baseball player who played briefly in the major leagues and had a long career in the Negro leagues, the minor leagues, and the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League.[1] He is also known as Buzz.
Alejandro Oms (March 13, 1895 - November 5, 1946) was a Cuban center fielder in Negro league baseball and Latin American baseball, most notably with the Cuban Stars (East). Born in Santa Clara, Las Villas, he died at age 51 in Havana.
Bud Fowler (March 16, 1858 - February 26, 1913), born John W. Jackson, was a baseball player and baseball club organizer, the first known African-American professional player. He played more seasons and more games in Organized Baseball than any black man until Jackie Robinson broke the color line in 1946 and played his 11th season in 1956.
Charley Frank Pride (born March 18, 1938) is an American country music singer and baseball player.
Though he also loved music, one of Pride's life-long dreams was to become a professional baseball player. In 1952, he pitched for the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League. He pitched well, and, in 1953, he signed a contract with the Boise Yankees, the Class C farm team of the New York Yankees. During that season, an injury caused him to lose the "mustard" on his fastball, and he was sent to the Yankees' Class D team in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Later that season, while in the Negro Leagues with the Louisville Clippers, he and another player (Jesse Mitchell), were traded to the Birmingham Black Barons for a team bus. "Jesse and I may have the distinction of being the only players in history to be traded for a used motor vehicle," Pride mused in his 1994 autobiography.[3]
He pitched for several other minor league teams, his hopes of making it to the big leagues still alive. Pride appeared to be advancing to a career in baseball, but the U.S. Army derailed this. After serving two years in the military, he tried to return to baseball.[4] Though hindered by an injury to his throwing arm, Pride briefly played for the Missoula Timberjacks of the Pioneer League (a farm club of the Cincinnati Reds) in 1960, and had tryouts with the California Angels (1961) and the New York Mets (1962) organizations, but was not picked up by either team. When it became apparent that he was not destined for greatness on the baseball diamond, Pride pursued a music career.[4]
José de la Caridad Méndez (March 19, 1887 – October 31, 1928) was a Cuban right-handed pitcher and manager in baseball's Negro Leagues. Born in Cárdenas, Matanzas, he died at age 41 in Havana. Known in Cuba as El Diamante Negro (the "Black Diamond"), he became a legend in his homeland. He was one of the first group of players elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. He was elected to the U.S. National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
George "Mule" Suttles (March 31, 1900 - July 9, 1966 in Newark, New Jersey) was an American first baseman and outfielder in Negro league baseball, most prominently with the Birmingham Black Barons, St. Louis Stars and Newark Eagles. Suttles was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Born in Blocton, Alabama, Suttles played one game for the New York Bacharach Giants in 1921, and broke into the Negro National League in 1923 with the Birmingham Black Barons. Suttles was renowned for hitting for power as well as batting average. In five years with the Stars (1926-30), he led the league in home runs twice and in doubles, triples, and batting average once each.
In five East-West All-Star Games, he batted .412 with an .883 slugging percentage. He also hit the first ever home run in the history of the East-West game.
In 26 documented exhibition games against white competition, Suttles hit .374 with five home runs. He hit .327 with 133 home runs in Negro League competition, the latter number second on the all-time list in Negro League play, behind only Turkey Stearnes.
Tales are plentiful about Suttles, who stood 6' 6", weighed 250 pounds, and used a 50-ounce bat, including several 500+ foot homers; a game against the Memphis Red Sox in which he blasted three homers in a single inning, and a home run at Havana, Cuba's Tropicana Park that flew over a 60-foot (18 m) high center field fence and landed in the ocean.
Henry Lloyd McHenry (April 3, 1910 - February 9, 1981) was an American right-handed pitcher and outfielder in Negro league baseball from 1930 to 1951.
He was nicknamed "El Chato" ("Cream"). During his career he played for the Kansas City Monarchs, New York Harlem Stars, Newark Browns, Pennsylvania Red Caps of New York, New York Black Yankees, Philadelphia Stars and Indianapolis Clowns. He also played baseball in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and other countries in Central and South America. [1] He was born in Houston, Texas.
He is listed 8th on the pitching leader board for wins above team with 16.07841, just under Satchel Paige with 17.75274. [2] He had a 69-50 career record.
Joseph Williams (April 6, 1886 – February 25, 1951), nicknamed "Cyclone Joe" or "Smokey Joe", was an American right-handed pitcher in the Negro Leagues. He is widely recognized as one of the game's greatest pitchers, even though he never played a game in the major leagues.
Williams was born in Seguin, Texas; one of his parents was African American and the other was a Comanche Indian. He grew up to become an outstanding baseball pitcher, but as his path to the major leagues was barred by the color line; Williams spent his entire 27-year career (1905-32) pitching in the Negro Leagues, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
He entered professional baseball in 1905 with the San Antonio Black Bronchos, and was an immediate star, posting records of 28-4, 15-9, 20-8, 20-2 and 32-8. After that, the Chicago Leland Giants, a team higher in the pecking order of black baseball, acquired him. In 1910, the Giants owner Frank Leland pronounced him the best pitcher in baseball, in any league.
In 1911, Williams joined the Lincoln Giants of New York, helping that club become one of the premier African-American teams of the era. When manager John Henry Lloyd departed in 1914, Williams took over as playing manager, a post he held through the 1923 season. After the Lincolns finished an ignominious fifth (out of six teams) in the Eastern Colored League's inaugural season, Williams was released in the spring of 1924. He joined the Brooklyn Royal Giants for a season, then signed with the independent Homestead Grays, where, except for a brief turn with the Detroit Wolves in 1932, he spent the rest of his career in top-level black baseball. Records are sketchy, but in 1914, Williams was credited with winning a total of 41 games against just three losses. In 1929, playing for the Grays in the American Negro League at the age of 43, Williams won 12 games and lost seven.
Isaac (Ike) Brown (April 13, 1942 - May 17, 2001) was an infielder/outfielder in the Negro Leagues and a utilityman in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers from 1969 through 1974. He batted and threw right-handed.
Richard Redding (April 14, 1890 – October 31, 1948), nicknamed "Cannonball", was an American pitcher, outfielder and manager in baseball's Negro Leagues, regarded as perhaps the fastest pitcher in the history of black baseball (which makes the origin of his name no mystery). In his career, he played for the Philadelphia Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, Lincoln Stars, Indianapolis ABC's, Chicago American Giants, Brooklyn Royal Giants, and Bacharach Giants.[1]
Johnny Washington (born April 20, 1930) played for the Chicago American Giants and the Houston Eagles in baseball's Negro League.
Washington was born in Chicago and attended that city's Morgan Park High School, graduating in 1949.
In 1951 Washington joined the U.S. Marines, serving in Korea. He played on the Marine's national championship baseball team in 1952.
Washington received two Purple Hearts and a Silver Star. Doctors advised him to abandon baseball because of injuries he received during military service. He continued to play in minor leagues until 1959 and in the Chicago and Midwest League until 1963.
He was present at the 111th Birthday celebration from pre-Negro League player Silas Simmons October 14, 2006, in Florida.
Andrew Lewis Cooper (April 24, 1898 - June 3, 1941), nicknamed "Lefty," was an American left-handed pitcher, who hit right-handed, in baseball's Negro Leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Cooper, who was born in Waco, Texas, played nine seasons for the Detroit Stars and ten seasons for the Kansas City Monarchs. He also managed the Monarchs from 1928 to 1940, winning the pennant four times. He holds the Negro League career record for saves (29).
John Henry "Pop" Lloyd (April 25, 1884 - March 19, 1964) [1] was an American baseball player and manager in the Negro Leagues. He is generally considered the greatest shortstop in Negro League history, and both Babe Ruth and Ted Harlow, a noted sportswriter, reportedly believed Lloyd to be the greatest baseball player ever.[2][3]
He was a heavy hitter, usually batting cleanup during his prime, but also knew how to play "inside baseball," and was an expert place-hitter and bunter. Lloyd was also a renowned shortstop, ranked by most experts as second only to Dick Lundy among black shortstops before integration, and was referred to as the "Black Wagner," a reference to Pittsburgh Pirates Hall-of-Famer Honus Wagner. (On Lloyd, Wagner said "It's an honor to be compared to him.")[4] Known for his gentlemanly conduct, Lloyd was probably the most sought-after African-American player of his generation. "Wherever the money was, that's where I was," he once said. His career record bears this out, showing him constantly moving from team to team.
Daniel Robert Bankhead (born May 3, 1920 in Empire, Alabama - May 2, 1976, Houston, Texas), was the first black pitcher in Major League Baseball. After a strong career in the Negro League playing for the Memphis Red Sox, he was signed at age 24 by Branch Rickey to play in the Brooklyn Dodgers' farm system. Bankhead, an excellent hitter who was leading the Negro League with a .385 batting average when purchased by the Dodgers, hit a home run in his first major league at bat on August 26, 1947, in Ebbets Field against the Pittsburgh Pirates; however, this was to be the only major league home run Bankhead would hit, and he gave up ten hits in 3-1/3 innings pitching in relief that day. He was shipped to the minor leagues for the 1948 and 1949 seasons. Pitching for clubs in Nashua, New Hampshire and St. Paul, Minnesota in 1948, he recorded 24 wins and six losses.
William Howard "Willie" Mays, Jr. (born May 6, 1931) is a retired American baseball player who played the majority of his career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility. Many consider him to be the greatest all-around player of all time. Mays was gifted in multiple sports, averaging 17 points a game (quite high for the time) for the Fairfield Industrial H.S. basketball team, and more than 40 yards a punt in football. His professional baseball career began in 1947, when he played briefly with the Chattanooga Choo-Choos in Tennessee. Shortly thereafter, Mays returned to his home state and joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League. Over the next several years, a number of Major League baseball franchises sent scouts to watch him play. The first was the Boston Braves. The scout that found him, Bud Maughn, referred him to the Braves but they declined. Had the team taken an interest, the Braves franchise might have had Mays and Hank Aaron together in its outfield from 1954 to 1973. Maughn then tipped a scout for the New York Giants, which signed Mays in 1950 and assigned him to the Class-B affiliate in Trenton, New Jersey.[11]
Norman Thomas "Turkey" Stearnes (May 8, 1901 – September 4, 1979) was an African American center fielder in the Negro Leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Stearnes acquired his nickname at an early age from his unusual running style. He began his career in professional baseball in 1921 with the Montgomery Grey Sox, then played for the Detroit Stars, beginning in 1923. In 1931, the Stars failed to pay Stearnes his salary because of the Great Depression, so he moved from team to team for the remainder of his career, retiring in 1942 as a member of the Kansas City Monarchs.
