Daniel: Meghan Markle’s ancestor played on one of the Negro Leagues’ greatest teams
From Hugo Daniel at the Daily Mail on May 18, 2018, with mention of SABR members Jacob Pomrenke and Phil Dixon:
Meghan Markle‘s pioneering great-great uncle was a professional baseball player who never got to play in the major league because he was black, DailyMail.com can reveal.
William Demont ‘Happy’ Evans Jr – Meghan’s great-great uncle – played for the prestigious Homestead Grays in the American Negro League, the Negro National League, and independent leagues for black players when US baseball was segregated.
Known for having one of the strongest throwing arms in baseball, Evans helped the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Grays win eastern championships in 1930 and 1931 – the equivalent, say historians of winning the Negro World Series, as none took place in those years.
Evans’ other nickname was ‘The Gray Ghost’, because of his foot-speed and good play as an outfielder.
Evans, a Kentucky native, played in the segregated Negro Leagues between 1920 and 1937, a decade before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier for African-American players in Major League Baseball.
Read the full article here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5737593/Meghan-Markles-ancestor-one-black-baseballs-greatests.html
Originally published: May 18, 2018. Last Updated: May 18, 2018.