George Jefferson

George “Jeff” Jefferson’s meteoric rise and fall differed greatly from the trajectory of his older brother Willie’s late-blooming career. At just 22 years old, George was pitching in the Negro World Series for the Cleveland Buckeyes, and by his 30th birthday he was out of professional baseball.

George Leo Jefferson was born 18 years after Willie, on August 8, 1922, in Boley, Oklahoma, to farm workers Douglass and Lula Jefferson. At the time, Boley was a unique place in America – a wealthy all-Black town with two banks, two colleges, a power plant, and a railroad depot.1 According to the Dawes Rolls that documented Native Americans in the region, Douglass Jefferson was listed as a member of the Creek Freedmen, mixed-race individuals who were descended from slaves and the native Creek tribe. In addition, Douglass was a World War I veteran who returned from service in France three years before George was born. Besides Willie, census data notes, George had at least three additional older siblings: sisters Tamor and Dorthea, and brother Lucky, who like Willie had moved out before George was born. 

Growing up, George was a well-rounded young man and prolific athlete. In 1937 his Boley grade-school basketball team won the Okfuskee County championship.2 When he wasn’t on the hardwood or baseball diamond, George was active in both the Negro Boy Scouts and the Civilian Conservation Corps through high school.3 The Boley branch of the CCC had a baseball team called the Boley Wonders, though it is unknown if George played.

Historian James A. Riley notes that George was discovered while pitching in the Denver Post Tournament as a teenager, though what year and team are unknown.4 In 1938, at just 16 years old, George spent the summer with the Oklahoma City Black Indians, playing right field when he wasn’t on the mound.5 He remained with the team through July of the following year.6 George remained active in sports throughout high school, receiving a varsity letter before graduating in 1941.7

From the Black Indians, Jefferson moved to the semipro Stillwater, Oklahoma, Tigers. In 1941 he had his breakout season and became the Tigers’ leading pitcher; by July he racked up seven wins, including three shutouts against all competition. Two of the shutouts occurred in a four-day stretch. With what was described as a “dazzling in-curve” in his repertoire, “the Tigers have another Satchel Paige in ‘Cannon Ball’ Jefferson,” the O’Collegian, the campus newspaper at Oklahoma A&M University commented.8

After the fast start to the 1941 season, details of George’s whereabouts become hazy. According to his draft card, in 1942 he was employed on his brother Lucky’s farm in Oklahoma. However, the local newspaper’s draft lottery announcement places his actual address in Erie, Pennsylvania, where older brother Willie resided with several of his Cleveland Buckeyes teammates in the offseason.9 No records have been found of any military service by George. Riley asserts that Jefferson was known to have a “mean-streak” and killed a White man in Kansas, forcing him to go on the run.10 However, 1942-1943 may have been the period during which George was enrolled in Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, where he was a member of the baseball, basketball, and track teams.11

Other records list George Jefferson on the Jacksonville Red Caps for the 1942 and 1943 seasons, though it is unclear if he truly played on the team.12 In addition, Okmulgee, Oklahoma, native Frazier Robinson wrote in his memoir that George and his brother Willie also pitched for a team in Clearview, Oklahoma, at the same time, though what year is unknown.13

In March 1944 George joined his brother on the Buckeyes. Willie had been playing for the Buckeyes since their inception in 1942 and likely recruited him to the team. George made an immediate impact, reportedly striking out 15 in his first two appearances.14 Currently attributed statistics credit George with a 2-3 record and a 1.78 ERA in 60⅔ innings.

The next season, 1945, was a breakout year for the Jefferson brothers as the Buckeyes rode their arms all the way to the pennant. Including postseason play, George is officially credited with a 4-2 record, a 3.48 ERA, and five complete games; however various sources including a 1946 yearbook list an 11-1 record and a 1.75 ERA.15

George was passed over for the East-West All-Star Game. He recounted years later that he was told by West manager Winfield Welch that at the age of 22, he was too young to be selected.16 The snub would mean little as he earned a chance to shine in the postseason.

