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The Courier, September, 2010 – a SABR publication – of 10

The Courier A Publication of SABR’s Negro Leagues Committee

“We are the Ship, All Else the Sea” Editor, Larry Lester September, 2010

In the News “The Best Conference Ever . . .” That’s the word on the street. THE JERRY MALLOY NEGRO LEAGUE CONFERENCE made a whistle stop in Birmingham, Alabama, the friendliest city in the South, as the GREATER BIRMINGHAM CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU (BCVB) rolled out the red carpet to welcome visitors arriving at the [Rev. Fred] Shuttlesworth International Airport. Volunteers Bert & Ernie from the BCVB provided assistance and directions throughout the conference weekend. The conference kicked-off with our educational symposium on Thursday, July 15, at the BIRMINGHAM CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE in the eloquent Reverend Abraham L. Woods, Jr. Community Meeting Room. The forum led by Dr. Leslie Heaphy of Kent State University and doctorial candidate at Case Western University (Cleveland) Stephanie Liscio discussed ideas for how to develop college or high school courses on the Negro Leagues while incorporating disciplines such as math, music, sociology, economics, civil rights, and American history into lesson plans. During break sessions, attendees viewed the special Negro League exhibit on the second floor of the BCRI from the private collection of Wayne Stivers from Plano (IL). This exhibit included a stadium seat from old COMISKEY PARK, actual team uniforms and equipment, along with a host of photographs featuring Black Barons stars. There was also the revealing photographic RICKWOOD FIELD: THE COLOR OF BASEBALL exhibit by Bill Chapman from Harvard Univ. on the first floor. The afternoon session included an excellent tour of the BCRI by student/scholar Jordan Croft en route to the University of Alabama at Birmingham to study History and Anthropology. As the symposium closed, tour buses brought more visitors to the BCRI for our “Meet & Greet Event” in the atrium of the BCRI. We opened with words of welcome from their President/CEO, Dr. Lawrence Pijeaux. While enjoying an array of tasty entrees, we introduced the unique panoramic double-stamp of Rube Foster along with a brief overview of upcoming events over the next two days.

The Meet & Greet and the conference provided “A marvelous opportunity to learn, to share, and to meet like-minded enthusiasts from all over the country,” boasted Dick “Big Mo” Mahoney from Columbus (MS) and a big fan of Monte Irvin. FRIDAY On Friday, the United States Postal Service hosted a booth at the Sheraton Hotel to sell first day issue Negro Leagues Baseball stamps designed by award-winning artist Kadir Nelson (author of We Are The Ship).

We kicked-off the presentations with the journey of Birmingham native and Jackie Robinson’s first black Dodger teammate Dan Bankhead, by Bryan Steverson. Next in the lineup was Geri Strecker’s presentation on C.I. Taylor’s Birmingham Giants, followed by Clarence Watkins’ talk about “Baseball Before Rickwood.” Just before lunch, Dwayne Isgrig presented on the travels of Lorenzo “Piper” Davis and his near miss with integration in 1947 with the St. Louis Browns. Isgrig was joined by Piper’s daughter Faye Davis, who shared commentary about Willie Mays’ underrated manager, a former Harlem Globetrotter and perhaps black baseball’s premier utility player. After lunch we enjoyed the Players’ Panel with Sam Allen and Willie Lee from the Kansas City Monarchs and Tony Lloyd from the Birmingham Black Barons, as they shared their stories of travel in the Negro Leagues. As always a conference highlight they signed autographs before we departed to historic RICKWOOD FIELD.


RICKWOOD FIELD After a concise historic overview by Rickwood’s Executive Director David Brewer, we scattered to run the base paths, visit the dugouts and locker rooms, explore the press box, and roam the outfield, taking as many photos as possible of this one-of-a-kind ballpark. Meanwhile, the local media interviewed former KC Monarch Sam Allen for some TV face time on the 10 o’clock news. Photographs of America’s oldest baseball park will be uploaded to our FaceBook account at a later date. “The Rickwood Field tour was the highlight of the weekend,” claimed Wes Singletary from Tallahassee (FL). “Rickwood Rocks!” shouted Dick Raymo from Wilmington (VT). “Historic, legendary Rickwood Field was off-the-charts in terms of a ballpark and a living museum. You could feel the presence of the great ones in that magnificent venue,” added Tom Tuttle. Raymo also shared, “I stayed through Sunday and attended the 16th Street Baptist Church service, and then spent the entire afternoon at the Civil Rights Institute and then took in the park where Bull Connor did his dishonor to our nation and the city of Birmingham. It was a day that I am most grateful to have experienced.” After the Rickwood tour, we boarded the buses to watch the Barons beat up on the West Tennessee Jaxx at Hoover Stadium. Before the game, Negro League players were introduced on the field. From left to right are Birmingham Sam Brison, Sam Allen, Ray Haggins, Willie Lee and Rendon “the Bull” Marbury.

