Frank Carswell

Frank Carswell was a right-handed pitcher whose career began in 1944 with the local Dan Montgomerys of Buffalo, New York; included stints in the Negro Leagues with the Cleveland Buckeyes, Harlem Colored Giants, Harlem Globetrotters, Chicago American Giants, and Indianapolis Clowns; and ended with a postseason barnstorming gig with Jackie Robinson’s New York All-Stars in 1951. Although Carswell pitched only 11 official games in the Negro American League, one of those victories was a four-hit gem that clinched the 1945 Negro World Series for the Buckeyes.

Carswell was born in Jeffersonville, Georgia, near Macon in the central part of the state, on August 9, 1917. The identity of his father is uncertain. His mother died in 1930 when he was 13 years old, leaving him and his three siblings to live with relatives. Carswell left school after the eighth grade and went to work as a “chalk loader” in the kaolin mines in nearby McIntyre, Georgia. When he registered for the draft in 1940, he was working for the Edgar Brothers Company, at the time the owner of the largest kaolin mine in the United States.1 Although Edgar Brothers sponsored a baseball team in the 1930s that competed against teams from area mills and mines, it appears that the league was for White players only.2 Carswell’s draft card in 1940 described him as 23 years old, standing 6-feet-2-inches tall, and weighing 175 pounds. The only identifying mark on his body was a scar on the inside of his left wrist. Carswell signed his draft card with an “X,” indicating that he was unable to sign his own name. With both of his parents deceased by 1940, Carswell named his aunt, Katherine Carswell of Jeffersonville, as his personal contact.

While Carswell was working at the kaolin mines, several members of his family left Georgia for Albion, Michigan, including his brother, Eugene Carswell and a paternal uncle, Otha Carswell. Both were employed as laborers at the Albion Malleable Iron Company, which actively recruited African Americans from the South to move to Michigan to work in the foundry as early as 1916.3 While his brother and uncle answered Albion’s call, it appears that Carswell did not.4 He remained in Georgia, working in the mines until the early 1940s, when he moved to Buffalo, New York, the city he called home until his death in 1978.

It is curious that no record of Carswell in baseball has yet to be found prior to 1944, when he joined the Dan Montgomerys in Buffalo. At that time, he was 27 years old. It seems unlikely that he would pick up the game and develop into a talented hurler at that relatively advanced baseball age without any prior experience. If Carswell had any starts prior to 1944, they must have been under the radar, perhaps in leagues that received little or no attention from the predominantly White press in Georgia. But his arrival in Buffalo put him on the baseball map. Carswell’s discovery as a pitching prospect was credited to Ralph “Square” Moore, who played for a variety of Negro League teams during the 1920s.5 Moore arrived in Buffalo in the 1920s and pitched for the local Pete Hill’s Colored All-Stars as well as for the Kansas City Monarchs and Cleveland Elites.6 Moore continued to dabble in baseball into the early 1930s. In 1932 Moore picked up some broken pieces from the East-West Negro League and reconstituted them as the short-lived Buffalo Stars.7

The first published record of Carswell’s baseball career came in the spring of 1944, when he pitched for the Dan Montgomerys of the AA Municipal League in Buffalo.8 The team was named for a well-known local hotel, supper club, and Prohibition-era speakeasy owner, Dan Montgomery.9 The Montgomerys were the only African American team in the “Muny” League and had some quality players. At least two of Carswell’s teammates had prior experience in the Negro Leagues: Elton Gladney, who had a brief stint at shortstop with the Indianapolis ABCs of the Negro Southern League in 1932; and Pete McQueen,who in the 1930s had a few cups of coffee with the Little Rock Grays, Pittsburgh Crawfords, and Memphis Red Sox.

Despite Square Moore’s faith in his pitching protégé, Carswell was off to a rough first season. In one of his early starts for the Montgomerys, he and his fellow hurlers were tagged for 19 hits in a 15-5 loss to the league-leading Black Rock Howells.10 Carswell and his relievers were “unable to throw anything that the Howells couldn’t hit.”11 Carswell didn’t have much of a chance to get to know his fellow Montgomerys. In the summer of 1944, the Buckeyes were scouting for some new pitching talent. They gave George Provens of Canton, Ohio, a shot, but waited until 1945 to sign him.12 In early July, Carswell inked his first contract with the Buckeyes.