The Buckeyes were up two games to none over the perennial juggernaut Homestead Grays in the Negro World Series when George Jefferson got the call to start in the third game at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Yielding only three hits, Jefferson and the Buckeyes stunned the Grays, 4-0. It was the first time the Grays had been held scoreless since 1942.17Two days later, the Buckeyes beat the Grays again to win the championship. After the Series, Jefferson remained with the Buckeyes and pitched in the same game as his brother in at least one exhibition, a 7-1 loss to the Grays at Yankee Stadiumon September 23.18

After the 1945 season and with integration on the horizon, George joined the American All-Stars, an all-Black team that included Sam Jethroe, Roy Campanella, and Jackie Robinson. The team was organized by Newark Eagles owner Effa Manley and first played a five-game series at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn against a White team assembled by Chuck Dressen. Jefferson did not play in the series. The team then traveled to Venezuela, where it played in the Serie Monumental (Monumental Series) against three other teams. Brother Willie played for both the Estrellas del Caribe (Caribbean All-Stars) and Estrellas Zulianas (Zulia Stars). The Estrellas Negras, as the locals called them, finished the Caracas leg of the tour with a 7-2 record.19

Years later, Jefferson recalled his relationship with teammate Jackie Robinson during the tour:

“Jackie and I never could get along. … He would say hard things to me all the time; he [later] said that the reason he did that was there was something he saw in me that he was trying to get out of me. He said that someday, I would have the chance to go to the majors, and he wanted me to be prepared so that I’d be able to take it.”20

Around Christmas Day, Robinson left the team for Panama, and on New Year’s Day 1946 Jefferson followed.21 Riley writes that Jefferson’s early exit had less to do with opportunity elsewhere and more to do with a contract dispute that ended in George choking a promoter.22 It was in Panama that George’s hopes of making it to the major leagues were dashed by a devastating injury. He recalled years later that a hard landing after making an off-balance throw from the third-base line resulted in a fractured clavicle.23 On March 28 George returned to the US unaccompanied via passenger ship. His was the only name on the manifest with “baseball player” listed as an occupation.

In an illustration of the inaccuracies of news reports based on team-issued press releases, the Cleveland Call and Postreported in April that George was reportedly in “fine shape” when he returned to Buckeyes camp from Panama with teammates Sam Jethroe, Quincy Trouppe, and Willie Grace. News of the injury was further buried as he was named the starting pitcher for the first exhibition game of the season against Ival Goodman’s semipro Cincinnati Aces in Dayton, Ohio, on May 20. Results of the game were never reported.24 He was also billed as the starter for matchups against the Atlanta Black Crackers and Memphis Red Sox in late May and early June, but it is likely that he was scratched. Just a day after Jefferson was unable to record an out against the Clowns in his first appearance of the season, the June 8 edition of the Call and Post revealed that he had a “sore arm” that was “not responding to treatment.”25 By July 20, he had reportedly logged only three relief appearances.26 None of these or subsequent appearances in 1946 appear in George’s statistical record. Without George, Eugene Bremer (who was also injured), and Willie (who remained in Venezuela) in the rotation, the Buckeyes struggled mightily, finishing with a 37-35-3 record and 17½ games behind the first-place Kansas City Monarchs.

In the offseason, George was listed on the roster of the “Negro All-Stars” for a September 15 matchup against the Seattle Steelheads in Indianapolis.27 It is unclear if Jefferson played in the game, however, as the results were not reported.