The weather was perfect as we enjoyed the food and festivities under the Frank “Big Hurt” Thomas Tent.

SATURDAY Saturday was also fun-filled, as author Timothy Gay started us off with barnstorming tales of Satchel Paige, Dizzy Dean and Bob Feller during the days of Jim Crow. Gay was followed by Todd Peterson, a conference veteran who spoke on the Birmingham Giants, the

champions of the South from 1904 to 1909. Check out Peterson’s new book in the Dugout Reading section of this newsletter. Elizabeth “Zann” Nelson provided some insight on researching the genealogy of Hall of Famer, J. Preston “Pete” Hill. More information about re-discovery of Pete Hill can be found elsewhere in this newsletter. Returning from lunch, we had a surprise guest from Decatur,

Alabama: former Indianapolis Clown Billy Vaughn, courtesy of Lucky Smith and Louis Manley from Detroit, Michigan. The diminutive Mr. Vaughn provided some insight on his days as a player and fun maker for the Clowns in the early 1960’s. Afterwards, Trey Strecker tackled the controversial 1887 challenge by the Cuban Giants to play the St. Louis Browns. Did the Browns refuse to play because of pride or cowardice? Only the Malloy attendees know the answer. No conference is complete without some statistical study, which was provided by economic professor Michael Haupert’s presentation in analyzing the impact of racial integration using a five-year model. After the seventh-inning stretch, we re-convened for the Authors’ Panel, moderated by noted bibliophile Dick Clark. Authors Brian Carroll (When to Stop the Cheering?), Martha Ackmann (Curveball) and Tim Gay (Satch, Dizzy and Rapid Robert) engaged in some lively banter and provided their insights on how to do research and get published. Overseers of the [John] Donaldson Network Peter Gorton and Sam Sinke provided a multi-media presentation using stunning visual displays of research techniques. Some of their work can be found at: http://johndonaldson.bravehost.com/


Closing out the afternoon session was Mark Harnischfeger, whose talk on “Teaching Racism” focused on teaching strategies designed to highlight the influence of black baseball on the Civil Rights Movement. Tom Tuttle from Minnetonka (MN) said that “The quality of the presentations made during the event was exceptional. The scholarship was impressive, as was the clear passion for the subject matter exhibited by the presenters.” With great pleasure, custom hand-carved wooden baseballs engraved with “2010 JMC” were provided by artist Benjamin Blackburn as gifts to each presenter. Check out his wonderful work at: http://wonderboystudios.com/ “This year’s meeting was better than ever, but what put it far over the top were the visits to Rickwood Field and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute,” said Roy Langhans from Cockeysville (MD). “Wow, what a great experience!”

AWARDS BANQUET The NEOJAZZ SCHOOL OF MUSIC, from Willie Mays’ hometown of Fairfield, Alabama, rocked the house with soulful sounds before, during and after the Awards banquet. The youth group’s mission is to educate, train, and develop gifted music students into professional career musicians. The evening’s quintet consisted of Yah ‘El Yisrael on keyboards, Yirmeyahu Yisrael on drums, Yehosheba Yisrael on bass guitar and Jeronne Ansari on alto sax. Following a Southern cuisine delight, the lovely vocalist Whitney Mitchell opened up the awards ceremony with a cappella rendition of the National Anthem, followed by a chorus of “Play Ball” from the crowd. Check out their sounds at www.neojazz.net . With happy tummies around the room, the first award went to Roy Langhans for being the first person to register for the conference. He was followed by winners Jack and Maureen Anderson, who came the farthest distance from Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, Quebec, Canada.