Stearnes is considered by some as one of the great all-around players in the history of baseball, but because of his race and his quiet personality, he never received the recognition that many believe he deserved. He batted over .400 three times and led the Negro Leagues in home runs seven times. He is credited with 183 home runs in his Negro League career, the all-time Negro League record, and fifty more than second-place Mule Suttles. Since Negro League seasons were very short, sometimes lasting fewer than thirty games, it is unclear how many home runs Stearnes might have hit in a 154-game major league season. The 165-pound Stearnes was a fast baserunner despite his awkward-looking running form, and was one of the best outfielders of his generation.
Stearnes' known career statistics include a .350 batting average, 172 home runs, 750 games, and a .664 slugging percentage.
Carl Long (born May 9, 1935 in Rock Hill, South Carolina) is a former outfielder in Negro league and minor league baseball who, along with Frank Washington, broke the color barrier in the Carolina League city of Kinston, North Carolina. Long made his debut for the Kinston Eagles on April 17, 1956. During the year, he hit .291 with 18 home runs and 111 runs batted in. The Carolina League itself had been integrated in 1951 by Percy Miller Jr. of the Danville Leafs. The 111 RBI tallied by Long in 1956 has been equaled but never surpassed by any subsequent Kinston players.
Long's professional debut came with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League in 1952. He stayed with Birmingham through the 1953 season. In 1954, he was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates and was sent to their minor league team, the St. Jean Canadians of the Provincial League. During 1955, Long played for the Billings Mustangs in the Pioneer League and also saw some action for Phoenix in the Arizona-Mexico League. After playing for the Eagles in 1956, Long played for the Beaumont Pirates of the Big State League and Mexico City in 1957. A shoulder injury curtailed his career, and he left baseball to live in Kinston.
James Thomas "Cool Papa" Bell (May 17, 1903 – March 7, 1991) was an American center fielder in Negro league baseball, considered by many baseball observers to have been the fastest man ever to play the game. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.
Robert Burns Thurman (May 14, 1917, Kellyville, Oklahoma—October 31, 1998, Wichita, Kansas) was a professional baseball pitcher, outfielder and pinch-hitter. He played in the Negro Leagues, the Puerto Rican winter league (where he was a star), and for a few years at the end of his career, in Major League Baseball with the Cincinnati Reds. He is a member of the Puerto Rican Baseball Hall of Fame.
Art "Superman" Pennington (born May 18, 1923, Memphis, Tennessee) was a Negro League baseball star who currently lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.[1] Pennigton played for the Chicago American Giants (1940–1946, 1950), the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1946), as well as the Mexican Baseball League (1946–1950), the U.S. minor league system (1951–1959), and in Cuban and Venezuelan leagues. He played in the 1942 and 1950 East-West All-Star Game.[2] Pennington retired from Rockwell Collins in 1985; his house was badly damaged in a 2008 flood that destroyed most of his personal baseball memorabilia. He is included in the Topps baseball card nostalgia set Allen & Ginter; he supplements his retirement income from autographs of cards and other memorabilia.[1]
Newton Henry "Newt" Allen (May 19, 1901 – June 9, 1988) was an American second baseman and manager in baseball's Negro Leagues.
Born in Austin, Texas, he began his Negro League career late in 1922 with the Kansas City Monarchs and, except for brief stints with other teams in 1931 and 1932, stayed with the Monarchs until his retirement in 1948. Long known for his leadership ability, he became the Monarchs' manager in 1941 when Andy Cooper suffered a pre-season stroke and died during the season. He won the Negro American League championship that season, but resigned as manager just before the beginning of the following season, resuming his duties as a reserve infielder.
Martín Magdaleno Dihigo Llanos (May 25, 1906[1] - May 20, 1971) was a Cuban player in baseball's Negro Leagues and Latin American leagues who excelled at several positions, primarily as a pitcher and second baseman. He was born in the sugarmill Jesús María (town of Cidra) in Matanzas Province, Cuba.
John William Crutchfield, born May 25, 1910 in Ardmore, Missouri, United States – died March 31, 1993 in Chicago, Illinois, was an All-Star baseball player in Negro League baseball.
A right outfielder, at 5' 7" tall, and with a small frame, Jimmie Crutchfield made up for any physical shortcomings with a natural talent for the game and speed, both of which were backed up by a hard work ethic. Without power, he mastered bat handling to control the placement of the ball through a hit or a bunt that consistently provided for a good batting average.
Crutchfield began his career with the Birmingham Black Barons in 1930 but the following year moved to the Indianapolis ABC's.
Reece "Goose" Tatum (May 31, 1921 – January 18, 1967) was an African American multi-sport athlete.
Born in El Dorado, Arkansas, Tatum played Negro League Baseball before becoming a star basketball player with the Harlem Globetrotters. He is considered to be the original "clown prince" of the Trotters. He wove numerous comic routines into his play, of which many would reach cult status. Some of these routines were based on his stature — it is reported that he had an arm span of about 84 in (210 cm) and could touch his kneecaps without bending.
He is credited to have invented the hook shot (a.k.a. skyhook), a shot for which later superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would become famous.
Reece Tatum died in 1967 at age 45 in El Paso, Texas. A veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, he was interred in the Fort Bliss National Cemetery.
Burnis "Bill" Wright (born June 6, 1914 in Milan, Tennessee) is a retired baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play outfielder and played from 1932 to 1945.
William Nathaniel Rogers (born June 7, 1893 in Spartanburg, South Carolina - unknown) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play outfielder, catcher, and infielder and played from 1923 to 1946.
William "Plunk" Drake (June 8, 1895, Sedalia, Missouri - October 30, 1977) was a Negro League baseball pitcher.
Drake pitched for top Negro League teams between 1915 and 1930, primarily remembered for his time with the Kansas City Monarchs, participating in two Colored World Series in 1924 and 1925. He gained his colorful nickname from his propensity for pitching inside to batters and his willingness to hit batters who crowded the plate. He claimed to have taught Satchel Paige his famous Hesitation Pitch, though credit is usually given to Bill Gatewood.
Elander Victor Harris (June 10, 1905 - February 23, 1978) was a strong-hitting outfielder and a successful manager in the Negro Leagues. Listed at 5' 10", 168 lb., Harris batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
A native of Pensacola, Florida, Harris moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1914 and played baseball at the local YMCA. He started his professional career shortly after his 18th birthday, playing for the Cleveland Tate Stars in 1923 and the Cleveland Browns in 1924, before start a long association with the Homestead Grays in 1925 which lasted 23 years. At this time, Homestead were not a member of any established league as the team rarely played other top black squads in those years and so statistics are limited, but when the Grays did, they often showed themselves to be a superior team.
Jack Calvo (June 11, 1894 – June 15, 1965) was born Jacinto Del Calvo in Havana, Cuba. He was an outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1913 and 1920. He played in 34 games, had 56 at bats, 10 runs, 9 hits, 1 triple, 1 home run, 4 RBIs, 3 walks, a .161 batting average, a .203 on-base percentage, a .250 slugging percentage, 67 total bases and 19 sacrifices. He died in Miami, Florida.
Calvo played "Negro baseball" with the integrated Long Branch Cubans in 1913 and 1915 but most of his baseball career was in Cuba.
King Solomon White (June 12, 1868 - August 26, 1955) was an American professional baseball infielder, manager and executive, and one of the pioneers of the Negro Leagues. An active sportswriter for many years, in 1907 he wrote the first definitive history of black baseball. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Born in Bellaire, Ohio, White's playing career lasted from 1887 to 1912, followed by several additional seasons of managing. He played a major role on many of the greatest teams throughout that era. While enrolled at Wilberforce University, White joined the 1887 Pittsburgh Keystones of the world's first Negro League the National Colored Base Ball League[1]as a second baseman and was batting .308 when the league after a week of play. He then joined the Wheeling (West Virginia) Green Stockings of the Ohio State League and batted. 371. White made a name for himself in the predominately white minor leagues of the time and batted .385 for Fort Wayne, Indiana of the Western Interstate League in 1895. He played for the New York Gorhams in 1889 which was a black team that played in the otherwise white Middle States League and won that league's championship. Also in 1895, White played for Bud Fowler's barnstorming Page Fence Giants team, batting .404 as the Giants finished with a terrific 118-36-2 record and played in 112 towns in 7 states.
He was instrumental in the 1902 formation of the Philadelphia Giants and the later development and operation of various leagues.
William Hendrick "Bill" Foster (June 12, 1904 – September 16, 1978) was an American left-handed pitcher in baseball's Negro Leagues in the 1920s and 1930s, and had a career record of 143-69.[1] He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.
Foster, the much-younger half-brother of Negro league player, pioneer, and fellow Hall of Famer, Rube Foster, was born in Calvert, Texas in 1904.
Héctor Antonio Ordeñana Rodríguez (June 13, 1920 - September 1, 2003) was a Major League Baseball third basemanfor one season (1952) with the Chicago White Sox. His natural position was shortstop but he had the misfortune to be with the White Sox while Chico Carasquel played the position followed by all-time great, Luis Aparicio.
A native of Alquizar, Cuba, Rodriguez played in the Negro Leagues with the New York Cubans, 1939 and 1944, and in the Mexican League, 1945-46 (Riley, 676)prior to the integration of organized baseball,
Donald Newcombe (born June 14, 1926 in Madison, New Jersey), nicknamed "Newk", is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1949-51 and 1954-58), Cincinnati Reds (1958-60) and Cleveland Indians (1960).
Newcombe is the only baseball player to have won the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player and Cy Young awards in his career. In 1949, he became the first African-American pitcher to start a World Series game. In 1955, Newcombe was the first black pitcher to win twenty games in one season.[1] In 1956, he was the first pitcher to win the National League MVP and the Cy Young Award in the same season.[2]
Newcombe was also an excellent hitting pitcher, compiling a career average of .271 with fifteen home runs, and was one of few pitchers in the major leagues used as a pinch hitter.
