Eugene Scruggs1952-59
Detroit Stars
Kansas City Monarchs
Birmingham Black Barons
Mayeville Red Sox
Grand Rapids Black Sox
"Just the honor of playing in the Negro Leagues...."
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Pedro Serra - Bobby Mitchell - page 39
Pedro Serra - Cuba1954-55 Indianapolis Clowns
1956 Detroit Stars
Signed by the Minnesota Twins, played 4 years in the minor leagues
Canadian Quebec League - 3 years
Washington Senators - spring training, 2 years in Senators minor league system
Mexican Leagues - 5 years
Dominican Republic
Bobby Mitchell
1954-57 Kansas City Monarchs
Right handed pitcher with an 85-90 MPH fastball.
Pancho Gray - Jim Robinson- page 38
Pancho Gray "The Legend"
1929-1945
"I hit more home runs than Hank Aaron and Willie Mays combined, but I played more years than them combined.
I remember hitting the ball just past 2nd base into the outfield where the grass was so high they couldn't find the ball, I would just keep running.."
"Outfielders today don't have the same ability we had to reach home, we had no cut off man.."
Jim Robinson
1952 Philadelphia Stars
1953-55 Indianapolis Clowns
1956-58 Kansas City Monarchs
1955, 1956, 1957 All-Star Team
Stars finback button (probably 1.25")
Purnell Mincy - Frazier Robinson- page 37
Purnell MincyNewark Eagles
New York Black Yankees
Philadelphia Stars
1938 tryout for the Pittsburgh Crawfords, signed in 1939 by the Eagles.
None of his opponents ever had a good foothold at the plate when Mincy pitched.
"Biggest thrill was striking out Mules Suttles."
Frazier Robinson - Catcher
1939-1950
Baltimore Grays
Baltimore Elite Giants
Kansas City Monarchs
New York Black Yankees
Chicago American Giants
Abilene Eagles
Odessa Giants (e years in the minor leagues)
Satchel Paige All-Stars 1939
Tony Lloyd - Joe B Scott - page 36
Tony Lloyd1959 Birmingham Black Barons
Joe B. Scott
Outfield, 1st base
1936-1956
New York Black Yankees
Memphis Red Sox
Pittsburgh Crawfords
Chicago American Giants
Satchel Paige All-stars
"Played against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 1945 exhibition game in Muncie, Ind. while playing for the Wright Field Kittyhawks, United States Air Corp service team (1944-45)
Vincent Lee - Nap Gulley - page 35
Vincent LeeShort, 3rd base
1928-29 Ebenezer AME Royals
1930-31 Baltimore Black Sox
1932-33 Miami Giants
1933-36 Denver Monarchs
1937 Kansas City Monarchs
1938-41 Young Black Sox
1942-47 Silver Moons
Napoleon "Nap" Gulley
1941 Kansas City Monarchs
1941, 1946, 1949 Chicago American Giants
1941-42 Birmingham Black Barons
1943-45 Cleveland Buckeyes
1947-48 Newark Eagles
Left handed pitcher, good fastball, "out" pitch was overhand drop curve.....
Willie Lee - Willie Grace - page 34
Willie Lee1955-59 Kansas City Monarchs
Willie Garce
1942-50
Cincinnati-Cleveland-Louisville Buckeyes
Houston Eagles
1951 Erie, Middle Atlantic League
"Biggest moment was defeating the Homestead Grays in 4 straight to win the 1945 World Series..."
1945 Series Batting Ave .313
1946 All-star team, had 3 consecutive .300 seasons
At the time of this signing, Willie Grace was blind. He used a template to position his pen.
James Ivory - Toots Farrell - page 33
James Ivory1957 Detroit Stars
1958-59 Birmingham Black Barons
1959-1962 Mexican Leagues
1959 San Francisco Giants spring training
"Hit three home runs against the Memphis Red Sox, in 1958, in one game....1958 MVP."
Leroy "Toots" Farrell
1946-50 Newark Eagles, Baltimore Elite Giants
1950 Chicago Cubs tryout
Played in the Brooklyn Dodgers minor league organization..