Players who participated in the panel discussion were presented with genuine Louisville Sluggers. Also attending the banquet were former players Jake Sanders, Rendon Marbury, Ray Haggins and Sam Hairston, Jr.

Proving to be smarter than a fifth grader, Karl Lindholm took home the Trivia trophy, dethroning last year’s champion Ted Knorr. Hopefully the two Jeopardy champions will spar off next year in Indy. As one gentleman exaggerated, “The trivia contest was the centerpiece of the whole conference with a hundred contestants in an exhausting and grueling competition.” Lindholm added, “I enjoyed the conference immensely. It was very well organized with a nice friendly spirit.” Other awards winners included the TWEED WEBB LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD to Tony Kissel for his research on the Cuban Giants in the 1880s and the 1890s. Zann Nelson was the newcomer of the year, winning the JOHN COATES NEXT GENERATION AWARD for her articles on Pete Hill. The ROBERT PETERSON RECOGNITION AWARDS went to Martha Ackmann for her book on Toni Stone, called Curveball, and to Tim Gay, from PBS’s History Detectives, for his account of the barnstorming adventures of Satchel, Dizzy and Rapid Bob Feller. We also announced the essay winners of our two $2,500 scholarships. They were Chad Richardson from West Chester, Ohio for his essay entitled “Shattering the Color Barrier” and Lewis Pollis from Cleveland Heights, Ohio for a piece called, “Guts Enough to Not Fight Back.” To their credit, our scholarship winners beat competitive essays from 36 states and Germany with the will and skill often exhibited by barrier breakers before Jackie Robinson. The winners of our two Library Grants went to two schools in the same city, Columbus, Mississippi, the hometown of Hall of Fame announcer Red Barber who wrote the book “In 1947, When All Hell Broke Loose in Baseball.” S.D. Lee Middle School, for “Step Up to the Plate,” and West Lowndes Elementary for “Batter Up! Reader Up!” each won $1,000.


Our art winners were Phillip Dewey for his piece on “Hilton Smith” and Todd Peterson for his artistic rendering entitled, “Nor Favor to the Men of Skill.”

Another Malloy conference initiative is to raise funds to purchase headstones for unmarked graves of Negro League veterans. Last year we purchased three headstones in Pittsburgh and this year a headstone for James “Sap” Ivory. His widow Wessie Ivory accepted our donation for installation of a headstone later this year in Birmingham’s Elmwood Cemetery. “He'd realize that people do care," Mrs.

Ivory said. "It means a lot." More information about our headstone restoration program can be found in this newsletter. This year’s grand winner was Gary Mitchem from McFarland & Company Publishers, who captured the coveted FAY VINCENT MOST VALUABLE PARTNER (MVP) AWARD. Mitchem summed up the conference best, “It’s hard to imagine a group any friendlier or more welcoming than the folks at the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference. And surely no area of baseball research has more to say about our cultural history.” Thomas Tuttle salivated, “I thought the closing evening festivities, including a first-rate southern style barbeque dinner, several former players, great musical entertainment and a marvelous auction event were as good as it gets. Nice job by all and I hope the kitchen staff at the hotel received “Big Ups” for that performance.” The Malloy Leadership Team is extremely thankful for the extraordinary efforts by Dr. Pijeaux, Ms. Toni Green, National Sales Manager of the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitor Bureau, and Mrs. Angela Fisher Hall of the Birmingham Public Library for making the biggest and best black baseball conference in America the best ever.