In February 1947 the Buckeyes announced that George would take part in spring training, having “recovered fully” following surgery.28 A month later, George ran into legal trouble in Erie when he was arrested for pointing a gun at police raiding an illegal speakeasy he was in.29 The trouble with the law evidently did not prevent George from traveling; he was captured in multiple photographs published in the Call and Post depicting several Buckeyes players leaving for Florida on March 8.30

Several days later Jefferson arrived in Panama to join an all-Black team sponsored by General Electric. In their first matchup, against the Brooklyn Dodgers on March 11, Jefferson pitched in relief during an 8-1 loss.31 The trend continued for much of the Dodgers and their Montreal farm team’s trip, with the exception of a 7-6 General Electric triumph on March 13.32 On March 18 Jefferson “did a brilliant job” in four innings of work but ran out of gas and lost to Jackie Robinson and the Montreal Royals, 8-5. Jefferson gave up five runs and nine hits in the series finale on March 21, a 5-0 loss to the Dodgers.33

After returning to the United States, George returned to the Buckeyes but saw little action on a pitching-heavy roster, logging only a single recorded appearance on the mound in 1947 and again in 1948. No longer able to throw a fastball, George was clearly never the same pitcher after the injury. Instead, he relied on a variety of off-speed and junk pitches, but he could throw effectively for only a few innings at a time.34 Always a decent hitter, he remained an asset to the Buckeyes as he transitioned to manning first base or pinch-hitting when he wasn’t on the mound, though most of these appearances likely occurred in exhibition games. Perhaps another reason for George’s limited action in 1948 was additional legal trouble; in June he was found guilty of firearm possession and fined $50.35

When the Buckeyes moved to Louisville for the 1949 season, Jefferson followed. His steep decline was evident when he gave up 11 hits in a 7-0 loss to the Birmingham Black Barons on May 28.36

Sometime before spring training in 1950, Jefferson was named the Buckeyes’ road secretary as the club abandoned Louisville and returned to Cleveland.37 As Buckeyes general manager and part-owner Wilbur Hayes touted the club’s shift toward a “youth movement,” Jefferson’s role was that of a veteran presence and one of the few players left from the 1945 championship team. During spring training, he coached the Buckeyes second-string team during at least one intrasquad game.38

According to teammate Willie Grace, it was during the 1950 season that he and Jefferson were invited to dinner with a Brooklyn Dodgers scout. The scout was not interested in the pair but in their opponent, Baltimore Elite Giants infielder Jim Gilliam. Partly based on Jefferson’s recommendation, the Dodgers signed Gilliam a short time later.39

In June Jefferson accompanied the Buckeyes on a road trip to New York. With an abysmal 3-33 record, the team never returned home and folded by mid-July. George remained in upstate New York and was signed by the Olean Oilers of the Class-A PONY league. Also on the team was Chuck Harmon, who went on to integrate the Cincinnati Reds in 1954. In his Oilers debut on July 27, Jefferson, playing first base, went 3-for-5 at the plate with an RBI in an 11-3 victory over the Batavia Clippers.40 His tenure with the team lasted less than two weeks and on August 4 he was released.41

In 1951 George joined the Youngstown A’s of the Class-C Middle Atlantic League. His Opening Day debut with the A’s, a pinch-hit single in an 8-3 loss to the Erie Sailors, was overshadowed by two other notable events, former Buckeyes teammate Willie Grace’s three hits and three RBIs for the Sailors, and the pomp and circumstance of a ceremonial first pitch by Cy Young, who lived in nearby Peoli, Ohio.42 Much like his tenure with Olean, his time with Youngstown was also short; on May 17 he asked for and was granted his release.43 He moved back to Erie and joined the Erie Pontiacs of the local semipro Glenwood League. Among his teammates on the Pontiacs was Willie Grace.44 In 1953 he moved to the independent semipro Erie Lakers, joining former Buckeyes teammates Grace and Walter Crosby.45 Primarily playing in the outfield, his playing time was limited as he battled a pulled back muscle.46

In 1954 George took a job with the Hammermill Paper Company, where he would eventually retire. On July 13, 1954, he narrowly escaped with minor injuries when he was hit by a train while walking to work.47 Two weeks later, he was back in right field for the Pontiacs,48 for whom he continued to play through at least 1956. In the winter months, he played basketball in the Erie city recreational league, ranking third in scoring in 1955.49

In 1958 George married Lillian Manus of Erie; the couple had been together since his playing days.50 Lillian was the younger sister of Jemilu Franklin, who married his brother Willie sometime between 1941 and 1943. George remained somewhat active in his later years, appearing in local old-timers’ games in 1962,51 1973,52 and 1975.53 The 1962 appearance listed George among “the old-time Hammermill players,” indicating that he may have played for a company-sponsored semipro team at one point.

