James Bolden was on February 8, 1923 in Birmingham, Alabama. He was one of ten children, having six brothers and three sisters. His father was employed in the coalmines, as were many of the men in Birmingham in those days. As a child, James enjoyed going to school everyday anticipating the long afternoons of baseball pleasure that would follow. Baseball was everything to James; the greatest pastime he ever knew.
Bolden was drafted into the US Army at the start of World War II. He was assigned to the Army's 92nd Division, as a First Scout, stationed in Italy. He spent the majority of the 4 years, 3 months and 13 days in the European Theater of the war. As the war came to an end, he returned to his home in Birmingham.
In 1946, Jim was called to pitch for the Cleveland Buckeyes. Although he was a small man in stature, Jim was known for his strong arm, thus earning him the nickname, "Fireball." After a short period of time with the Buckeye's, Cleveland sold Jim's contract to a team in Montgomery, Alabama before the start of the following season. He would have the opportunity to pitch a pre-season game against the Birmingham Black Barons shortly thereafter. The Black Barons were very impressed with Jim's performance. They were so interested in bringing him aboard the Birmingham roster, that they persuaded Jim to leave the Montgomery Organization and be with them in time to carry him back to Cleveland for their season opener. When Jim arrived in Cleveland to pitch the opener, he was "blackballed" by the Cleveland ownership for leaving the team in Montgomery and was forced by contract law to return there.
In 1947, he returned to Alabama to play with the Birmingham Black
Barons. This year presented what would turn out to be many fond memories. Bolden played with some of his old friends and prior-teammates Lyman Bostock, William Powell, and Tommy "Toots" Sampson. The League was becoming quite volatile at the end of the '47 season, as Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier of the Major Leagues. The Negro National League would only survive the '48 season before closing their doors. In the years that followed, Jim spent seasons with the Chattanooga Choo Choos, New Orleans Creoles, and the Brooklyn Cuban Giants. He also played for a short time with the Harlem Globetrotters and the Jay Saperstein all-stars before he traveled North of the border to play for the Winnipeg Organization, and the Elmwood Giants of the Mandak Leagues in Canada.
When the season had come to a close, Bolden returned to his home in Birmingham, and took a job in the coalmines. In his first month on the job, Jim was working deep down in the mine. The ceiling would cave-in on Jim and some of his co-workers. He felt quite "broken up" suffering a broken hip and a series of other serious injuries that would require intense work to recover. After the accident, he returned to the Negro Leagues and took on the responsibility of serving as the secretary for several teams of the Negro American League. He maintained this position for many years. He duties would include, collecting and tracking player's records and statistics, as well as handling various financial responsibilities. His desire however, was to return to baseball and that is just what he did. He returned to the mound to pitch for the Black Barons in 1952. It appeared to the Black Barons catcher Louis Gillis that James was as sharp as he had ever been.
Plagued by his past injury and his aging body, Bolden's baseball career would eventually come to an end. James "Fireball" Bolden was hired by the Veteran's Administration shortly after departing baseball, and was a dedicated employee until his retirement some thirty years later.
In the fall of 2000, not long after we visited with James, he passed away. Mr. Bolden is one of our NLB Living Legends Remembered. We are thankful for his contribution to the historical Negro Leagues and his willingness to share his life experiences with the NLB Living Legends Program. A limited quantity of James "Fireball" Bolden SS1 trading cards has been released, bearing a copy of his personal signature applied using a hand stamp and permanent black ink.
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