Research Needs at SABR #40 Twenty-one SABR members attended the Negro Leagues Committee meeting at the Sheraton in Atlanta on August 6th. Several members requested help in some areas. Paul Wendt is researching the 1901-1903 Columbia Giants; John Schleppi (author of the excellent book Chicago’s Showcase of Basketball: The World Tournament of Professional and the College All-Star Game) is looking for information on the Dayton Marcos. Blake Sherry is researching the Grays and Crawfords of Pittsburgh, David Knox the Birmingham Black Barons, and Rick Swaine (author of extensively researched The Integration of Major League Baseball and The Black Stars Who Made Baseball Whole) continues his work on transitional black athletes. Bill Williamson is working on the California Winter Leagues, while Kevin Johnson is tackling the St. Louis Stars teams. Ron Adams is interested in the career of outfielder Jimmy “Seabiscuit” Wilkes and his days with the Newark Eagles. And Tampa Bay Ray season-ticket holder Bill Dunstone’s baseball library has surpassed the 14,000 mark. The devilish Dunstone recently attended his 1,000th Rays game and was honored by the team’s owner. At the meeting Dr. Geri Strecker from Ball State University gave a PowerPoint presentation highlighting next year’s Malloy Conference in Indianapolis. The theme “Black Baseball in Indiana” was well received as the conference will focus on the Indianapolis ABC’s, the Clowns, Oscar Charleston, C.I. Taylor, Washington Park, West Baden Sprudels and the French Lick Plutos. The meeting ended with Barry Mednick providing a pop quiz to win free copies of previous Malloy Conference booklets and copies of the highly acclaimed Black Ball Journal.

Geri Strecker received the McFarland-SABR Research Award for her article “The Rise and Fall of Greenlee Field: Biography of a Ballpark,” which appeared in the Fall 2009 issue of Black Ball. Featuring the photographs Geri discovered in the Carnegie Mellon University architecture archives, the article is a fuller version of what she presented at the 2009 Malloy Conference & SABR 39 in Wash., DC.


The 100th Anniversary Rickwood Field Roster “America’s Oldest Baseball Park”

A record 107 Cooperstown Hall of Famers stepped onto Rick Woodward’s Rickwood Field.

This list is dedicated to a dear friend, the late Christopher Fullerton, author of “Every Other Sunday: The Story of the Birmingham Black Barons” who called Rickwood Field the “Mother Church of Baseball.”

1. Hank Aaron 2. Grover Cleveland

Alexander 3. Mel Allen (sportscaster) 4. Sparky Anderson (mgr.) 5. Luis Aparicio 6. Luke Appling 7. Frank “Home Run” Baker 8. Ernie Banks 9. Cool Papa Bell 10. Chief Bender 11. Yogi Berra 12. Ray Brown 13. Willard Brown 14. Jim Bunning 15. Roy Campanella 16. Max Carey 17. Orlando Cepeda 18. Frank Chance 19. Oscar Charleston 20. Roberto Clemente 21. Ty Cobb 22. Eddie Collins 23. Earle Combs 24. Andy Cooper 25. Sam Crawford 26. Joe Cronin 27. Kiki Cuyler (mgr.) 28. Ray Dandridge 29. Dizzy Dean 30. Bill Dickey 31. Joe DiMaggio 32. Larry Doby 33. Bobby Doerr 34. Leo Durocher 35. John Evers

36. Rick Ferrell 37. Rollie Fingers 38. Whitey Ford 39. Rube Foster 40. Willie Foster 41. Lou Gehrig 42. Josh Gibson 43. Vernon “Lefty” Gomez 44. Burleigh Grimes 45. Robert “Lefty” Grove 46. Harry Heilmann 47. Pete Hill 48. Rogers Hornsby 49. Waite Hoyt 50. Miller Huggins (mgr.) 51. Monte Irvin 52. Reggie Jackson 53. Ferguson Jenkins 54. Al Kaline 55. Harmon Killebrew 56. Ralph Kiner 57. Tommy Lasorda 58. Nap Lajoie 59. Tony Lazzeri 60. Bob Lemon 61. Buck Leonard 62. Pop Lloyd 63. Al Lopez 64. Ted Lyons 65. Connie Mack (mgr.) 66. Biz Mackey 67. Mickey Mantle 68. Heinie Manush 69. Rube Marquard 70. Eddie Mathews 71. Christy Mathewson

72. Willie Mays 73. John McGraw (mgr.) 74. Joe Medwick 75. Jose Mendez 76. Stan Musial 77. Satchel Paige 78. Jim Palmer 79. Eddie Plank 80. Pee Wee Reese 81. Phil Rizzuto 82. Brooks Robinson 83. Frank Robinson 84. Jackie Robinson 85. Bullet Rogan 86. Babe Ruth 87. Red Schoendienst 88. Joe Sewell 89. Enos Slaughter 90. Hilton Smith 91. Duke Snider 92. Warren Spahn 93. Tris Speaker 94. Turkey Stearnes 95. Casey Stengel 96. Mule Suttles 97. Ben Taylor 98. Joe Tinker 99. Cristobal Torriente

