Position: pitcher Bats: left Throws: right

Jim Colzie was born in Montezuma, Georgia in the summer of 1920. He attended the Macon County Training School from grade school through high school. His mother worked for a family by the name of Anderson. She cared for their children, cooked and cleaned for their entire family.

Mr. William Anderson was an ophthalmologist. Jim said that Mr. Anderson had been a father figure to him and that they had become good friends. During the early summer of 1935, he and Mr. Anderson had to make a day trip to Atlanta to run errands. On the return trip they stopped at a restaurant to get a bite to eat. The management and staff there were slow to provide service to them - they were not happy to have Jim in their establishment - (black people were typically not welcome let alone served in this restaurant). But after some time and some table shuffling, the two were able to eat a meal.

Before they resumed their homeward journey they stopped by a service station. Jim recalled heading straight to the rest room. When he came out of the restroom, he saw that Mr. Anderson was waiting right outside the door for him. They returned to the car together, pumped their gas and continued down the road. A few miles down the road, Jim questioned Mr. Anderson as to why he followed him to the restroom and waited for him at the door. His friend responded that he had noticed some suspicious white folks sitting at the front of the building and had concern for Jim's safety. Mr Anderson was well aware of the bad things that would happen when bigotry and hatred showed its evil face. He continued to tell Jim that this was not right... that one-day people would look at men of all color equally. Jim never forgot that.

Jim went on to graduate from high school, earning a scholarship to the Florida Memorial State Teacher's College, in St. Augustine, Florida. After receiving his degree, Jim was offered a job right there in St. Augustine, but chose to return to his home in Georgia instead. A family friend by the name of Mrs. Moore, led Jim to a job opportunity as a teacher/principal at a district high school just fourteen miles from his home.

Jim took the job. one of his first priorities was to bring the parents, teachers and students together to raise money to start a basketball program. The community embraced the effort and worked together to have a charity dinner. The women cooked and meals where served. The money raised proved to be enough to set up two baskets and purchase three balls. Jim coached the ladies basketball team. As it turned out, the star on the basketball team would one day be his wife of 68 years.

Jim was called to military service on December 28, 1942. He was assigned to the 902nd AAF Aviation Squadron where he served faithfully through 1945. When Jim was promoted to the rank of buck sergeant he served the unit as their payroll clerk. He worked very closely with the company colonel and sergeant major. The 1st sergeant urged Jim and to manage the base baseball team and Jim gladly obliged.

Upon exiting his term of service, Jim chased an opportunity to play baseball in Cuba. He was there all of 5 weeks before an opportunity to play with Negro Leagues Baseball Indianapolis Clowns found him. He joined the Clowns' line-up and spent the 1946 and 1947 seasons there.

In Illinois he recalled pitching an inter-racial Black vs. White exhibition game. Catcher Sam Hairston visited Jim on the mound to let him know that the runner on second was relaying the signals to the batter. They agreed to switch the signals around and went back to work. Colzie delivered a pitch from the stretch, the batter sat back on what he thought was a curve ball and was struck by a fastball that caught him off guard. Unfortunately, the batter was pretty severely injured. Talk of retaliation was happening up in the booth. Plans of bad intentions were being made for after the game. The Clowns business manager, sitting in the stands close by overheard enough to know they need not stick around after this game. He had the equipment loaded early and immediately following the game's last out, ushered the team to the bus instead of the showers, not to ever return to this town again.

In these days, overt acts of racial prejudice were a common occurrence.

Jim recalls entering and sitting in a diner with his teammates. Waiters and waitresses acknowledged that they had entered. The men took their seats and then waited for service. The service would not be offered. Servants just never returned to the table to take their orders. After a short time, the team stood up together and left the establishment.

After his full-time baseball career was over, Jim contacted his good friend, King Tutt, the team leader on the Harlem Globetrotter baseball/basketball team. He was hired as a part-time player, slipping out of work to play ball when he was needed. He later became the team's bus driver keeping him close to the game he so loved.

Colzie always spoke highly of his Harlem Globetrotter baseball team. They were all very talented players and showmen. In between innings they would keep the fans attention by entertaining them with shadow ball performances and comedy skits.

He acknowledged that being "born to soon" kept a great deal of talent from Major League Baseball.