Oliver Hazzard Marcelle (June 21, 1895 - June 12, 1949), nicknamed "Ghost", was an American third baseman in the Negro Leagues for a number of teams around the league from 1918-1931. He also played shortstop. A Creole born in Thibodaux, Louisiana, he batted and threw right-handed.
While the Negro Leagues had many statistics recorded in the 1920s, Marcelle put up outstanding numbers. In 1922 with the Bacharach Giants, he posted a .379 batting average. Again in 1924, he hit well, putting up a .352 average for Bacharach and the New York Lincoln Giants.
Although "Ghost" was a top-class hitting infielder, his defensive skills took center stage by comparison. He was considered by most to be the greatest fielding third basemen in the league throughout the 1920s and possibly of all time. Baseball Hall of Famer Judy Johnson once admitted that Marcelle was a better defensive player than himself. During that time, he and shortstop Dick Lundy made up one of the best left-side infields ever.
Willard Jessie Brown (June 26, 1915 - August 4, 1996), nicknamed "Home Run" Brown, was an American outfielder in the Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball. Brown was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in February 2006.
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, he began his professional baseball career in 1934 with the Monroe Monarchs, a minor Negro League team. In 1936, he signed with the Kansas City Monarchs, for which he played continuously until seeing action in World War II in 1944-45. During his pre-war baseball years, he established himself as having the most raw power in Negro League history, and possibly in the history of baseball. He hit home runs more often than the better known Josh Gibson, causing Gibson to give Brown his nickname. He also hit for a batting average of .374 in 1948 and regularly hitting over .350. Brown was one of the fastest players in baseball in the late 1930s and 1940s,as well as a solid outfielder.
Ernest Burke (June 26, 1924 – January 31, 2004) was an American baseball player in the Negro League.
Ernest Burke was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland. During World War II, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Burke was one of the first black U.S. Marines to serve in World War II, and earned a medal as a sharpshooter. During his tour of duty in the Pacific, Burke began to play baseball.
After the war, he became a pitcher and outfielder for the Baltimore Elite Giants in the Negro American League. He played for Baltimore from 1946 to 1949. In 1949, he joined the Pough-Kingston team in the Western League, then later played in the Canadian Provincial League.
Benjamin Harrison Taylor (July 1, 1888 - January 24, 1953) was an American first baseman and manager in baseball's Negro Leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Born in Anderson, South Carolina, he played for the Chicago American Giants, Indianapolis ABC's, St. Louis Giants, Bacharach Giants, Washington Potomacs, Harrisburg Giants, Baltimore Black Sox, Baltimore Stars, Brooklyn Eagles, Washington Black Senators and New York Cubans. His playing career played lasted from 1913 to 1929.
In all but one of his first 16 seasons, Taylor batted over .300. In a 1949 Philadelphia Evening Bulletin article, Oscar Charleston selected Ben Taylor as his first baseman on his all-time All-Star team, but Taylor initiated his career as a pitcher for the Birmingham Giants in 1908. After playing for the St. Louis Giants (1911-12), New York Lincoln Giants (1912) and Rube Foster's Chicago American Giants (1913-14), Taylor made his name playing for the team one of his brothers, C.I. Taylor, managed and owned, the Indianapolis ABCs.
William Byrd (July 5, 1907 - January 4, 1991) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues. Born in Ganton, Georgia, he was an excellent right-handed pitcher, and one of the last to legally throw the spitball. He featured in six All-Star games. He died at age 83 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
José Maria Fernandez, Sr. (born July 6, 1896 in Guanabacoa, Cuba - 1971) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play catcher and played from 1916 to 1950.
George Cornelius Smith (July 7, 1937 - June 15, 1987) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1963 through 1966 for the Detroit Tigers (1963-1965) and Boston Red Sox (1966). Listed at 5' 10", 170 lb., Smith batted and threw right-handed. A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, he attended Michigan State University.
Cornelius Randall Robinson (born July 7, 1908 in Grand Rapids, Michigan - unknown) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play infielder and outfielder and played from 1934 to 1950.
Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American baseball player whose pitching in the Negro leagues and in Major League Baseball made him a legend in his own lifetime. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971, the first player to be inducted from the Negro leagues.
Paige was a right-handed pitcher and was the oldest rookie to play Major League Baseball at the age of 42. He played with the St. Louis Browns until age 47 and represented them in the Major League All-Star Game in both 1952 and 1953. His professional playing career lasted from 1926 until 1966.[1]
Theodore Roosevelt "Double Duty" Radcliffe (July 7, 1902 – August 11, 2005) was at his death thought to be the oldest living professional baseball player (it was later discovered that Silas Simmons was born seven years earlier in 1895), one of only a handful of major league (considering the Negro Leagues major) players who lived past their 100th birthdays, and a former star in the Negro Leagues. Playing for more than 30 teams, Radcliffe had more than 4,000 hits and 400 home runs, won about 500 games and had 4,000 strike-outs. He played as a pitcher and a catcher, became a manager, and in his old age became a popular ambassador for the game.
Richard Benjamin Lundy (July 10, 1898 [1] - January 5, 1965) was an African American shortstop in the Negro Leagues for numerous teams. He was born in Jacksonville, Florida.
In 1921, his batting average was reportedly .484. Lundy became the player-manager of the Bacharach Giants from 1925 through 1928, leading the team to two Eastern Colored League pennants (1926, '27). In the 1926 Negro League World Series, Lundy had six RBIs, four runs scored, and six stolen bases. The Giants, however, lost the series. Lundy made one appearance in the East-West All-Star Game, playing shortstop for the East. By this point, he had become part of what was called the "million dollar infield", along with Oliver Marcelle, Frank Warfield, and Jud Wilson, playing for the Baltimore Black Sox in 1929. Lundy remained in baseball around 33 years, finishing out his baseball career as a manager. He died at age 66 in Jacksonville. His career was often compared to that of Joe Cronin. He was among 39 Negro Leagues players, managers, and executives who were considered for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006, but fell short of the necessary 75% vote.
Toni Stone (July 17 1921 - November 2 1996), also known by her married name Marcenia Lyle Alberga, was the first of three women to play Negro league baseball.
Toni Stone graduated from Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She married Aurelious Alberga, a man forty years her elder and one of the many people who didn’t want her playing baseball. She had always been referred to as a “Tomboy” growing up and consequently received the nickname “Toni” because it sounded like “Tomboy”. She enjoyed the name and eventually adopted it as her own.”‘I loved my trousers. I love cars. Most of all I loved to ride horses with no saddles. I wasn’t classified. People weren’t ready for me,” she said. Toni Stone’s playing career began when she was only ten years old when she participated in a Catholic Midget League, which is similar today’s Little League. She then moved on to play for the Girl’s Highlex Softball Club in Saint Paul, Minnesota. By the age of fifteen, Toni Stone played for the St. Paul Giants, a men’s semi-professional team. Stone soon began playing on Al Love’s American Legion championship team. She began her professional career with the San Francisco Sea Lions (1949), where she batted in two runs in her first time up. Toni soon became discontent with the owner of the Sea Lions after she did not receive the pay she had been promised. She quit the team and joined the Black Pelicans of New Orleans. After a short stint with the Black Pelicans, Stone joined the New Orleans Creoles (1949-1952). She was signed by Syd Pollack, owner of the Indianapolis Clowns in 1953 to play second base, the position Hank Aaron had played for the team two years earlier. She did this as part of a publicity stunt. The Clowns were compared to the Harlem Globetrotters of the basketball world, so having a woman on the team attracted more fans. During the fifty games that Stone played for the Clowns, she maintained a .243 batting average and one of her hits was off the legendary Satchel Paige. All of these accomplishments may make her “one of the best players you have never heard of,” according to the NLBPA website. Stone's contract was sold to the Kansas City Monarchs prior to the 1954 season and she retired following the season because of lack of playing time. After the 1954 season, Stone moved to Oakland, California to work as a nurse and care for her sick husband who later died in 1987 at age 103. Toni died on November 2, 1996 at a nursing home in Alameda, California. She was 75 years old.
Welday Wilberforce Walker (July 27, 1860 – November 23, 1937) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball, born in Steubenville, Ohio. He, along with his brother Moses Fleetwood Walker, became the first black baseball players to play in the major leagues when they played for the 1884 Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association. After the 1884 season, Toledo left the league, and the Walker brothers were no longer allowed to play in the majors. Both brothers continued to play in the higher levels of the minor leagues. Welday played mostly in the Eastern League and the Southern New England League.[1] In 1887 he joined the Pittsburgh club in the National Colored Base Ball League but only a few league games were played in May.[2].
Walker died in his hometown of Steubenville at the age of 77, and is interred at Union Cemetery.[3]
James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey (July 27, 1897 – September 22, 1965) was an American catcher and manager in Negro league baseball. He came to be regarded as black baseball's premier catcher in the late 1920s and early 1930s. His superior defense and outstanding throwing arm were complemented by batting skill which placed him among the Negro Leagues' all-time leaders in total bases, RBIs and slugging percentage, while hitting .322 for his career. He played for the Indianapolis ABC's (1920-22), New York Lincoln Giants (1920), Hilldale Daisies (1923-31), Philadelphia Royal Giants (1925), Philadelphia Stars (1933-35), Washington and Baltimore Elite Giants (1936-39), and Newark Dodgers/Eagles (1935, 1939-41, 1945-47, 1950). Mackey was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Charles Wilber "Bullet" Rogan, also known as "Bullet Joe" (July 28, 1893 – March 4, 1967), was an American pitcher and outfielder for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro baseball leagues from 1920 to 1938. Renowned as a two-way player who could both hit and pitch successfully, one statistical compilation shows Rogan winning more games than any other pitcher in Negro leagues history and ranking fourth highest in career batting average.[1] He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.
Rafael Almeida (July 30, 1887 in Havana, Cuba - March 19, 1968 in Havana, Cuba) was a Major League Baseball third baseman from 1911 to 1913 with the Cincinnati Reds.
Almeida and Armando Marsans and debuted together with the Reds on July 4, 1911.[1] They are sometimes named the first major league players born in Cuba, which is disputable because Cuban-born Steve Bellán played from 1871 to 1873 in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NA). For most historians that makes Bellan a major leaguer but Major League Baseball does not recognize the NA as a major league.
