Price: Charlotte’s Negro League past fading fast
From Mark Price at the Charlotte Observer on March 2, 2016:
Charlotte was once home to some of the most famous Negro League Baseball teams in the Eastern United States, with names like the Charlotte Black Hornets, the Red Socks and the Charlotte Pepsi Cola Giants.
But like so many chapters of 20th century African-American history, the facts were ignored for so long that many of the details have been lost.
The Texas-based Center for Negro League Baseball Research says most of the mill towns in the state had their own teams, though it believes few players survive now in the Charlotte region. Still, the center remains in constant search of both players and artifacts for a growing research collection.
What little remains of teams such as the Black Hornets and Red Socks are people like Edna Williams, Kenneth Douglas, Annie Thomas and Gracie Harper. The bat boys (or girls), unofficial score keepers and unpaid team gofers.
Read the full article here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article63045067.html
Originally published: March 2, 2016. Last Updated: March 2, 2016.