100. Pie Traynor 101. Dazzy Vance 102. Honus Wagner 103. Earl Weaver (mgr.) 104. Willie Wells 105. Ted Williams 106. Jud Wilson 107. Early Wynn

Negro League players (30) in bold font. “Try to pick out an All-Star Team from this group!” Currently, more than one-third of National Baseball Hall of Fame members in Cooperstown played in Rickwood Field, which opened August 18, 1910. Visit Rickwood online at: www.rickwood.com Sources: Bases Loaded With History: The Story of Rickwood Field by Timothy Whitt (1995) Every Other Sunday: The Story of the Birmingham Black Barons by Christopher D. Fullerton (1999) Good Wood: A Fan’s History of Rickwood Field by Ben Cook (1995) David Brewer, Executive Director of Rickwood Field and the Friends of Rickwood (FOR) Larry Lester, co-chair of SABR’s Negro Leagues Committee Donations can be sent to Gerald Watkins, Chairman of FOR at P.O. Box 12583, Birmingham, AL 35202-2583. 205.458.8161


Dugout Reading . . . . . Early Black Baseball in Minnesota: The St. Paul Gophers, Minneapolis Keystones and Other Barnstorming Teams of the Deadball Era by Todd Peterson, may be the only source for information about teams before Rube Foster, Dave Wyatt and C.I. Taylor formed the first Negro League. Author/Artist Peterson lays

out the early history of African American baseball in the Upper Midwest. Included are new statistics and more than 50 rarely seen photographs. Peterson is a visual artist and teacher who has published in the Baseball Research Journal and the Black Ball Journal. Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone, The First Woman to Play Professional Baseball in the Negro League by Martha Ackmann. Professor Ackmann catalogs the remarkable career of Tomboy Toni as she faced racism and sexism on the playing field. Read about this seldom known footnote in history about the woman who broke the gender barrier in professional baseball.

Integrating Cleveland Baseball: Media Activism, the Integration of the Indians and the Demise of

the Negro League Buckeyes by Stephanie M. Liscio. Focusing on the Negro American League Buckeyes, this detailed history describes the effects of major league integration on blackball in Cleveland, as well as the controversial role that the local black press played in the transformation.

Rickwood Field: A Century in America’s Oldest Ballpark by Allen Barra. A contributing editor of American Heritage magazine, Barra regularly writes about sports for the Wall Street Journal. The best-selling author of books on Yogi Berra and Bear Bryant chronicles the ghosts of great players who still haunt baseball’s oldest cathedral. The home to more than 100 Cooperstown Hall of Famers, Rickwood Field is baseball’s Garden of Eden. A must-read book for ballpark collectors. Satch, Dizzy & Rapid Robert: The Wild Saga of Interracial Baseball before Jackie Robinson by Timothy M. Gay. Historian Gay has unearthed long-forgotten exhibitions where Paige and Dean dueled on the same diamond in segregated America. In later years, Bob Feller assembled his own team to face Paige and other star blackballers. Buy the book and find out who won these contests. The book is extensively researched and referenced. Baseball in Birmingham by Clarence Watkins. The Birmingham Barons were charter members of the old Southern League back in 1885. Author

Watkins traces baseball in Birmingham from its roots to today’s efforts to build a museum near Rickwood Field, with more than 160 vintage photographs. Read chapter four about the Black Barons. It is the ultimate reference book for baseball in the South. Check it out.


The Krock Watch Recently the Krock Watch project picked up some great momentum with a front-page New York Times article (June 30th) by Alan Schwarz focusing on Dr. Jeremy Krock’s efforts to install a headstone on the unmarked grave of pitcher Big Bill Gatewood at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Columbia, Missouri. Gatewood had been without a marker for almost 50 years.

Donations from several members are making this humanitarian effort possible. Headstones are costing from

$600 to $800 each.

If you wish to make a tax-deductible donation, go to SABR’s Negro Leagues Restoration Headstone Program at this weblink: http://store.sabr.org/sabrstore.cfm?a=dnt

On August 14th, a new headstone was installed for Bobby Robinson at Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. Joining Dr. Krock were Wayne Stivers, Chris and Tim Bohus, former player Al Spearman, Negro Leagues Café owner Don Curry, and several members of the Robinson family.