Six years before Cincinnati, Almeida and Marsans both played "Negro baseball" in the United States as 1905 members of the integrated All Cubans
Ulysses Franklin (Frank) Grant (August 1, 1865 - May 27, 1937) was an African American baseball player in the 19th century. In his early career, he was a star player in the International League shortly before Jim Crow restrictions were imposed that banned African-American players from organized baseball. He then went on to become a pioneer in the early Negro leagues, starring for several of the top African-American teams of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is widely considered to have been the greatest African-American player of the 19th century. In 2006, Grant was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He is the earliest Negro league player to have received that honor.
Wilmer Leon Fields (August 2, 1922 - June 4, 2004) was a pitcher and third baseman in baseball's Negro Leagues. Wilmer was often referred to as "Red" or Wilmer "The Great" Fields.
Fields was born in Manassas, Virginia. The son of a farmer, he and other neighborhood children took fence boards and other improvised materials to play baseball. He also asked for divine intervention.
At 6-foot 3-inches and 220 pounds (100 kg), Fields played quarterback at Virginia State University in Petersburg but eagerly left school when he was recruited to play for the Washington Homestead Grays in 1939.
The Grays were one of the finest teams in the Negro League, winning nine league championships before folding in the wake of desegregated professional baseball. The Grays played many of their home games at the old Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. and some in Homestead, a neighborhood of Pittsburgh. After Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 and broke the color line in Major League Baseball, the Negro Leagues began to shutter.
Luscious Luke Easter (August 4, 1915 in Jonestown, MS - March 29, 1979 in Euclid, OH) was a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball and the Negro leagues. He batted left-handed, threw right-handed, was 6'4", and weighed 240 lb. The birth year listed here is drawn from census data. Easter himself listed multiple birth years ranging from 1911 to 1921 on different occasions, so some ambiguity as to the correct year exists. Easter was a solid contributor to the Grays in 1947, and excelled in 1948. That year, he batted .363, tied for the league lead in home runs, and led the league in runs batted in. He led the Grays to a victory over the Birmingham Black Barons in that year's Negro League World Series, the last ever played. His success attracted the attention of Bill Veeck, owner of the Cleveland Indians, who purchased his contract from the Grays. A knee injury in spring training in 1949 cost Easter a spot on the major league roster at the start of the season. He started the year in the Pacific Coast League; despite a mid-season operation on the knee, continued to star. He again batted .363, along with 25 home runs and 80 RBI. This performance impressed the Indians so much that they called Easter up for a brief appearance at the end of the season, and early in 1950 traded All-Star Mickey Vernon to open up first base for him.
René González (August 5, 1918 - May 9, 1982) was a Cuban professional baseball player. A native of Cienfuegos, Cuba, González was a first baseman/outfielder who batted and threw right-handed.
González was a consistent hitter who spent most of his career in Mexican baseball (1947-1949, 1951-1956), where he won three consecutive batting titles (1952-54) including the Triple Crown in 1952. An eight-time .300 hitter, he collected 1144 hits in 3459 at-bats for a .331 batting average during nine seasons.
In 1950, González played for the New York Cubans in the Negro Leagues. Then, during the 1950-51 Venezuelan baseball season he finished with a .357 batting average and led the league in home runs (10), RBI (56), hits (74), doubles (18) and slugging % (.739). Later, in the 1951 Caribbean Series he led the Venezuelan offensive with a .333 average and two home runs and his 11 RBI led the tourney.
González also played in Cuba and Nicaragua up until 1958, his last season. Following his baseball retirement he returned to his Cuba homeland, where he died at age of 63. In 1993 he was elected into the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame.
Charles Johnson (August 7, 1909 – June 19, 2006) was a baseball player in the Negro League who later pushed major league baseball to offer pensions to former Negro League players. August 7, 1909, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Johnson never knew his father. He lived with his mother, uncle and grandmother, bouncing back and forth between Arkansas; Kansas City, Missouri; and St. Louis. Johnson moved to Chicago in 1925 to be with his dying mother, and from age fifteen lived on his own. He worked at a grocery store on the South Side and became acquainted with Negro League great Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe. He finally quit playing in the Negro Leagues in 1944. Johnson's wife died in 1999. They had no children. Johnson lived on Chicago's South Side until he passed away on June 19, 2006 at the age of 96.
Willie James Wells (August 10, 1906[1] - January 22, 1989) was an American shortstop who played from 1924-48 for various teams in the Negro Leagues.
Wells was born in Austin, Texas. A star in both baseball and football in high school, Wells first played professional baseball in 1923, playing one season for the Austin Black Senators of the Texas Negro League, a minor league for the Negro National League. He entered the NNL with the St. Louis Stars in 1924, playing for the Stars until the franchise dissolved after the 1931 season. In 1926 he hit 27 home runs, a Negro League single-season record. From 1932 to 1935 he played for the Chicago American Giants and played for the Newark Eagles from 1936 to 1939. He played in Mexico in 1940 and 1941, returned to the Negro Leagues in 1942 as a player-manager for the Eagles and then went back to Mexico for the 1943 and 1944 seasons. He returned to the U.S. in 1945 and played for various Negro League teams through the 1950 season. He then went to Canada as a player-manager for the Winnipeg Buffaloes of the Western Canadian Leagues, remaining there until his retirement from playing baseball in 1954. Wells returned to the U.S. and continued with the sport as manager of the Birmingham Black Barons.
George Walter Scales (August 16, 1900 - April 15, 1976),[1] nicknamed "Tubby", was an American second baseman and manager in Negro league baseball, most notably with the New York Lincoln Giants and Baltimore Elite Giants. Born in Talladega, Alabama,[1] he batted .321 over a 25-year career during which he played several positions. He also managed for twelve seasons in the Puerto Rican winter league, winning six pennants,[1] and led the Caribbean World Series champions in 1951.
Buck Leonard claimed that George Scales was the best curveball hitter he ever saw.[2]
After retiring from baseball in 1958, he became a stockbroker.[citation needed] He died at age 75 in Compton, California.[1]
Armando Vazquez (born August 20, 1923) is a former baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He from 1944 to 1952, mostly with the Indianapolis Clowns.
William "Big Bill" Gatewood (born August 22, 1881) was a Negro Leagues pitcher and manager for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League, and in its first few seasons. He pitched for the Leland Giants, Chicago Giants, Chicago American Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, Cuban X-Giants, Philadelphia Giants, Brooklyn Royal Giants, St. Louis Giants, Indianapolis ABCs, Detroit Stars, St. Louis Stars, Toledo Tigers, Milwaukee Bears, Memphis Red Sox, Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, and Birmingham Black Barons.
A 6'7" tall spitball pitcher, Gatewood was a first line pitcher in Blackball's pre-league days, and pitched the first no-hitter in NNL league play, beating the Cincinnati Cuban Stars on June 6, 1921. As his pitching skills deteriorated, he remained in the game as a manager.
He managed the St. Louis Stars and Birmingham Black Barons. He is credited with giving Negro Leagues great Cool Papa Bell his famous nickname, and for convincing him to learn to switch hit in order to take advantage of his speed. He is also credited with teaching Satchel Paige his "hesitation pitch" while managing him in Birmingham.
Clarence "Choo-Choo" Coleman was born August 25, 1937 in Orlando, Florida and played baseball for the Negro Leagues Indianapolis Clowns and was signed as an amateur free agent by the Washington Senators in 1955. He briefly caught for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1961.
In 1962, he became a backup catcher for the expansion New York Mets, generally considered the worst team in modern baseball. Coleman hit a career high .250 during 50 games of the 1962 season and continued to play for the Mets in 1963 and 1966. He had a career average of .197.
Raymond Emmitt Dandridge (August 31, 1913 - February 12, 1994) was an American third baseman in baseball's Negro leagues. He was born in Richmond, Virginia. Dandridge was one of the greatest fielders in the history of baseball, and one of the sport's greatest hitters for average, but unfortunately his name is not familiar to the casual baseball fan. Moreover, because of the "gentlemen's agreement" not to allow African Americans in Major League Baseball, Dandridge was dismissed as being too old by the time of integration. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987.
William Bell (August 31, 1897 – March 16, 1969) was an American right-handed pitcher and manager in baseball's Negro Leagues. Born in Galveston, Texas, he played primarily for the Kansas City Monarchs. He died at age 71 in El Campo, Texas.
Elwood "Bingo" DeMoss (September 5, 1889 - January 26, 1965) was a baseball player and manager in the Negro Leagues from 1905 to 1943. He was born in Topeka, Kansas. It was in Topeka that he began his playing career in 1905 with the Topeka Giants. He is considered the finest fielding second baseman of the 1910s and 1920s Negro Leagues. He was the captain of the 1926 Negro League Champion Chicago American Giants. Using great bat control, DeMoss is considered one of the greatest bunters in Negro League History. His highest batting average came in 1926 when he finished second in the batting race with a .303 average. After he retired, he spent fifteen years as a highly respected manager.
DeMoss spent his prime years with the Chicago American Giants, and as a player-manager for the Indianapolis ABC's and Detroit Stars. From 1920 through 1930, he batted .247, including highs of .314 for the 1929 Detroit Stars and .292 for the 1920 Chicago American Giants.
Larry Brown (born September 5, 1905 in Pratt City, Alabama - April 7, 1972 in Memphis, Tennessee) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play catcher and played from 1919 to 1938.
Carl Whitney (born September 7, 1913 - died July, 1986)[1] was a Negro League baseball player.
In 1942, Whitney played as a reserve outfielder for the New York Black Yankees, a team co-owned by financier James "Soldier Boy" Semler and famed toe-tapper Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. He is interred in the Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.
Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard (September 8, 1907 – November 27, 1997) was an American first baseman in Negro League baseball. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972 along with his long-time teammate Josh Gibson.
He began his Negro League career in 1933 with the Brooklyn Royal Giants, then moved to the legendary Homestead Grays in 1934, the team he played for until his retirement in 1950. The Grays of the late 1930s through the mid-1940s are considered one of the greatest teams of any race ever assembled. Leonard batted fourth in their lineup behind Josh Gibson. Since Gibson was known as the "Black Babe Ruth" and Leonard was a first baseman, Buck Leonard was inevitably called the "Black Lou Gehrig." From 1937 to 1945 the Grays won 9 consecutive Negro National League championships. Leonard led the Negro Leagues in batting average in 1948 with a mark of .395, and usually either led the league in home runs or finished second in homers to teammate Gibson.