George spent his days off volunteering his time at the Booker T. Washington Community Center in Erie, coaching youth baseball and basketball. In 1960 his basketball team won the city’s recreation league championship,54 and in 1963, he accompanied the team to Canada, where it played in the International Blackball Basketball Invitational Tournament.55

Legal troubles continued to plague George for years, including arrests for assault and battery and disorderly conduct in 1954,56 unpaid parking violations in 1957, and assault and battery in 1962.57 In 1971 his wife, Lillian, died. George medically retired from Hammermill shortly after.58 On April 28, 1981, he collapsed in the Vernon Township courthouse while giving witness testimony in a case against a state trooper accused of violating state liquor and gambling laws. The Erie Daily Times reported that George suffered a “mild heart attack” and was hospitalized.59

As interest in the Negro Leagues renewed in the 1980s, George was a regular attendee at reunions and was interviewed about his experiences in 1981 for the University of Kentucky’s A.B. “Happy” Chandler Oral History Project. On September 21, 1985, Jefferson died at Hamot Medical Center in Erie. Preceded in death by his wife and brothers, he was survived by four daughters, three sons, two stepsons, and three sisters.60 He was buried back home in Boley, Oklahoma. In reporting his passing, Erie Daily Times columnist Ed Mathews called Jefferson “one of the greatest athletes to ever live in Erie.”61

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author used Ancestry.com to gather biographical data including birth, death, marriage, family, and military-service information. Except where otherwise indicated, all Negro League player statistics and team records were taken from Seamheads.com.

Notes

1 “Boley,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=BO008, accessed December 30, 2024.

2 “IXL Wins Events for Negro Group,” Okfuskee County News (Okemah, Oklahoma), April 22, 1937: 5.

3 “Boley Camp Boys at Silver Springs,” Okemah Semi-Weekly Herald, August 7, 1932: 7.

4 James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues (New York: Carroll and Graf Publishing, 1994), 420.

5 “Negro Teams to Play at El Reno,” El Reno (Oklahoma) Daily Tribune, June 30, 1938: 8.

6 “Boley,” Oklahoma City Black Dispatch, July 1, 1939: 8.

7 “Boley,” Oklahoma City Black Dispatch, May 3, 1941: 11.

8 Tom Steph, “Translations,” O’Collegian, July 22, 1941: 3.

9 “Ninety Called to Service On Sept. 11,” Weleetka (Oklahoma) American, September 8, 1943: 1.

10 Riley, 420.

11 “Interview with George L. Jefferson, May 23, 1981,” University of Kentucky Libraries Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7pnv997v43, accessed December 30, 2024.

12 Riley notes that Jefferson had a 15-8 record in 1942 and 6-3 record in 1943, but he does not appear in Seamheads data and no corresponding newspaper accounts have been found.

13 Frazier Robinson, Catching Dreams: My Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 2000), 7-8.

14 “Eight Hurlers Unbeaten,” New Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Courier, May 27, 1944: 11.

15 “1945 All-America Team,” Negro Baseball 1946 Yearbook, 1946.

16 Jefferson interview, 1981.

17 “Buckeyes Threaten Rout of Long-Time Champions,” Washington Afro American, September 22, 1945: 30.

18 “Retrosheet Boxscore: Homestead Grays (HOM) 7 Cleveland Buckeyes (CVB) 1,” https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/1945/B09231HOM1945.htm, accessed December 30, 2024.

19 “Forgotten Heroes: Marvin ‘Tex’ Williams,” Center for Negro League Baseball Research, https://irp.cdn-website.com/33d0c3d0/files/uploaded/Marvin_Williams%202019-10.pdf, accessed December 30, 2024.

20 Jefferson interview, 1981.

21 Jefferson interview, 1981.

22 Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, 420.

