PERSONALITIES

BLC_ PERSONALITIES:

Sam Allen, Juan Armenteros, James Bolden, Lyman Bostock, Ollie Brantley, Cleophus Brown, Sidney Bunch, Al Burrows, Paul Casanova, Jim Colzie, Leroy Cromartie, Jimmy Dean, Clifford DuBose, Henry Elmore, Frank Evans, Elijah Gilliam, Louis Gillis, William Greason, Acie Griggs, Raymond Haggins, Donnie Harris, Willie Harris, Francisco Herrera, Carl Holden, Gordon Hopkins, Cowan Hyde, Curtis Johnson, Willie Lee, Larry LeGrande, Tony Lloyd, Carl Long, Walter Lundy, Frank Marsh, Butch McCord, Jessie Mitchell, John Mitchell, Bob Mitchell, Willie Patterson, William Powell, Laymon Ramsey, Ted Rasberry, Ulysses Redd, Jim Robinson, Tommy Sampson, Jake Sanders, Joe B. Scott, Robert Scott, Eugene Scruggs, Pedro Sierra, Herb Simpson, Frank Thompson, Sam Thompson, Eugene White, Eli Williams, Eugene Williams, Willie Williams, Archie Young, Willie Young, and Jim Zapp.

NLB PERSONALITIES:

Bud Fowler:

In 1878, pitcher John “Bud” Fowler was acquired by the Lynn, Massachusetts, International Association club, a white team, to become the first black man to play professional baseball.  He was a versatile athlete, providing each of his teams with multi-position abilities.  His career spanned two decades taking him through the Central, New Mexico, Michigan State and Two-I Leagues before he co-founded the Page Fence Giants in 1895. Who was the other Page Fence Giants co-founder? Page Fence Shortstop and captain Grant “Home Run” Johnson

Walker Bros:

On May 1, 1884 Moses “Fleet” Walker became the second American Negro to play professional baseball, the first to play baseball in a major league game.  Fleet caught for the American Association’s Toledo Blue Sox of the Northwest League.  Welday Walker followed his older brother’s lead and joined the team to become the second black major leaguer. Who is known to be the first black professional baseball player?  John “Bud” Fowler

Rube Foster:

Andrew “Rube” Foster* (9/17/1879 – 12/9/1930) was born in Calvert, Texas. His passion for baseball began as a hard-throwing pitcher in 1897.  During the 1905 season, Andrew Foster won 51 of 55 games.  He was an aspiring competitor with dreams of becoming a major leaguer.  Through no fault of his own, he fell short of his major league dream.  He did, however, influence in a major way, the future of black baseball by founding the Negro National League in 1920.  He is today referred to as the “Father of Negro Leagues Baseball”.

How did Andrew Foster come to be known as “Rube”?  During the 1905 season, while pitching against the Athletics of the major leagues, Andrew defeated Athletics ace Rube Waddell and came to be known as the colored Rube Waddell.

Cum Posey:

Cumberland Willis Posey was a very gifted businessman He was the mastermind behind the Homestead Grays dynasty.  His tenor with the Grays began as an outfielder in 1911. He was named manager in 1916 and led the charge to develop a championship team.  In 1932, following the fall of the Negro National League, Mr. Posey directed the formation of the East-West League.  In 1946 after more than three decades of faithful service to the Grays, he died.  Where did Cumberland play college basketball and baseball?  Penn State and Duquesne Universities.

Gus Greenlee:

W. A. “Gus” Greenlee was a WWI veteran from Marion, North Carolina.  He had moved to Pittsburgh in 1920 and years later opened the Crawford Grille restaurant and night club in the Hill District.  Gus was also known as the numbers king of Pittsburgh.  He made his fortune taking bets and bootlegging liquor during prohibition.  In 1931, Gus became interested in creating a team that could compete with the Grays so he proceeded to sign major talent and created his Pittsburgh Crawfords for the 1932 season.  He built Greenlee Field in the Hill District and then commanded the movement to resurrect the Negro National League for 1933.  What game did Greenlee introduce to Negro baseball in 1933?  Working to fulfill an idea brought to him by his associate Roy Sparrow in 1932, Gus and Roy delivered the East-West Game