In 1952, Leonard was offered a major league contract, but he believed that at age 45 he was too old and might embarrass himself and hurt the cause of integration. He may well have underestimated his own longevity, however, since he batted .333 in 10 games in the Class B Piedmont League the following year, and played in Mexico through 1955, where the level of play was very high.
George Walter Ball (born September 13, 1877 in Detroit, Michigan - December 15, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play pitcher and outfielder and played from 1903 to 1923.
Herbert Allen "Rap" Dixon (September 15, 1902 - July 20, 1942) was an American outfielder in Negro League baseball for a number of teams. He was born in Kingston, Georgia.
Although Dixon began playing in the league in 1922, he joined the semi-pro Keystone Giants in 1916 at the age of fourteen. Dixon was noticed for his quick and powerful bat by William Strothers, who was building up the independent Giants at the time.
Byron Johnson also known as Mex Johnson (September 16, 1911 - September 24, 2005) was a baseball player in the Negro League. His nickname came from a hat he wore as a child which looked like a sombrero.
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA, he began his Negro League career in 1937 as a shortstop with the Kansas City Monarchs and stayed with the Monarchs until his retirement in 1940. He also was on the road team the Monarchs called the Satchel Paige All Stars from 1939-1940.
He was known as one of the best defensive players of his time.
Stanley (Doc) Glenn (born September 16, 1926) is a former baseball catcher with the Philadelphia Stars of the Negro Leagues from 1944 to 1950. He also played three years in the minors and two in the Canadian senior Intercounty Baseball League is southwestern Ontario for the St. Thomas Elgins in the early 1950s.
After his retirement from baseball, Glenn spent 40 years in the wholesale electric supply business. In 2006, Glenn released his first published book entitled, Don't Let Anyone Take Your Joy Away: An inside look at Negro League baseball and its legacy.
Roy A. "Red" Parnell (September 17, 1905 - February 16, 1954) was an American left fielder and manager in Negro league baseball, most notably with the Philadelphia Stars from 1936-43. Born in Austin, Texas, he died at age 48 in Philadelphia.
Andrew "Rube" Foster (September 17, 1879 - December 9, 1930) was an American baseball player, manager, and pioneer executive in the Negro Leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
Foster, cosidered by historians to have been perhaps the best African-American pitcher of the 1900s, also founded and managed the Chicago American Giants, one of the most successful black baseball teams of the pre-integration era. Most notably, he organized the Negro National League, the first long-lasting professional league for African-American ballplayers, which operated from 1920 to 1931.
Foster adopted his longtime nickname, "Rube", as his official middle name later in life.
Samuel Howard Bankhead (born September 18, 1905 in Empire, Alabama - July 24, 1976 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He played pitcher, infielder, and outfielder from 1930 to 1950. His brother Dan Bankhead played in the Major Leagues.
Grant "Home Run" Johnson (September 21, 1874 - September 4, 1963) was an American shortstop in baseball's Negro Leagues. He played for many of the greatest teams of the deadball era. Born in Findlay, Ohio, he died at age 88 in Buffalo, New York.
Johnson began his career as a shortstop with the semipro Findlay Sluggers in 1894. He supposedly earned his nickname "Home Run" by hitting 60 home runs that season. In 1895 he and Bud Fowler formed the Page Fence Giants in Adrian, Michigan. Johnson was the shortstop and the team's captain. After 1898 the Page Fence Giants were unable to continue playing, so Johnson and most of the other players moved to Chicago where they played for the Chicago Columbia Giants in 1899. The next season he played with the Chicago Unions.
Miguel Angel Gonzalez (Cordero) (September 24, 1890 - February 19, 1977) was a Cuban catcher, coach and interim manager in American Major League Baseball during the first half of the 20th century. Along with Adolfo Luque, Gonzalez was one of the first Cubans or Latin Americans to have a long off-field career in the U.S. major leagues.
Born in Havana, Gonzalez, a right-handed-hitting catcher, made his National League debut with the 1912 Boston Braves, playing only one game. During that time he played "Negro baseball" with integrated teams from Cuba, the Cuban Stars in 1911, 1912 and 1914; the Long Branch Cubans in 1913. During his organized baseball career he appeared with the New York Lincoln Giants in 1916 (Riley, 326).
Emilio "Millito" Navarro (born September 26, 1905) was the first Puerto Rican to play baseball in the Negro Leagues. At 104, Navarro is also the oldest living professional baseball player to have played in the Negro Leagues.[1]
Navarro played for two years with the Cuban Stars and had a batting average of .337. The experience was bittersweet for Navarro, especially when they played in the South. Not only did he feel discriminated because of the color of his skin, but also because he didn't speak English. After playing with the Negro Leagues, Navarro traveled and played for teams in the Dominican Republic and in Venezuela.[1]
By the time baseball had become integrated in the U.S., Navarro had returned to the island. The experience and knowledge that he gained served him well when he became one of the founders of the Puerto Rican baseball team, "Leones de Ponce" (Ponce Lions). He played, coached and did a little bit of everything for the team. He dedicated 20 years to the team.
Floyd "Jelly" Gardner (born September 27, 1895 in Russelville, Arkansas - 1977 in Chicago, Illinois) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play infielder and outfielder and played from 1919 to 1933.
Mamie “Peanut” Johnson (born September 27, 1935) was one of three women, and the first female pitcher, to play in the Negro Leagues. She was signed by the Indianapolis Clowns in 1953, played with the team from 1953 to 1955, had a 33-8 won-loss record and a batting average of .273.
She is the subject of the book A Strong Right Arm, describing her life growing up and the obstacles to her becoming a professional Negro League baseball player.
On June 05, 2008, Johnson and other living players from the Negro League Era were drafted by major league franchises prior to the 2008 MLB First year Draft. Johnson was selected by the Washington Nationals.
Robert Richard Boyd (October 1, 1919, Potts Camp, Mississippi – September 7, 2004, Wichita, Kansas) was an American first baseman in the Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball.
Nicknamed "Rope" for his line-drive hitting, Boyd played in the Negro Leagues with the Memphis Red Sox (1947-49), and in the major leagues for the Chicago White Sox (1951, 1953-54), Baltimore Orioles (1956-60), Kansas City Athletics (1961) and Milwaukee Braves (1961).
Eugene Benson (October 2, 1913 – April 6, 1999) was an American center fielder in baseball's Negro Leagues. He played for the Philadelphia Stars in 1937, moved to the Homestead Grays in 1938, and returned to the Stars from 1939 to 1948. He stood 5-foot-8 and weighed 185 pounds at the peak of his career.
Joseph Burt Scott, (born October 2, 1920) was an American baseball player who played outfield and first-base in several different Negro Leagues.
A left-handed hitter, Scott played professionally from 1936 until 1956. He played for the New York Black Yankees, Pittsburgh Crawfords, Chicago American Giants, Memphis Red Sox, and Zulu Cannibal Giants[1]
Scott attended Tilden Tech High School in Chicago. He was the only player of color on his high school team which won the 1937 city championship played at Wrigley Field. He was 5'7" and weighed 160 during his playing career.[2]
In 1942, Scott had a batting average of .714 in 58 games before the season was ended early due to World War II.[3]
"Prince" Joe Henry (October 4, 1930 – January 2, 2009) was an American baseball player. He played for several Negro League teams in the 1950s.
Henry was born and raised in Brooklyn, Illinois, where he played softball as a youngster. He was discovered by catcher Josh Johnson, who encouraged him to try baseball. Goose Curry scouted him to play in the Negro Leagues, starting him off in a Mississippi baseball school. He played for three years with the Memphis Red Sox, then signed a minor league contract, playing in 1952 in the Mississippi Ohio Valley League for Canton and in 1953 for Mount Vernon. During these years he sustained injuries that prevented him from playing further in the minors. He returned to the Negro Leagues in 1955-56 with the Indianapolis Clowns, but did not play for most of 1957 until he was convinced to return and play with the Detroit Stars. In 1958 he was selected as an All-Star for the East-West All Star Game. His last year in the Negro Leagues was 1959.
Moses Fleetwood "Fleet" Walker (October 7, 1857 – May 11, 1924) was an American Major League Baseball player and author who is credited with being the first African American to play at the Major League level. This was during the brief time in the 1880's when Major League ball was integrated.
Walker was born in Mount Pleasant, Ohio, the son of Dr. Moses W. Walker, the first African-American physician in Mount Pleasant. He enrolled in Oberlin College in 1878 and played on the college's first varsity baseball team in the spring of 1881. He then transferred to the University of Michigan law school the following Fall. Walker played varsity baseball for Michigan in 1882.
Walker signed with the minor league Northwestern League Toledo Blue Stockings in 1883, a time in which few catchers wore any equipment, including gloves. Walker had his first encounter with Cap Anson that year, when Toledo played an exhibition game against the Chicago White Stockings on August 10. Anson refused to play with Walker on the field. Manager Charlie Morton played Walker, and told Anson the White Stockings would forfeit the gate receipts if they refused to play. Anson then agreed to play.[2]
In 1884 Toledo joined the American Association, which was a Major League at that time in competition with the National League. Walker made his Major League debut on May 1 versus the Louisville Eclipse. In his debut, he went hitless and had four errors.[1] In forty two games, Walker had a Batting Average of .263. His brother, Welday Walker, later joined him on the team, playing in six games. The Walker brothers are the first known African Americans to play baseball in the Major Leagues.
