Diunte: Jim Zapp, Negro Leagues teammate of Willie Mays, dies at 92
From SABR member Nick Diunte at Baseball Happenings on October 2, 2016:
Jim Zapp, a star outfielder for the 1948 Negro American League Champion Birmingham Black Barons, passed away Friday September 30, 2016 in Harker Heights, Texas. He was 92.
Born April 18, 1924 in Nashville, Tennessee, Zapp attended a Catholic school that lacked a baseball team, so ironically his first real exposure to the game wasn’t until he enlisted in the Navy during World War II. Stationed at Pearl Harbor in 1943, Zapp played third base for their black baseball team. His abilities caught the attention of Edgar “Special Delivery” Jones, a former All-American football player at the University of Pittsburgh who was coaching the white team on the base. Zapp made history when Jones selected him to integrate his team.
Read the full article here: http://www.baseballhappenings.net/2016/10/jim-zapp-negro-league-teammate-of.html
Originally published: October 3, 2016. Last Updated: October 3, 2016.