Carswell made his debut as a starting pitcher with the Buckeyes on July 11, 1944, against the Memphis Red Sox in Hamilton, Ontario.13 It was not pretty. Carswell was roughed up for five hits, three walks, and four runs in five innings in a 10-9 loss.14 To his credit, Carswell struck out three, had one hit, stole a base, and scored a run, but it was not enough to make his first appearance as a Buckeye one for the books.15

Carswell redeemed himself a few days later when the Buckeyes defeated the Red Sox 6-3 in Dayton, Ohio.16 The Bucks’ errors helped give the Red Sox an early lead, but Carswell was not to blame. He was replaced on the mound by Lovell Harden, who benefited from a late Cleveland rally that sealed the come-from-behind victory. Carswell did not get much credit for the victory in the Dayton Journal Herald’s coverage of the game. The newspaper misspelled his name as “Caldwell” in the line score.17 This was not a one-off error. Carswell’s surname sometimes appeared as “Cardwell” and his first name was mistakenly given as “William.”18

The lowlight of Carswell’s 1944 season was possibly the contest between the Buckeyes and the Simon Pures of Hamilton, Ontario, also known as the “Krustomen” for their manager, Matt Krusto.19 Prior to the game, Cleveland’s owner, Ernest Wright, commented that he “did not plan to start any second-rater,” and that the Buckeyes “cannot afford a setback by an amateur club.”20 Wright was wrong about Carswell’s abilities that day, but right about the potential embarrassment of losing to the amateurs, as discussed by a Hamilton journalist:

“Well, 1,733 of the faithful turned up for what the majority expected would be a landslide by the professionals. But such was not the case. Hamilton won 12 to 7, and don’t let your best friend tell you that the Bucks pulled their punches. They tried from the drop of the hat, but it must be admitted that they did treat the Simon Pures cheaply at the outset by starting Carswell, a utility player, on the mound. Before Carswell reached the showers, and after only two men had been disposed of, the Krustomen had bounced his offerings off every fence in the park.”21

Another account of the game noted that “the amateurs outhit the invaders by 15 to 13 and piled up a four-run lead in the initial stanza, when they drove Cardwell [sic], starting hurler for Cleveland, from the mound, to secure a lead they never relinquished.”22 Carswell lasted just two-thirds of an inning.23

Carswell’s disastrous outing in Hamilton left him with nowhere to go but up. As the 1944 season entered its final lap, he redeemed himself with a 12-2 win over the Chicago American Giants.24 “Tiny” Carswell, as he was described, struck out six, walked two, and limited Chicago to six hits.25 He also “punctured three, his loss of control being in the early frames.”26 But a few weeks later, as the season drew to a close, Carswell was on the losing side of a 13-3 drubbing by the Baltimore Elite Giants, a game that drew just 700 spectators.27

The 1944 season ended with the Buckeyes a distant second place in the NAL behind the Birmingham Black Barons. Carswell finished the year with an abysmal 14.21 ERA. Only one other Cleveland pitcher had worse stats in that department – Willie McMeans, who ran up a catastrophic 27.00 ERA and did not return to the Buckeyes in 1945.

In the spring of 1945, Carswell was back as a member of the Buckeyes’ pitching staff along with Eugene Bremer, Willie Jefferson, Lovell Harden, and John Brown.28 And although Carswell played for Cleveland the previous season, he was sometimes described as a newcomer.29 If his rookie year was largely forgotten by sportswriters and his name was often misreported, it may have been for the best because in 1945 Carswell was off to a good start. Even though his name appeared in the South Bend (Indiana) Tribune as “Jimmy Carswell,” he was credited with having “breezed along in fine fettle,” giving up six hits in a 9-4 victory over the local Hoosier Beers.30 Carswell continued to find his groove at the end of May, when the Buckeyes battered the Memphis Red Sox, 16-7.31

In mid-June he was the “individual star of the game” and “chucked a beautiful ball” as Cleveland trounced the Chicago American Giants, 9-0.32 In July Carswell downed another round of Hoosier Beers, defeating the South Bend nine, 7-3.33 By early August, Carswell’s record was 4-1.34 He was not as fortunate a few weeks later when his teammates’ errors contributed to his 8-4 loss to the Black Barons.35 On the eve of the Negro League World Series, Carswell saved the day in the ninth inning when he came in with the bases loaded and sealed a 4-3 victory for the Buckeyes over the Glenwood All-Stars.36 Carswell’s regular season ended on an up-and-down note. In one of his last starts, he pitched a two-hit shutout gem to lead Cleveland to a 10-0 blowout over the American Giants.37 But at Red Bird Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, he was under a cloud when a fog rolled in resulting in a 9-8 loss to the Homestead Grays.38 Even with that gloomy outcome, Carswell’s 1945 season was head and shoulders above his 1944 performance. But his biggest test was yet to come, when the NAL champion Buckeyes faced the Grays for something of greater consequence – the 1945 championship.