Edward Joseph Klep (October 12, 1918-1981) was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. Most notably, Klep became the first white American to play baseball in the Negro leagues when he pitched seven innings for the Cleveland Buckeyes on May 29, 1946, in a game against the American Giants in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
John Preston "Pete" Hill (October 12, 1882 - December 19, 1951) was an American outfielder and manager in baseball's Negro Leagues from 1899 to 1925. (Although older histories and Hill's Hall of Fame plaque list his full name as Joseph Preston Hill, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 12, 1880,[1][2], recent research has shown that his first name was "John," and that he was probably born in Culpeper County, Virginia on October 12, 1882, though some sources indicate a birth year of 1883 or 1884.) He played for the Philadelphia Giants, Leland Giants, Chicago American Giants, Detroit Stars, Milwaukee Bears, and Baltimore Black Sox. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton (October 13, 1922 – August 31, 1990) was an American multi-sport athlete best known as the first African American to sign a contract to play in the National Basketball Association. After the WWII, Sweetwater Clifton joined the New York Rens, an all-black professional basketball team that toured throughout the United States. Noted for his large hands, which required a size 14 glove, he was invited to join the Harlem Globetrotters, for whom he played from the summer of 1948 to the spring of 1950. Still a talented baseball first baseman, during the basketball off-season in 1949 Clifton played for the Chicago American Giants in Negro League baseball. By 1950, his performance with the Globetrotters, in particular his exceptional ball handling ability, led to his becoming the first African American player to sign a contract with an NBA team.
Silas Joseph "Si" Simmons (October 14, 1895? – October 29, 2006) was an American semi-professional and professional baseball player for African-American teams in the pre-Negro League era, and became the longest-lived professional baseball player in history. The previous record was held by Chet Hoff, who died at age 107 in 1998.
As late as 1926, Simmons pitched for the New York Lincoln Giants of the Eastern Colored League and appeared in at least one game in 1929 for the New York-based Cuban Stars (East) of the Negro National League. During his career, Simmons played on the same team as Hall of Famer Pop Lloyd and against Hall of Famers Judy Johnson and Biz Mackey.
Simmons ended his baseball career soon after 1929. He and his wife Mary had five children and settled into life as a porter and eventually as an assistant manager at Rosenbaum's Department Store in Plainfield, New Jersey. In 1971, he retired to St. Petersburg, Florida, where he lived for the rest of his days. Simmons was married at Philadelphia by Rev. John L. Lee September 15, 1915 to Mary L. "Mamie" Smith (July 19, 1896 – ca. 1944) for 29 years until her death. Silas was then married in 1957 for 40 years to his second wife, Rebecca Jones (1901 – August 20, 1997), before her death at the age of 96. He outlived all five of his children and had nine grandchildren and several great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
Oscar McKinley Charleston (October 14, 1896 - October 5, 1954) was an American center fielder and manager in baseball's Negro Leagues from 1915 to 1945.
Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Charleston joined the Army at 15 and served in the Philippines. After returning to the United States, he immediately began his baseball career with the Indianapolis ABC's in 1915. He served as a player and/or manager for the ABCs, Chicago American Giants, Lincoln Stars, St. Louis Giants, Harrisburg Giants, Philadelphia Hilldales, Homestead Grays, and Pittsburgh Crawfords.
James William Gilliam (October 17, 1928 - October 8, 1978) was an American second and third baseman and coach in Negro League and Major League Baseball who spent his entire major league career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was named the 1953 National League Rookie of the Year, and was a key member of ten NL championship teams from 1953 to 1978. The Dodgers' leadoff hitter for most of the 1950s, he scored over 100 runs in each of his first four seasons and led the NL in triples and walks once each. Upon retirement, he became one of the first African-American coaches in the major leagues.
William ("Bill") Blair (born October 17, 1921, in Dallas, Texas) is a former Negro league pitcher. Blair graduated Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas and briefly attended Prairie View A&M University. He began his baseball career at the age of 16, playing for a barnstorming team in Mineola, Texas, and went on to join the United States Army, where he became the youngest African American to serve as a first sergeant in the Army during World War II. He pitched from 1946 to 1951, for the Cincinnati Clowns and Cincinnati Crescents, playing against players such as Cool Papa Bell, Satchel Paige, and Hilton Smith. After retiring from baseball, he became a fixture in the community, running a local newspaper, the Elite News, and organising golf tournaments and parades.
Constance "Connie" Enola Morgan (October 17, 1935 - October 14, 1996) was the third woman to play professional baseball in the Negro league.
Morgan replaced second-base player and the first woman in the league Toni Stone in the Indianapolis Clowns in 1954. Morgan played with the team for two years. Before her tenure with the Clowns she played for five seasons with the North Philadelphia Honey Drippers, an all-girls baseball team, batting .368 in that time.
David Julius Malarcher (born in October 18, 1894 in Whitehall, Louisiana, - May 11, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play pitcher, infielder, and outfielder and played from 1916 to 1934.
Samuel Thomas Hughes (October 20, 1910 - August 9, 1981) was an American second baseman in baseball's Negro Leagues. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he played primarily for the Elite Giants through their various stops in Nashville, Columbus, Washington and Baltimore, always in the Negro National League.
He died at age 70 in Los Angeles, California.
Felton Snow (October 23, 1905 – July 1974) was a Negro League professional baseball player who played for the Nashville Elite Giants that later became the Columbus Elite Giants, the Washington Elite Giants, and the Baltimore Elite Giants. Mr. Snow played on the West Squad in the East-West All-Star games of 1935 and 1936. In 1940, he became a player-manager for the Baltimore Elite Giants.
Felton Snow was born in Alabama in 1905 and moved to Louisville, Kentucky as a youngster. In 1929, he began playing for different Louisville ballclubs and eventually joined Tom Wilson’s Nashville Elites. Felton Snow was known as a solid hitter, a good fielder and baserunner. Eventually, Mr. Snow became the Elite Giants’ stand out third baseman. He would bat .301 in 1939 and he played in two Negro League All-Star games. In the 1935 All-Star game, he batted .670. His 1936 West All-Star team included such stars as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell.
During the 1940s he did double duty by managing and playing for the Baltimore Elite Giants. In seven seasons as manager-player he batted .333, .227, .269, .200, .270, .245, and .306. Felton Snow retired from baseball in 1950 with over 21 years of playing time.
After he retired from baseball, Mr. Snow returned to Louisville, Kentucky and worked for the local armory. Following a work injury, he took a job at the Hubbard’s Lane Barber Shop where he worked until his death in 1974 at the age of 69.
Since 1987, there has been a Felton Snow baseball team in the St. Matthews, Kentucky Little League Baseball program.
Bobby Robinson (October 25, 1903 in Mobile, Alabama - May 17, 2002) was an American Negro League baseball player. He was known as the "Human Vacuum Cleaner" because of his fielding ability at third base.[1]
Robinson started with the semi-pro Mobile Tigers with fellow Negro league players Satchel Paige and Ted Radcliffe. He moved on to the Pensacola Giants where he was discovered by the Indianapolis ABC's in 1925. He went on to play for the Birmingham Black Barons, the Chicago American Giants, the Memphis Red Sox, and the Detroit Stars over the next eight years.
William Julius "Judy" Johnson (October 26, 1899 - June 15, 1989) was an American third baseman in Negro league baseball.
Johnson was born in Snow Hill, Maryland. Although his father wanted him to be a boxer, Johnson, who was 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) and only 150 lb (68 kg), was far better suited for a career in baseball. After being a dock worker during World War I, Johnson began his baseball career in 1918, reaching the top-level Negro Leagues in 1921 with Hilldale, a team for which he played through 1929.
Arthur Lee Wilson (born October 28, 1920 in Springville, Alabama) is a former shortstop in Major League and Negro league baseball who was an all-star for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro leagues before playing one season in the major leagues for the New York Giants.
Hurley Allen McNair (born October 28, 1888 in Marshall, Texas - December 2, 1948 in Kansas City, Missouri) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play outfielder and pitcher and played from 1911 - 1937.
Leon Day (October 30, 1916 - March 13, 1995) was an American right-handed pitcher in the Negro Leagues. He played for the Baltimore Black Sox, the Brooklyn & Newark Eagles, and the Baltimore Elite Giants.
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.
John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was a first baseman and manager in Negro league baseball, most notably in the Negro American League with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball, and also worked as a scout. In his later years he became a popular and renowned speaker and interview subject, helping to renew widespread interest in the Negro leagues, and played a major role in establishing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
Cristóbal Torriente (November 16, 1893 - April 11, 1938) was a Cuban outfielder in Negro league baseball with the Cuban Stars, All Nations, Chicago American Giants, Kansas City Monarchs and Detroit Stars over a career that lasted from 1914 to 1928, plus a single game in 1932.
Verdell Mathis (born November 18. 1914 in Crawfordsville, Arkansas) is a retired baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play infielder and pitcher and played from 1940 to 1950.
Maxwell Manning (born in November 18, 1918 in Rome, Georgia, - June 23, 2003 in Pleasantville, New Jersey) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play pitcher and played from 1938 to 1949. He appeared in a 2003 episode of the PBS series History Detectives, which featured an investigation into how a baseball field dedicated to fellow Negro League player John Henry Lloyd (better known as "Pop" Lloyd came to be in Atlantic City, New Jersey during a period where racial discrimination was in force.
Roy Campanella (November 19, 1921 – June 26, 1993), nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player — primarily at the position of catcher — in the Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Widely considered to have been one of the greatest catchers in the history of the game,[1] Campanella played for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1940s and 1950s, as one of the pioneers in breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball. His career was cut short in 1958 when he was paralyzed in an automobile accident.
Saturnino Orestes Armas Miñoso Arrieta, commonly referred to as Minnie Miñoso (mean-YO-so, commonly pronounced minn-OH-so by media) (born November 29, 1925 in Havana, Cuba[1]), is a former star left fielder in Major League Baseball. He had earlier been a standout third baseman in the Negro Leagues, and would later play several seasons in Mexican baseball. He was nicknamed "The Cuban Comet" as well as "Mr. White Sox", and while playing in Mexico was "El Charro Negro" — "The Black Cowboy". He is one of just two players in Major League history to play in five separate decades (1940s-80s), the other being Nick Altrock. With brief appearances with the independent Northern League's St. Paul Saints in 1993 and 2003, Miñoso is the only player to have played professionally in 7 different decades. He was also the last Major Leaguer to have played in the 1940s to play a Major League game.
Ernest Westfield (born November 30, 1939 in Cleveland, Tennessee) is a former right-handed pitcher in Negro league baseball who played from 1959-1965, initially for the Birmingham Black Barons. At 6' 3" and 160 lbs., he batted and threw right-handed.
On August 21, 1960, Jackie Robinson threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the East-West All-Star Game. A few minutes later, the first pitch in the bottom of the first was thrown by Westfield, a skinny flamethrowing 21-year-old.