Efforts are underway to raise funds for a King Solomon White marker in the Frederick Douglas Memorial Cemetery at Staten Island, and also for Carroll “Dink” Mothell’s grave in Topeka, Kansas.

If you know of a Negro League veteran buried in an unmarked grave, please email information to Jeremy Krock at: [email protected]

For new developments and a list of players without headstones go to: http://www.larrylester42.com/the-krock-watch/

C.I. Taylor’s widow, Olivia Taylor, owner of the Indy ABC’s from 1922-1925, will be added to the list. She is buried in Indianapolis’s Crown Hill Cemetery.

At 104, Emilio Navarro still at it! In July, Experience Works, the United States’ largest nonprofit training center for older workers, named Emilio Navarro as America’s Outstanding Oldest Male Worker for 2010. Navarro, who still keeps the books and controls the finances at the game machine business he started, is believed to be the last surviving player from the Negro

American League of 1929. Also known as “Mellito,” he played for the Cuban Stars and the Stars of Cuba as a middle infielder from 1928 to 1929. Senor Navarro attended our Jerry Malloy Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1999. With a twinkle in his eyes, Mellito would often touch his toes on demand to show his flexibility. This month Navarro celebrates his 105th birthday. Send him a birthday card at Torres Street, #97, Ponce, PR 00730.

Artist Wins Research Grant Todd Peterson, who grew up in Minneapolis and moved to Kansas City, Missouri about four years ago, is an active member of the Negro Leagues Committee and a regular presenter at the Malloy conference. He recently won his second Yoseloff-SABR research grant, one of 10 announced in July. His first grant was used to chronicle early black baseball in his hometown, with special emphasis on the rivalry between the St. Paul Gophers and the Minneapolis Keystones, from the early 20th century. This research resulted in a book entitled, “Early Black Baseball in Minnesota.” Peterson’s new project endeavors to shed light on the results of Negro League playoff games in the early days, an under-researched area. Congratulations Todd!


Sunrises! SEND YOUR FAVORITE NEGRO LEAGUER A BIRTHDAY CARD. SEPTEMBER 3RD – REV. BILL GREASON – 86 4TH – JOSE SANTIAGO – 82 5TH – BILLY RAY HAGGINS – 81 7TH – RICKY MAROTO – 78 9TH – JIM PROCTOR – 75 11TH – CLYDE PARRIS – 88 16TH – OLLIE BRANTLEY – 79 19TH – STANLEY “DOC” GLENN – 84 21ST – LOUIS CLARIZIO – 79 22ND – SWEET LOU JOHNSON – 76 26TH – EMILIO NAVARRO – 105 27TH – MAMIE “PEANUT” JOHNSON – 75 28TH – WILLIAM DECK – 95 29TH – HAROLD GOULD – 86 30TH – ARCHIE YOUNG - 80 OCTOBER 2ND – JOE B. SCOTT – 90 7TH – HANK PRESSWOOD – 89, RAY MADDIX – 82 13TH – DIRK GIBBONS – 82 17TH – BILL BLAIR – 89 19TH – LEE CARTER - 89 20TH – REV. CLIFF LAYTON – 81 25TH – WARREN O’NEIL – 93 28TH – ARTIE WILSON – 90 NOVEMBER 2ND – BUTCH MCCORD – 85 4TH – ERNIE “SCHOOLBOY” JOHNSON – 82 12TH – MARVIN JONES – 77 13TH – B.G. STEVENS – 75 16TH – “SKEETER” BANKS - 90 17TH – ROBERT ROSELL WILLIAMS – 78 18TH- JAMES “RED” MOORE – 94, BOB

“PEACHEAD” MITCHELL – 78 20TH – BUDDY OWENS – 83 23RD – WILLIAM “BABA” RICHARDSON – 76 25TH – CLEO BROWN – 77 28TH – CAL IRVIN – 86 29TH – MINNIE MINOSO – 88 30TH – ERNIE WESTFIELD - 71 CONGRATULATIONS to Nonagenarians: JAMES “RED” MOORE, WARREN O’NEIL, & WILLIAM DECK, SKEETER BANKS, ARTIE WILSON, JOE B. SCOTT and Centenarian EMILIO NAVARRO.