23 Jefferson interview, 1981.

24 “Ival Goodman to Play With Buckeye Foes,” Dayton (Ohio) Journal Herald, May 17, 1946: 17.

25 Cleveland Jackson, “Headline Action,” Cleveland Call and Post, June 8, 1946: 9.

26 Cleveland Jackson, “Headline Action,” Cleveland Call and Post, July 20, 1946: 21.

27 “Jefferson, Wyatt Play With Negro All-Stars,” Indianapolis Star, September 12, 1946: 24.

28 “Jefferson’s Arm Recovers: Buckeye Mound Star Undergoes Successful Arm Operation,” Cleveland Call and Post, February 1, 1947: 8.

29 “Police Arrest 34 Persons in Gambling Raid,” Erie (Pennsylvania) Daily Times, February 15, 1947: 3.

30 “Buckeyes Depart for Spring Training,” Cleveland Call and Post, March 8, 1947: 15.

31 “Dodgers Win,” Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin, March 11, 1947: 17.

32 “Paepke Fifth Dodger to Bid for 1st Base,” Brooklyn Eagle, March 13, 1947: 21.

33 “Dodgers End Panama Series with 5-0 Victory,” Detroit Free Press, March 22, 1947: 10.

34 Jefferson interview, 1981.

35 “Firearms Violator Found Guilty,” Erie Daily Times, May 11, 1948: 13.

36 “Barons Blank Buckeyes 7-0,” Louisville Courier-Journal, May 28, 1949: 153.

37 “Hayes Expects to Burn Opposition in Negro Loop With Flaming Youth,” Cleveland Call and Post, March 25, 1950: 15.

38 “Buckeye Bats Boom as Training Grind Starts,” Cleveland Call and Post, April 1, 1950: 15.

39 Brent Kelley, Voices from the Negro Leagues: Conversations with 52 Baseball Standouts of the Period 1924-1960 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers), 141.

40 “Oilers, Dodgers Win, Remain Within Points of Each Other,” Olean (New York) Times-Herald, July 28, 1950: 13.

41 “Oiler Odds ’n Ends,” Olean Times-Herald, August 4, 1950: 15.

42 “Cy Young Still Perfect, Throws Three Strikes,” Erie Daily Times, May 5, 1951: 11.

43 Dick Stone, “The Hot Corner,” Erie Sunday Times, May 20, 1951: 13.

44 “Fultons Bow to Millcreek,” Erie Daily Times, June 25, 1951: 13.

45 “Jefferson Signs With Erie Lakers,” Erie Daily Times, May 13, 1953: 23.

46 “Lakers Host Tonight to Titusville Black Ash,” Erie Daily Times, July 15, 1953.

47 “Hit By Train, 2 Escape Death,” Erie Daily Times, July 13, 1954: 1.

48 “Pontiacs Tip Merchants at Bayview,” Erie Daily Times, July 28, 1954: 19.

49 “Bus Brandon Top Scorer,” Erie Daily Times, January 5, 1955: 42.

50 Jefferson interview, 1981.

51 Gene Cuneo, “Hammermill Night,” Erie Daily Times, June 21, 1962: 21.

52 “Muny Star Nines Vie at Ainsworth,” Erie Daily Times, August 12, 1973: 7.

53 Fred Miller, “Glenwood League Star Game Carded June 29,” Erie Times-News, June 22, 1975: 22.

54 “City Rec Cage Champs,” Erie Times-News, April 3, 1960: 34.

55 “Play in Canada,” Erie Times-News, February 24, 1963: 5.

56 “Arrest Two for Assaults,” Erie Daily Times, October 25, 1954: 15.

57 “Man Denies Argument, Assault,” Erie Morning News, October 16, 1962: 20.

58 Jefferson interview, 1981.

59 “Witness Hospitalized,” Erie Daily Times, April 29, 1981: 9.

60 “George L. Jefferson” (obituary), Erie Daily Times, September 23, 1985: 12.

61 Ed Mathews, “Odds and Ends,” Erie Daily Times, September 24, 1985: 6.