1999 Delaware Afro-American Hall of Fame
2000 Delaware Sports Hall of Fame
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Mamie Peanut Johnson - page 32
Indianapolis Clowns..Were originally formed in 1929 as the Miami Clowns, then as the Ethiopian Clowns. The Clowns entertained with a mix of comedy on the field and excellent baseball skill. Their comic routines gave potential customers one more reason to come to the park during the depression years..they regularly played the powerhouse clubs of the Negro Leagues, the Monarchs, Elite Giants, American Giants, compiling a respectable record. The Clowns entrance into the Negro American League in 1941 clearly demonstrated the ability of the club as a professional baseball team..
1953 the Clowns, in an effort to spark fan interest signed three women..Toni Stones, Connie Morgan and Mamie "Peanut" Johnson...
Mamie "Peanut" Johnson
1953-55 Indianapolis Clowns
Before joining the Clowns, Johnson and a girlfriend tried to join the All-american Girls Baseball League..."I went to join the team and they looked at us like we were crazy."
Fondest memory "The thrill of knowing I'm good enough to play with the fellas"
Satchel Paige taught 5'2" 120lbs Peanut to throw the curve, "The curveball gave me an edge"
1997 - Milwaukee County Stadium Negro Wall of Fame
Gene Collins - page 31
Gene Collins1947-51 Kansas City Monarchs
"Pitched his first no-hitter against the Newark Eagles..Had 2 career no-hit games..."
Best season 1948 9-3 2.23 ERA
Minor Leagues 1951-54
Mexican Leagues 1955-61
Strong left-handed pitcher with excellent fastball, good curve and outstanding move to first...
Started as a pitcher, moved to outfield to increase playing time...
Rodolfo Fernandez - page 30
The best players black and white were sought to play in the winter leagues in Latin America...The Latin players could measure themselves against the greatest from the United States. White players could earn extra money while enjoying a tropical climate. Blacks would be treated as equals and have the chance to test their skills against the white Major League stars..
When Negro League players played in the winter leagues they were treated like stars and with respect.
Rodolfo Fernandez - pitcher
Cuban Stars 1932-34, 1936
New York Cubans 1935, 1939, 1943
Santo Domingo, Cuidad Trujillo All-Stars 1937
Venezuelan League 1937-38
Mexican League 1940-42
Canadian League 1946...
Excellent sinker, good control on his fastball and curve. Excelled against Major League teams in exhibition, defeating the New York Giants 4-0, Brooklyn Dodgers 3-0 and Cincinnati Reds 2-1...
Coached the New York Cubans and managed and won a championship in 1952 with Aguila, Cibaenas, Dominican Republic..
Leroy Cromartie - page 29
Leroy Cromartie1945 Indianapolis Clowns
Fondest memories of playing against Jackie Robinson and the Kansas City Monarchs and Roy Campanella and the Baltimore Elite Giants..
Sherwood Brewer - page 28
Sherwood Brewer1949-50 Indianapolis Clowns
1948 New York Cubans
"Proudest moment was taking over as manager of the Monarchs from Buck O'Neil..."
All-Star Team 1949, 1950
1952 Ardmore, Sooner League
1953-54 Kansas City Monarchs
-after 1950 the Negro Leagues were considered a minor league operation...
His best years in organized ball came in 1955 and 1956 with San Angelo, playing 2nd base, hitting .288 and .268...
1946 Seattle Steelheads
1947-48 Harlem Globetrotters
2000 - Milwaukee County Stadium - Negro League Wall of Fame.
Lester Lockett - page 27
Lester LockettBirmingham Black Barons 1938, 1941-46
Baltimore Elite Giants 1947-49
Cincinnati Buckeyes 1940
Chicago American Giants 1942, 1950
Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns 1946
"Playing in the 1945 All-Star game, to be seen by 43,000 people and just to be selected to the All-Star team..."
Also played in Canada and South America
1951 Farnham, Provincial League, Canada
1952 Winnipeg, Mandak League
1953 Carman, Mandak League
3-time Negro League All-Star 1943, 45, 48...Batting in the heart of the order for Birmingham and Baltimore hit for averages of .328, .315, .408, .249, .300 1941-45 and .313 and .386 1947 and 1948...
Lockett could hit for power or steal a base and his versatility was utilized in the field, especially at 3rd base...
John Kennedy - page 26
John Kennedy3rd base
1954-55 Birmingham Black Barons
1956 K.C. Monarchs
1957 Philadelphia Phillies (injuries forced him out after 5 games)
First African-American to play for the Phillies
Played part of an All-Star team against the Willie Mays All-Stars (from the Major Leagues). mays hit two 2-run home runs, while totaling 5 RBI's in the game. Kennedy hit 2 solo home runs and an RBI double for 3 RBI's in the game...The Mays' All-Stars won the game 5-3...