Sunsets . . . . DONNIE E. “DONNIE” HARRIS, 73, died June 11, 2010, in Birmingham, Alabama. Harris played the outfield for the 1957-58 Birmingham Black Barons and was very active in his local community. WILLIAM ROBERT “WEE WILLIE” POPE, 91, died

June 10, 2010, in Pittsburgh, PA. The older brother of Dave Pope, Wee Willie pitched for the Pittsburgh Crawfords of the United States League and later the Homestead Grays, from 1945-48. Pope also pitched for the post-season Jackie Robinson All-Stars in 1946. Following the 1948 season, the 6’ 4”

Pope spent three years in the Provincial League with Farnham and St. Hyacinthe before going to Colorado Springs of the Western League for two years. In 1954 he joined Charleston (AAA) of the American Association, before closing his career in 1955 with Colorado Springs.

FELIX “FELO” GUILBE, 86, died June 20, 2010, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Guilbe was an outfielder for the 1946 and 1947 Baltimore Elite Giants. Martiniano Garcia, owner of the Ponce Lions, called him “An artist in center.” Meanwhile Carlos Costas called Felo “poetry in motion.” His older brother Juan, who passed away in 1994, had pitched for the New York Cubans and the Indianapolis Clowns.

ANDREW “ANDY, PULLMAN” PORTER, 99 or 100, died July 1, 2010, in Los Angeles, CA. The broad-shouldered 6’ 4” giant pitched from 1932 to 1950 for several teams, including the Baltimore Elite Giants, Cleveland Cubs, Newark Eagles and the Indianapolis Clowns. Porter pitched three hitless, scoreless innings in the 1949 East-West All-Star Classic. Andy’s brother Merle was a first baseman for the Kansas City Monarchs. Merle passed away in 2000.


Sam Hairston Celebration Columbus, Miss. – August 10, 2010 – Plans to recognize the achievements of a man who distinguished himself at every level of baseball during his professional career spanning more than 50 years have expanded to include performances by Blues Hall of Fame inductee Bobby “Blue” Bland and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Percy Sledge. The Sam Hairston Celebration Committee and the Columbus/Lowndes County Convention and Visitors Bureau (C/LCVB) are excited to announce that Bland and Sledge have agreed to share their time and talents with the city. Other popular regional acts participating in the celebration include Big Ben Atkins & the Class of ’65, Big Joe Shelton, and Keith & Margie. A native of Lowndes County, Miss., Samuel Harding Hairston, (January 20, 1920 - October 31, 1997) is credited with being the first African-American player signed by the Chicago White Sox. Hairston’s professional baseball career as a player, scout and coach spanned 53 years, 47 of which he spent with the White Sox organization. Hairston played for the Negro Leagues’ Birmingham Black Barons and the Indianapolis Clowns before debuting with the Major League’s Chicago White Sox on July 21, 1951. As the father of MLB players Jerry Hairston, Sr. and John Hairston, and grandfather of MLB players Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Scott Hairston, Sam is patriarch to the largest three-generation baseball dynasty in baseball history. The Sam Hairston Celebration will take place October 13-16, 2010, in the city of Columbus, Miss. The celebration shines a spotlight on two historically significant sites. Hairston’s childhood neighborhood will be recognized with the unveiling of a Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) historic marker and the dedication of the Sam Hairston Baseball Park at Weyerhaeuser Field near Hairston’s first home. The site of the Queen City Hotel, which served as home base for Hairston and other Negro League Baseball players such as Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Satchel Paige, and James “Cool Papa” Bell while on the road, will also receive an MDAH marker. What began simply as an effort to honor a Lowndes County native of great achievement has developed into an opportunity to motivate area youth to strive for excellence in all aspects of their lives. The event will feature educational and motivational lectures at area schools by author and Negro League Baseball historian, Larry Lester. Lester is one of the founders of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo., and served as its Research Director and Treasurer from 1991-1995. The museum’s