James Leslie (J. L.) Wilkinson:

(Born: 1874 Died: 1964) Mr. Wilkinson was a white businessman and a baseball pioneer.  Although he played baseball as a youngster, his greatest accomplishments were in the area of baseball management.  He assembled a successful independent team in 1912 known as All Nations. In 1920, he was the only white man to enter a team in the new Negro National League.  That team was called the Kansas City Monarchs.  Mr. Wilkinson was an honest man, well liked and respected by his players.  He increased gate revenue by promoting ‘Ladies Day’ and ‘Kid’s Day’. What was the story behind Wilkinson’s $50,000 investment during the Great Depression?  J. L. Wilkinson revolutionized baseball by building portable lighting systems that made night games possible.

Judge Mountain Landis:

Kenesaw Mountain Landis was the first Major League Baseball commissioner; hired following the 1919 Black Sox scandal to resurrect the muddied reputation of baseball. Landis’ is remembered as a foe of integrated baseball yet blatantly denied that an unwritten rule barring black athletes from opportunity in the majors even existed.  Baseball remained segregated until shortly after his death in 1944.  Shortly after his replacement took his office, Jackie Robinson was on his way to the majors through Montreal. Who replaced Commissioner Landis? A.B. Happy Chandler

Leyroy Satchel Paige:

Born: July 7, 1906 in Mobile Alabama - Died: June 8, 1982; Satchel Paige was more than an accomplished pitcher/baseball phenomenon; he was a national treasure.  His life touched the hearts of many; his lifelong achievements are astounding; multiple pennant wins, All-star appearances, season after season of league leading statistics and the list goes on.  Satch began his career in the fall of 1926, pitching for the (NSL) Chattanooga Black Lookouts.  More than five decades later, as a coach for major leagues Atlanta Braves, Mr. Paige finally retired.

What year was Mr. Paige inducted into the major league baseball Hall of Fame? 1971

Paige’s barnstorming showdowns with these two major league pitchers led to fame outside of black baseball? Ace major league pitchers Dizzy Dean and Bob Feller were often challenged by Satch and his traveling arsenal.  

Josh Gibson:

Born: December 21, 1911 in Buena Vista, GA – Died January 20, 1947;  Josh Gibson was a power hitter of legendary proportion.  His professional career began in 1930 when he was called to fill in for Buck Ewing behind the plate.  In the years that followed, Gibson garnered multiple homerun titles and batting title championships both here and abroad recording batting percentages of .440 and .521.  His legacy was etched in stone long before he died at the young age of thirty-five.

What year was Mr. Gibson inducted into the major league baseball Hall of Fame? 1972

Jackie Robinson:

Born: January 31, 1919 in Cairo Georgia – Died: October 24, 1972; Jackie Robinson was an accomplished multi-sport athlete throughout his college years.  After serving the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945, he began a professional baseball career with the Negro Leagues Baseball Kansas City Monarchs. In 1947, Jackie traversed the long standing barrier that denied black baseball players major league opportunity by becoming a Brooklyn Dodger.  This moment, a catastrophic success opened major league doors to integration and put the future of the Negro Leagues on a waning course. He garnered Rookie of the Year honors in his debut effort and two years later hit a league leading .342 to capture a batting title and league MVP.

What year was Mr. Robinson inducted into the major league baseball Hall of Fame? 1962

Ladies in Spikes:

In 1953, Toni Stone at the age of 22, became the first female to play baseball in the Negro American Leagues, holding down second base for the Indianapolis Clowns.  She moved to second base for the Kansas City Monarchs in 1954 replaced in Indianapolis by Connie Morgan.  Connie had been playing baseball previously with an all girls baseball team in Philadelphia known as the Honey Drippers.  The Clowns added another female player in ’54, pitcher and utility player Mamie “Peanut” Johnson.  Although quite small in stature, she was known to be a hard throwing pitcher.  Which of these players was inducted into the Women’s Sports Hall of Fame on Long Island in 1993? Toni Stone was inducted into the Women’s Sports Hall of Fame on Long Island in 1993