Wilmer Harris - page 25
Wilmer Harris1945-50 Philadelphia Stars - pitcher
Pitched his first game in Yankee Stadium against Satchel Paige before a crowd of 35,000. Paige usually pitched 3 innings near the end of his career. Paige told Harris he would stay until a run was scored. paige stayed until the seventh inning, when the New York Black Yankees scored 3 runs. NY defeated Harris and the Stars 3-1...
"Playing against the Newark Eagles, struck out Monte Irvin, Larry Doby and Lenny Pearson in one game.."
1951 - Elgin, New Brunswick, Canada
Also played for the Jackie Robinson All-Stars, and for teams in Panama, Venezuela and Santo Domingo
Stanley Glenn - page 24
Stanley Glenn - catcher1944-50 Philadelphia Stars
"Hit 5 home runs in a double header, but felt his catching duties were more important and had pride in getting his pitcher through the game..."
Played in Venezuela in 1949 with the New York Stars
Big catcher with a strong arm...
Hartford, Eastern League 1950-52
Quebec, Provincial League 1952-53
St. Thomas (Ind.), Ontario, Canada 1954-55
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Mahlon Duckett - page 23
Mahlon Duckett1940-50 Infield
Philadelphia Stars
Homestead Grays
"Remembrance of hitting a game winning home run off Satchel Paige in Yankee Stadium, 1941..."
Bo Wallace - page 22
Bo WallaceNewark Eagles 1948-1949
"Has fondest memories of catching for the Eagles star pitcher Leon Day..."
1948 .321 B.A. with 11 HRs against all levels of competition...
Bridgeport, Colonial League 1950
Ottawa, Border League 1950
2 time All-star in baseball...
Jimmie Armstead, Russell Awkard - page 21
Jimmie ArmsteadPitcher 1938-40
Indianapolis ABC's
St. Louis Stars
Baltimore Elite Giants 1940-46
Philadelphia Stars 1949
Russell Awkard
outfield, 2nd base
Loaned by the Newark Eagles to the New York Cubans 1940. Returned to the Eagles in 1941
"Fondly recalled hitting a home run off Raymond Brown of the Homestead Grays to win a game..."
Spray hitter with sufficient speed to steal bases.
Pee Wee Jenkins, Ray Noble - page 20
James "Pee Wee" JenkinsNew York Cubans 1946-50
"I would have practically played for noting, because I love baseball.."
Also played for the Indianapolis Clowns, Birmingham Black Barons, Luke Easter's All-Stars...
Ray Noble - catcher
New York Cubans 1945-50
Contract sold to the NY Giants organization, played for the Giants 1951-53 compiling a career .218 B.A.
A "solid hitter with power, batted .325 during the Cubans 1947 Championship season
Oakland, Pacific Coast League 1950
15 home runs, .316 B.A.
George Crowe - page 19
George Crowe - 1bNew York Black Yankees 1947
New York Cubans 1948-49
Had a .305 batting average his rookie season with the Black Yankees. complied a .270 Negro League batting average.
Pawtucket, New England League 1949
.354 with league leading 106 RBI...
Boston - Milwaukee Braves 1952-55
Cincinnati Reds 1956-58
St.Louis Cardinals 1959-61
Best season 1957, 31 HRs .270 batting average
1958 All-star team selection
Lyman Bostock - page 18
Lyman Bostock, Sr.Brooklyn Royal Giants 1938-39
Birmingham Black Barons 1940-42, 46
Chicago American Giants 1947, 1949
New York Cubans 1948
1941 All-Star Team
1941 batting Title .439
Winnepeg Buffalos, Mandak League 1950-51
Carmen Cardinals, Mandak League 1952-53
Solid player on offenses and defense. good fielder at first with average speed. Left-handed pull-hitter with consistency and power.
"Playing on the 1948 Jackie Robinson All-star team."
Armando Vasquez - page 17
Armando Vasquez"I can remember that sometimes we'd play three games in one day, like the 4th of July. The first game would start at 10:00 in the morning, the second game at 2PM, the third early in the evenings. Sometimes playing in three different towns."