Westfield pitched three innings and left, down 3-2, two of the West's runs being unearned (Westfield himself had a throwing error). The West won 8-4.
There may have never been a player who was more oblivious to Negro league history when he was a player, and so awed by it in retirement. Westfield, though a footnote in the history of Black Baseball, has made the Negro leagues his life's passion in recent years. He has a talent for writing poems that capture the essence of the Negro leagues and its biggest stars.
Henry Curtis Thompson (December 8, 1925 – September 30, 1969), best known as Hank Thompson, was an American player in the Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball who played primarily as a third baseman. A left-handed batter, he played with the Kansas City Monarchs (1943, 1946-48), St. Louis Browns (1947) and New York Giants (1949-56). He possessed a powerful throwing arm, covered the outfield with grace, and was well liked by his teammates and the Giants' fans.
Thompson was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. At the beginning of his career, he was a hard-hitting star for the Monarchs in the Negro American League, playing both infield and outfield. At 17, he played right field in his first season, batting .300. The following year he was drafted into the Army. Thompson was a machine gunner with the 1695th Combat Engineers at the historic Battle of the Bulge.
Spottswood Poles (December 9, 1887 - September 12, 1962) was an American outfielder in baseball's Negro Leagues. Born in Winchester, Virginia, he died at age 74 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
He was generally recognized as one of the fastest players of his day. His speed was said to be compared to that of Cool Papa Bell, a star of the Negro Leagues of the 1930s, and Ty Cobb. He was a left-handed batter with a noted eye, who hit for exceptionally high batting averages. He started playing organized Negro ball for the Harrisburg Colored Giants in 1906 and first became a professional for Sol White's Philadelphia Giants in 1909. Poles soon followed White to the New York Lincoln Giants in 1911, where he blossomed into a star; in his first four seasons with the Lincoln Giants, 1911–1914, Poles attained batting averages of .440, .398, .414, and .487 against all levels of competition. Poles then spent the next few seasons jumping among the New York Lincoln Stars, Brooklyn Royal Giants, and the Hilldale Daisies. While Poles was with the Daisies, he joined the Army 369th Infantry Regiment (Harlem Hellfighters) to serve during World War I, earning a Purple Heart as a sergeant in France.[1] He returned home and continued a successful baseball career, playing for the Lincoln Giants from 1919 to 1923.[2]
He is credited with a lifetime batting average of over .400 against all competition, and hit .319 in four winters in Cuba. A tantalizing aspect of his career is his success against white major league teams. Poles hit .610 against these teams, including three consecutive hits off Grover Cleveland Alexander. Poles spent his post-baseball years as a taxi cab operator and working at Olmsted Air Force Base in Middletown, Pennsylvania, enabling him to retire comfortably. Because of his Army service, Spottswood Poles was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[3]
Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby (December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball.[1]
A native of Camden, South Carolina, he was the second black player to play in the modern major leagues and the first to do so in the American League. A center fielder, Doby appeared in seven All-Star games and finished second in the 1954 American League MVP voting. Appointed manager of the Chicago White Sox in 1978, Doby was the second African-American to lead a Major League club. He was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 by the Hall's Veterans Committee. He is one of five Hall-of-Famers to have grown up in Paterson, New Jersey, though he was born elsewhere.
Wallace “Bucky” Williams (December 15, 1906 – November 16, 2009) was a Negro League Baseball player and, at the time of his death, the second oldest living former Negro League player behind 104-year-old Emilio Navarro. Williams was a team member for the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1927-1932) and Homestead Grays in 1936. He was known to play earlier with the Pittsburgh Monarchs.
Ramón Herrera [er-ray'-ra] (December 19, 1897 - February 3, 1978) was an infielder in Major League Baseball, playing mainly as a second baseman for the Boston Red Sox in part of two seasons. Listed at 5' 6", 147 lb., Herrera batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Havana, Cuba.
Long before Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby, Herrera was one of the first men to play in both the major leagues (1925-1926) and the negro leagues (1915-1928). He joined the Boston Red Sox in September 1925, appearing in 10 games while hitting a .385 batting average, but he hit only .257 in 74 games in 1926.
In a two-season career, Herrera was a .275 hitter (76-for-276) with 22 runs and 27 RBI in 84 appearances, including 14 doubles, one triple, and one stolen base. He did not hit a home run.
Herrera was enshrined in the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1963. He died in his homeland of Havana, Cuba at age 80.
Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American catcher in baseball's Negro Leagues. He played for the Homestead Grays from 1930 to 1931, moved to the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1932 to 1936, and returned to the Grays from 1937 to 1939 and 1942 to 1946. In 1937 he played for Ciudad Trujillo in Trujillo's Dominican League and from 1940 to 1941 he played in the Mexican League for Rojos del Aguila de Veracruz. Served as the first manager of the Santurce Crabbers, one of the most historic franchises of the Puerto Rico Baseball League. He stood 6-foot-1 (185 cm) and weighed 210 pounds (95 kg) at the peak of his career.[1]
Baseball historians consider Gibson to be among the very best catchers and power hitters in the history of any league, including the Major Leagues, and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. Gibson was known as the "black Babe Ruth."[2] (In fact, some fans at the time who saw both Gibson and Ruth play called Ruth "the white Josh Gibson.") [3] He never played in Major League Baseball because, under their unwritten "gentleman's agreement" policy, they excluded non-whites during his lifetime.
Bruce Franklin Petway (December 23, 1885 - July 4, 1941) was a Negro League catcher in the early 20th century who came to be known as having one of the best throwing arms in the league. He is also said to have been one of the first to have consistently thrown to second base without coming out of the squat.
Petway left a career in medicine to pursue baseball, playing for a number of Negro League teams, most notably the Leland Giants (1906, 1910), Philadelphia Giants (1907-1909), Chicago American Giants (1911-1918), and the Detroit Stars (1919-1925).
While playing in Cuba in 1910, he reportedly threw Ty Cobb out three times, in three attempts to steal. That year, he batted .390, showing off his hitting skills as well. He also led the Cuban League in stolen bases in 1912, when he picked up 20, a rarity for a catcher even at the time.
He played with the Stars into the 20s when he continued to post solid numbers, while simultaneously managing the team, as many stars did in that day. With Detroit, he played with such greats as Pete Hill and future New York Black Yankees' star Bill Holland.
Quincy Thomas Trouppe (December 25, 1912 - August 12, 1993) was a baseball player and an amateur boxing champion. He was a catcher in the Negro Leagues from 1930 to 1949. He was a native of Dublin, Georgia.
He also played in the Mexican League, and the Canadian Provincial League. His teams included St. Louis Stars, Detroit Wolves, Homestead Grays, Kansas City Monarchs, Chicago American Giants, Indianapolis ABC's, Cleveland Buckeyes (whom he managed to North American League titles in 1945 and 1947), New York Cubans, and Bismarcks (a/k/a Bismarck Churchills). He played in Latin America for fourteen winter seasons and barnstormed with black all-star teams playing against white major league players.
Trouppe caught six games for the 1952 Cleveland Indians and made 84 appearances with their Triple-A farm club. When he made his major league debut on April 30, 1952 at Shibe Park he became one of the oldest rookies in MLB history. He was 39 years old. On May 3, he was behind the plate when relief pitcher "Toothpick Sam" Jones entered the game, forming the first black battery in American League history. Trouppe played his last game for the Indians on May 10. In his short stint with Cleveland he was 1-for-10 with a walk and a run scored. He handled 25 chances in the field flawlessly for a fielding percentage of 1.000.
He died at the age of 80 in Creve Coeur, Missouri.
Conrad Laurel Raiford (December 27, 1907 - May 20, 2002) was a champion athlete, educator, goodwill ambassador and one of Greensboro, North Carolina's first African-American police officers. In the early 1930s, Raiford (6'3") was recruited to play for the New York Cuban Giants. It was the so-called decade of Negro League baseball, when men such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard became household names, even in parts of White America. Raiford became a mentor to ensuing young athletes, including tennis player Arthur Ashe, the first African-American male to win a Grand Slam event. Raiford took the quiet teenager under his wing and schooled him on how to earn respect.
Clifford Johnson Jr. (December 27, 1922-November 28, 2004) was a Negro League and Major League Baseball pitcher. Johnson played in his first game for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues at the age of only 17. After a great season, he was selected to the East-West All-Star game, and was the youngest player ever to do so. He was one of the pitchers on the Monarchs 1942 Negro World Series champion team that included future Hall of Famers Satchel Paige and Hilton Smith. In 1943 he took a break from baseball to fight for the US in World War II. In 1946 he returned to the Monarchs and played for them until 1950. In his final season in the Negro Leagues he made his second East-West All-Star game after going 11-2.
Henry Kimbro (1912 - July 11, 1999) was an American Negro League outfielder in the late 1930s and 40s. He played for the Washington Elite Giants, Homestead Grays, Baltimore Elite Giants, and the New York Black Yankees. He was considered a solid, and often underrated Negro League player.
Notable accomplishments include finishing 3rd in batting average twice; .371 in 1946, .363 in 1947. He appeared in six East-West All-Star Games. He also won the batting title w
with a .346 average, and set a league record with 104 hits, playing for Havana in the Cuban Winter League during the 1947-48 season.
Kimbro once hit a home run out of Briggs Stadium in Detroit.
Frank C. Leland was a Negro Leagues outfielder, manager and club owner.
Frank Leland, from Memphis, Tennessee, attended Fisk University. He began his baseball career with the Washington Capital Cities in the League of Colored Baseball Clubs.
In 1888, he organized the black amateur Union Base Ball Club, with sponsorship from some of Chicago's black businessmen. Leland obtained a lease from the city government to play at South Side Park, a 5,000-seat facility. In 1898 his team went pro and became the Chicago Unions.
He played outfield with the Unions in the 1880s. A businessman, Leland returned to baseball in 1901 when he merged the Unions and the Columbia Giants to form the Chicago Union Giants. This became the top Negro League team in the Midwest. Leland served as manager of the Union Giants as well as owner.
Walter "Dobie" Moore (1895 or 1896 - ?) was an American shortstop and right-handed batter in the Negro Leagues who played his entire career with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League. His career ended after only seven seasons when he shattered his already injured leg while escaping a woman who had shot him.