static exhibition was developed from Lester’s research and personal collection of photographs and memorabilia. While planning the event, the Sam Hairston Celebration Committee and the C/LCVB learned of two $1,000 grant opportunities available to local public school libraries through the Negro Leagues Committee (NLC) of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and distributed the application information to local school libraries. Both grants were awarded in early May to two schools in Lowndes County–West Lowndes Elementary School and Lee Middle School. Larry Lester, NLC chairman, observes that this is the first time in the history of the grant that both prizes have been awarded to schools in the same community. According to Minnie Williams, librarian for West Lowndes Elementary, their grant proposal, “Batter Up, Reader Up!” will be the basis for a program the school will launch in the fall to engage and motivate students to build their academic skills through baseball-themed books, guest speakers, library décor,

daily attire, and events involving baseball activities, music and food. Traditionally, Lee Middle School has brought Black History Month into the classroom each February with relevant academic themes in all areas of its curriculum. According to Lee’s librarian, Jamie Davidson, Negro Leagues Baseball will take center stage in 2011. In conjunction with the Sam Hairston celebration, the Columbus Public Library will house an exhibit focusing on Hairston and the history of Negro Leagues Baseball during the months of October and November. The official opening of the exhibit will take place during the Sam Hairston Celebration and will feature an autograph-signing session with players from the Negro Leagues, including members of the Birmingham Black Barons.

Other special guests expected to attend the celebration are members of the Hairston family, including Sam’s sons, John Hairston, former catcher and left fielder with the Chicago Cubs, and Jerry Hairston, Sr., who played 14 seasons with the Chicago White Sox and currently coaches for the Bristol White Sox. Also expected to attend are Hairston’s grandsons, Jerry Hairston, Jr., and Scott Hairston, both of the San Diego Padres. Contact: Stacy M. Clark, Marketing Manager, [email protected] Columbus/Lowndes County Convention & Visitor Bureau P.O. Box 789, Columbus, Mississippi 39703 Ph: (662) 329-1191 www.columbus-ms.org

PLEASE JOIN US.


Giants Retire Monte Irvin’s #20. Ninety-one-year-old Monte Irvin, who became the first African American player with the New York Giants in 1949, had his No. 20 retired on June 26, 2010 during an on-field ceremony at AT&T Park before the San Francisco Giants took on the Boston Red Sox. “Now I feel like my life in baseball is complete,” Irvin told the sellout crowd. His number was unveiled high above left field at the Legends Suite next to the No. 24 of Willie Mays, Irvin’s roomie in the early days. Irvin made history in 1951 when he joined Mays and Hank Thompson to form the first all-ebony outfield.

Irvin played in six East-West All-Star games and is one of only seven Negro League veterans to play in both an East-West game and a Major League All-Star game. Additionally, he is one of eight players to play in both a Negro League and Major League World Series. Finally, Irvin is one of nine HOFers to play in both the Negro Leagues and the Major Leagues. Irvin hit .293 with 99 home runs in eight Major League seasons and helped the Giants win the 1954 World Series over the heavily favored Cleveland Indians, in a four-game sweep. Earlier, he led the National League in RBI’s with 121 in 1951. The former Newark Eagle was selected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.

Pete Hill Gets New HOF Plaque It’s never too late to correct a mistake. The National Baseball Hall of Fame will be holding a special event to commemorate a new, corrected plaque for John Preston “Pete” Hill on October 12, 2010, what would have been Pete’s 128th birthday. Recent work by a group of researchers has established his full name (John Preston Hill), birth date (October 12, 1882), birth place (Culpeper County, Virginia), and death date (December 19, 1951), and narrowed down his final resting place to nearby Chicago, Illinois (though the cemetery remains elusive). Their investigations also resulted in identifying and contacting Pete’s living family members. The story of the rediscovery of Pete Hill is an exemplary one of cooperation between different researchers building on one another’s work over a period of years, using both traditional research methods and newly available electronic resources. Our congratulations to everyone who contributed to these efforts, especially Patrick Rock and Gary Ashwill (Negro League Committee members), Fred Worth (of SABR’s Biographical Committee), Zann Nelson (of Culpeper County), and Hill family members Leslie Hill Penn and Ron Hill. SABR’s Negro Leagues Committee Larry Lester Co-chair, [email protected] Dick Clark Co-chair,[email protected] The Courier is a quarterly newsletter published by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR); in March, June, September and December. Inquiries, submissions and research requests can be sent to Larry Lester .

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