Cinicannti - Indianapolis Clowns 1944-52
New York Cubans 1948
Havana La Palomas, Cuba 1947
Canadian League 1949-51
Thibodaux, Evangeline League 1954
Mexico City Tigers 1955
Smooth fielder at first base....
Josh Johnson - page 16
Josh Johnson1936-1939
Cincinnati Tigers
Homestead Grays
New York Black Yankees
Played dual positions as catcher and pitcher
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Benny Felder - Charlie Biot -page 15
Benny Felder1946-1947
Newark Eagles - shortstop
"Fondest memory was winning the 1946 Negro League Championship"
Indianapolis Clowns 1948
Philadelphia Stars 1951
Keywest Florida Int. League 1952
Pampa, W. Texas-N. Mexico League 1953-54
Artesia, Longhorn League 1954
Charlie Biot
1939-1941
Newark Eagles
New York Black Yankees
Baltimore Elite Giants
"Recalls a home run he hit off Adams in Baltimore and just being able to play ball..."
Outstanding fielder, who hit for Ave. of .305 in 1940 and .278 in 1941...
Curley Williams - page 14
Willie "Curley" WilliamsNewark Eagles 1945-48
Houston Eagles 1949-50
New Orleans Eagles 1951
Toledo American Association 1952
Scranton, Eastern Leagues 1952
Carman Cardinals, ManDak League, Canada 1953
1945 BA .333 with a .621 Slugging Ave. Usually batting second in the order. Played shortstop and other infield positions...
Orlando Cepeda - page 13
Orlando Cepeda1958-1974 San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Oakland A's, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals...
"The Baby Bull" was named "Rookie of the Year" 1958 - hitting 24 HRs.
Lifetime - .297 batting average, 379 home runs...
MVP 1967 - .325 BA, 26 HRs, 111 RBIs...
1961 lef the National League with 46 HRs and 142 RBIs...
Batted .300+ seven times during 17 seasons...
Elected to the Hall of Fame 1999...
Represented his father...
Petrucho "The Bull" Cepeda
(listed on the roster of the New York Cubans, but no records exist of his playing)..
Considered the best slugger in Puerto Rico, played for the Trujillo All-Stars, Dominica..
A good shortstop, good line drive hitter with ability to hit in the power alleys. A legend with Puerto Rico, had back-to-back seasons of .365 and .386 BA and .423 and .464...
RBI leader in 1941...
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Luis Tiant - page 12
Luis Tiant1964-1982 : Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, NY Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, California Angels
229 wins - 172 loses 3.30 ERA
Tiant begins with an exaggerated mid-windup pivot, turing his back to the batter, he would whip around and fire a dozen different kinds of pitches from three different positions, all for strikes, without looking at home plate...Tiant was present to represent his father....
Luis Tiant, Sr.
1930-1947 New York Cubans
Gifted Left-handed pitcher. Legendary among Cubans. A great fastball and a screwball, with the best move towards first base...
Would intentionally walk "Cool Papa" Bell just to set up a base stealing duel...
Gene Benson - page 11
Gene Benson1034-48..Bacharach Giants, Pittsburgh Crawfords, Philadelphia Stars, Newark Eagles...
"Played on the American All-Stars in Caracas, Venezuela in 1945, alongside Jackie Robinson, Sam Jethroe, Roy Campanella and Buck Leonard"
All-Star 1940, 1945, 1946..
A Smooth fielding, reliable hitter, consistently maintained a high batting average, compiling a career average around .300...
1946 hit .370...
Played most of his career with the Stars...
Lefty Mathis - page 10
Verdell "Lefty" MathisMemphis Red Sox (1940-1952)
started his career at 18 years old, in 1940...
Lefty was often called on to pitch in the big games because of his ability to pitch past the opposing batters.
Lefty's big pitch was the screwball.
Won back-to-back East-West All-Star Games 1944, 1945.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Ted Radcliffe - page 9
Ted Radcliffe "Double Duty"
3-time All-Star catcher, 3-time All-Star pitcher
1928-1950 - played for more than 15 clubs.
1937-38 Memphis Red Sox manager
1943 Chicago American Giants manager
1932 Pittsburgh Crawfords - Negro World Series caught Satchel paige in the first game of a double-header, then pitched a shutout in the second game
Sports series commemorative casino chip from Fiesta Casino, N. Las Vegas, Nv
March 1997
Sam Jethroe - page 8
Same Jethroe - Cleveland Buckeyes 1942-48
His hitting ability earned him four appearances in the East-west Classic.