Born in Georgia, Moore served in the United States Army and played for the 25th Infantry Wreckers from 1916 to 1920, along with Bullet Rogan and other future Negro Leaguers. He went directly to the Monarchs in mid-season 1920, where he was the league's top shortstop until his career ended. 5'11" and 230 pounds, he fielded his position with Gold Glove ability and hit for a .359 lifetime batting average with better than average power and speed.
James Moore, commonly called Red Moore, (born 1916) was a professional baseball player. Moore was a player in the Negro League, appearing with many different teams but most substantially with home team Atlanta Black Crackers. He also served with three different All-Star teams and, in 1938, played with the Southern News Services All-American Negro League Baseball Team. In 2006 he was inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame.
William S. Monroe (c. 1877 – March 16, 1915) was an American infielder in baseball's Negro leagues. He was also known by the nickname of "Money." During a 19-year career from 1896 to 1914, he played on many of the greatest teams in black baseball. He was a good hitter and slick fielding third base and second baseman who was compared to major league star Jimmy Collins.[1] Monroe played all four infield positions, but spent his prime seasons at third base and second base.
George Stovey is considered the best African-American baseball pitcher of the nineteenth century, but discrimination barred him from the majors and led him to move from team to team until he had no further opportunities to play in the minors. In 1886 the New York Giants attempted to acquire Stovey but Cap Anson helped stop the arrangement.
In 1889 he pitched for both the Cuban Giants, based at Trenton, New Jersey, and the New York Gorhams, based in Philadelphia. In 1891 he played for the Cuban Giants at Ansonia. These were all-black teams playing in organized baseball in those two seasons. He also played some in the outfield, batting .256 in a total of 122 games.
Francis Xavier Warfield was an infielder and manager in the Negro Leagues.
Standing at just 5'7", Warfield was known primarily for his fielding and baserunning excellence, but he also had several good years at the plate. In 1922, he hit .342 for the Detroit Stars. He played on the Hilldale teams that won the Eastern Colored League pennants from 1923 to 1925.
Warfield became player-manager of the Baltimore Black Sox in 1929 and led them to the Negro American League championship. He and teammates Oliver Marcelle, Dick Lundy, and Jud Wilson became known as the "Million Dollar Infield" because their collective talents may have been worth $1,000,000 to the major leagues had they been white.
He died of a heart attack in 1932.
Chaney White (born unknown in Dallas, Texas - 1965 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play outfielder and played from 1919 to 1936.
Frank Wickware (born 1888 in Coffeyville, Kansas - 1967 in Schenectady, New York) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play pitcher and played from 1910 to 1925.
George Williams (born unknown - unknown) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play outfielder and infielder and played from 1885 to 1902.
George H. Wilson (born unknown - unknown) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play pitcher and played from 1895 to 1905.
Jesse "Nip" Winters (born 1899 in Washington, D.C. - December 1971 in Hockessin, Delaware) was a pitcher in Negro League baseball, playing for many top eastern teams from 1920 to 1933, and considered one of the top left-handed pitchers of his day.
John Richard "Johnny" Wright was a Negro League pitcher who played briefly in the International League of baseball's minor leagues in 1946, and was on the roster of the Montreal Royals at the same time as Jackie Robinson, making him a plausible candidate to have broken the baseball color barrier. Instead, Wright was demoted from Montreal and returned the next season to the Negro Leagues
Otha Bailey (born 1931) was a former Negro Leagues baseball player. He was a catcher for many teams. He played for the Birmingham Black Barons, Chattanooga Choo-Choos, Cleveland Buckeyes, Houston Eagles, and the New Orleans Eagles. Throughout his career, his nickname was "Little Catch".
Bernardo Baro (born in Cuba - June 1930 in Cuba) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play pitcher, infielder, and outfielder and played from 1913 to 1930.
Chester Brooks (born unknown in Nassau, Bahamas) - unknown) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play pitcher, infielder, and outfielder and played from 1918 to 1933.
David Brown (born 1896)[1] was a left-handed pitcher in Negro league baseball. Considered one of the better pitchers in negro league history, he was also known for serious off-the-field problems. His career came to a premature end when he became a fugitive after allegedly killing a man in 1925.
Lou Chirban was one of the five white professional baseball players to be the first to join the Negro American League. He was signed to the Chicago American Giants in 1950 by Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe with the support of the team’s owner, Dr. J.B. Martin, who was concerned about black players joining Major League teams. The other four young white players were Lou Clarizio, Al Dubetts, Frank Dyall and Stanley Miarka).[1]
Dr. J. B. Martin was president of the Negro American League and owned the Chicago American Giants baseball team.
Martin and his brother B.B. Martin were Memphis dentists with other business interests. One of these was the Memphis Red Sox. The brothers built Martin Park on Crump Boulevard, Memphis for the club, making the Red Sox one of the few clubs in the Negro Leagues with their own ballpark.
Martin appointed Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe as manager of the Chicago American Giants in 1950. He was concerned about black players joining Major League teams so he instructed Radcliffe to sign white players. Radcliffe recruited at least five young white players (Lou Chirban, Lou Clarizio, Al Dubetts, Frank Dyall and Stanley Miarka). The team disbanded in 1952.
Phillip Cockrell, born Phillip Williams, (born 1898 in Augusta, Georgia - March 31, 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play pitcher and outfielder and played from 1917 to 1934.
Charles Grant (1879–July 1932)[1] was an African American second baseman in Negro League baseball. Grant nearly crossed the baseball color line decades before Jackie Robinson when Major League Baseball manager John McGraw attempted to pass him off as a Native American named "Tokohama".
Wallace Reed Guthrie, born 1922 to Skyler and Lucille (VanDyke) Guthrie in Paris Tennessee. Guthrie was a hard throwing pitcher who played for his hometown team, the Paris Eagles (later known as the Paris Giants). His fastball was in excess of 90 miles per hour, which landed him a spot in the Memphis Red Sox as a pitcher in 1952. He played against such greats as Satchel Page, Junior Gilliam, Joe Black and Roy Campanella. In 1977 he was honored by his hometown of Paris, Tennessee when he was inducted in the Henry County Sports Hall of Fame. Wallace died April 7, 1999 at the age of 77.
Juan Francisco "Pancho" Herrera was a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played all or part of three seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies between 1958 and 1961. He also played for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro American League, from whom he was purchased by the Phillies in 1954, and in Mexico. Herrera was the first Afro-Latino to play for the Phillies.[1]
1960 was Herrera's most productive year. He homered 17 times and batted .281 for the season. There were some holes in Herrera's game. He led National League batters with 136 strikeouts. At the time it was a league record. Herrera also committed more errors(13) than any other first baseman in the league. Still Herrera finished a distant 2nd to Frank Howard in that year's Rookie of the Year balloting.
Herrera's statistics slipped after 1960 and he never played again in the majors after the 1961 season. He played another eight years of minor league baseball before retiring in 1969. After that he managed in both the Mexican and Florida State leagues.
Oscar Johnson (born 1896 in Atchison, Kansas - 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play catcher and outfielder and played from 1922 to 1933.
Jimmie Lyons (born in Chicago, Illinois - unknown) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play pitcher and outfielder and played from 1910 to 1925.
Dan McClellan (born unknown - 1931) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play infielder and pitcher and played from 1903 - 1925.
Horacio Martinez (born in 1915 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, - 1992) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play infielder and played from 1935 to 1947.
Barney Morris was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. A skillful pitcher, he played for the Monroe Monarchs and the Bismarck Churchills.
John W. Patterson (born unknown - unknown) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play outfielder and infielder and played from 1893 - 1907.
Andrew H. "Jap" Payne (born unknown - unknown) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play outfielder and infielder and played from 1902 to 1919.
Alex Radcliffe (1905–1983) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He is widely acknowledged to have been the best third baseman in the history of the Negro American League. He was the brother of Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe.
George Richardson was a shortstop with the Chicago Union Giants and the Algona Brownies from 1901 to 1903.
Leroy ("Roy," "Everready") Roberts was a pitcher in baseball's Negro Leagues from 1916 to 1934. He played for several teams, but was mostly associated with the Bacharach Giants. In 1921 he spent a season as the ace pitcher of the Columbus Buckeyes, leading the Negro National League in innings pitched and several other categories while compiling a 7-15 record. His primary pitch was the fastball.
Charles "Chino" Smith (1903 - January 16, 1932) was an American outfielder in Negro league baseball who was one of the Negro leagues' most skillful hitters of the mid-1920s and early 1930s. He stood only 5'6" tall but could hit the ball with prodigious power and efficiency. In fact, Satchel Paige called him one of the two most dangerous hitters in Negro league history. He had an incredible eye and hit amazing line drives to all fields, striking fear into opposing pitchers during all plate appearances.
Clarence Smith (born unknown - unknown) was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play infielder and outfielder and played from 1921 to 1933.
Stephen Stradley (1893-1972) was a Negro league baseball player who played exclusively for the Baltimore Black Sox. He was a switch-hitter with a career average of .253 who began his career in the outfield and then wound up at shortstop. He entered the league at only 19 years old in 1912, and retired at the young age of 29 in 1922 due to a rare heart condition and the desire to support his wife in her struggles as a women's rights advocate.
Clint "Hawk" Thomas was a baseball player born in Greenup, Kentucky in 1896. Thomas was an outfielder and second baseman in the Negro Leagues from 1920-1937, where he earned the nickname "Hawk" for his sharp eyed hitting and center field skills. During his career Thomas spent time playing, most notably, with the New York Black Yankees, but also with the Brooklyn Royal Giants, Columbus Buckeyes, Detroit Stars, Hilldale , Bacharach Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, New York Cubans, Newark Eagles, and Philadelphia Stars. During his nearly 20 year career Thomas racked an impressive 400 home runs and 4,000 career hits and was a member of the 1925 and 1926 Eastern Colored League Championship Philadelphia Hilldale teams. Thomas joined the New York Black Yankees in 1931 and, the following year, "ruined" the opening of Greenlee Field by scoring the only run and making a game saving catch in the Black Yankees defeat of Satchel Paige's Philadelphia Crawfords. After his baseball career ended, Thomas took work at the Virginia State House, where one of his duties was to make coffee for the state legislators. Thomas died December 3, 1990 in Charleston, West Virginia.[1]
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