1946 Jethroe hit a league leading .393 and compiled a Negro League career batting average of .342.
1949 Jethroe signed with the Boston Braves, in his rookie season 1950, Jethroe hit .273, scored 100 runs, stole 35 bases and earned National League rookie of the Year honors.
After leading the National League in stolen bases, 1950, 1951, vision problems would force Jethroe from baseball finishing his Major League career in 1954 with the Pittsburgh Pirates..
He continued his career for several seasons in the International League.
Joe Black - page 7
Joe Black - Baltimore Elite Giants
Brooklyn Dodgers 1952-55
Cincinnati Reds 1955-56
Washington Senators 1957
1952 World Series- Brooklyn Dodgers v NY Yankee...Black becomes the first black pitcher to win a World Series Game, 4-2 at
Ebbetts Field, Brooklyn
1952 Rookie of the Year
finback button - 1.75 inches - Brooklyn Dodgers
Josh Gibson, Jr - page 6
Josh Gibson, Jr.
Followed his father's base-path playing for the Homestead Grays 1949-1950. Youngstown (Mid-Atlantic League) Farnham Quebec (Canadian League)
"Somewhat embarrassed, remembered playing against Satchel Paige, who picked off Sam Bankhead from Second base and Josh Jr from first base in the same inning."
Josh Gibson - 1930-46 catcher Homestead Grays, Pittsburgh Crawfords..Considered by many to be equal to Babe Ruth for his power and ability to hit 500ft home runs..Credited with 75 home runs in 1931 and 69 during the 1934 seasons.
Homestead Grays pinback button 1.25"
Max Manning - page 5
Max Manning - Newark Eagles 1938-1949
Known for his fastball -- struck out first five batters in his debut.
Manning played for the Houston Eagles in 1950, after the Negro Leagues folded.
Played in the East-West All-star game twice, also played for Satchel paige's All-Stars, as well as playing in Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Cuba.
Best years 1946 15-1, 1947 15-6...
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Buck O'Neil page 4
John "Buck" O'Neil - Kansas City Monarchs 1937-1955, Memphis Red Sox. 1942 NL American Title,Negro World Series. 1940, 1946 Batting Title.Played in East-West All-Star Classic 1942, 1943, 1949, managed West 1950, 1953, 1954, 1955.
Led Monarchs to league titles 1948, 1950, 1951, 1953.
First black coach in the majors with the Chicago Cubs 1962, had scouted for the cubs since 1956.
Monte Irvin page 3
Monte Irvin - Newark Eagles..Joined the NY Giants in 1949. during the 1951 season Irvin drove in a league leading 121 runs, while batting .312 with 24 HRs.
Irvin had a MLB career .293 BA, 443 RBIs and 99 HRs.
Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame - 1973.
Jackie Robinson page 2
Jackie Robinson, the man who broke the color barrier of Major League Baseball in 1947, when he appeared for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The US Postal Service issued a stamp in honor of Jackie in 1982, I decided since I would not be able to add Jackie's signature to the book, I would take a first day cancer and add the cancel to the book, along with a printing of a linoleum block print I had created for the issuance of the stamp in 1982.
Negro League Baseball page 1
The opening page of the book provides some information on the development of the Negro Leagues..
Negro League Baseball
When I first heard there was going to be a memorabilia show featuring over 60 Negro League Baseball players, June 21-22, 1997, I knew I had to go. The show was held at a hotel in Secaucus, NJ With the league's demise in the 1950's, I knew there would be a point in time when there would be no players living. Therefore the time was right to put together a special collection. I decided to purchase a sketch book, have the ballplayers sign a page to which I would later add information and draw an appropriate sketch.
I found a sketch book that utilized a beige colored paper, instead of white. I would then draw all my sketches in brown and orange inks to give the book a old-time feel. I also asked the players what there favorite memories of playing were and added them to the page with their signature, for a more personalized touch.
While I was collecting the autographs JC Hartman's wife inquired if I was going to get the book published. That was not my intention, however with this blog, I am publishing the book.
At the time I worked on this book, getting information or photos of players from the Negro Leagues was difficult. Dial-up internet, non-existant books at the library. It was a struggle so some data may be missing from the players in this book.
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