The first game of the 1945 Negro World Series, at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, resulted in a 2-1 squeaker in favor of the Buckeyes, with Willie Jefferson on the mound.39 The Buckeyes continued their winning ways by copping the next two games, 4-2 and 4-0.40 Carswell kept the bench warm during the first three games but got the call for the Series finale on September 18. He sealed the deal for the Buckeyes with a sparkling four-hit, 5-0 shutout of the Grays at Shibe Park in Philadelphia to claim the Negro League crown.41

The Buckeyes didn’t have much time to savor their championship victory and went right back to work against the Grays and others in a series of exhibition games. In Dayton, Ohio, Cleveland faced an all-White squad of major leaguers including Babe Dahlgren, Eddie Miller, and George Kell, among others.42 The racial context of the tilt was noted by the Dayton Herald, which commented that the “argument as to the class of Negro ball was waged for years and this game tonight will give the Bucks a chance to prove it belongs with the elite.”43 This was not the first mention of race and equality after the season. When the Buckeyes and Grays faced off at Yankee Stadium, a mayoral candidate, Judge Jonah Goldstein, tossed out the first ball, upon which he had written, “Discrimination – swat it.”44 Despite Carswell’s clutch performance that clinched the championship title, it does not appear that he pitched in any of Cleveland’s post-Series tilts. Carswell was mentioned as a possible starter for the game in Dayton on October 1, but the contest was rained out and not rescheduled.45

In March 1946, when the Buckeyes announced their spring-training plans for Birmingham, Alabama, Carswell was among the pitchers who returned to the fold.46 His spring flinging, however, did not get off to a great start. He was tagged with a 6-1 loss in a twin bill with the Barons.47 On April 21 Carswell was the fourth hurler used by Cleveland in a 10-9 squeaker over Birmingham.48 In early May, manager Quincy Trouppe trusted Carswell for their season opener in Dayton, a rematch against the Grays, with the assumption that Carswell held a “sign” over the Homestead nine.49 But Dayton’s weather gods were against him, just as they were the previous October, and the game was scrubbed.50

Carswell had to wait until May 5 for his 1946 debut, but the outcome in Cleveland was as grim as the weather in Dayton. He and the Buckeyes were felled by the Barons, 7-2, in a seven-inning ending to a doubleheader at League Park.51 A week later, Carswell was the second of three hurlers employed by the Buckeyes in another loss to the Barons, this time at Rickwood Field in Birmingham.52 On May 19 he gave up six hits in a 3-0 surrender to the Clowns at Victory Field in Indianapolis.53 On Memorial Day Cleveland split a doubleheader with the Chicago American Giants at Comiskey Park and Carswell’s efforts in relief of Curtis “Lefty” Jones did nothing for the cause as the Giants clocked him for six runs to seal Chicago’s 8-3 win.54 His mood may have lightened on June 6 when he had his finest outing of the season, posting a 10-1 drubbing of the Atlanta Black Crackers of the Negro Southern League at Red Wing Stadium in Rochester, New York.55 Carswell went the distance, fanned eight Black Crackers, issued two walks, and allowed just three hits.56 Despite these few flashes of brilliance, Carswell was mainly used in relief. Such was the case on June 16 when he was the second of three hurlers used by Cleveland in a 9-6 loss to the Kansas City Monarchs, an error-strewn performance by the Buckeyes.57 It was rinse and repeat for Carswell through most of summer of 1946. His only consistency was his inconsistency. He gave up at least four runs as a closer in a come-from-behind 7-6 loss to the Memphis Red Sox.58

At the end of July, Carswell broke his dry spell as a starter when he notched a “W” as the Bucks swept the Black Barons during a swing through New York.59 He was the “hometown” hero when he vanquished Birmingham 8-6 at his old stamping grounds at Offermann Stadium in Buffalo, where he played with the Dan Montgomerys.60 But as the summer dragged on, so did Carswell. On August 5, before a crowd of over 12,000, the Buckeyes and the Philadelphia Stars posted a curfew-induced 10-10 stalemate at Shibe Park.61 The Buckeyes and Stars were part of a special twin bill with the Grays and Kansas City Monarchs. After the Grays copped the win, 3-2, in the opening game, the Buckeyes and Stars took the field.62 Carswell pitched the final three innings in relief of Hosea Allen, and in the process gave up three runs that sealed the tie.63 Three days later Carswell took the mound in a tilt against Memphis as part of a “three-team, two-night bargain bill” at Griffith Stadium in Washington that also featured the Grays.64 Identified in game reports as “Bob Carswell,” he was pummeled by the Red Sox’ five hits and four runs in the fifth inning as the Buckeyes fell, 5-1.65 At the end of August, he was dinged with a 5-2 loss to the Black Barons when he gave up four runs in the eighth and donated a comeback victory to Birmingham.66 Carswell dropped another game for Cleveland on September 22 as a starter in a 7-2 defeat to the Red Sox at Russwood Park.67 Casey Jones’s two-out homer with two men on in the fourth sealed Carswell’s fate.68

The 1946 Cleveland Buckeyes did not enjoy the same successes as they did in 1945, finishing a distant third to the Kansas City Monarchs. The 1946 season was one to forget for Carswell. His ERA ballooned to 10.00, echoing his dreadful rookie year in 1944 when he chalked up a ghastly 14.21 ERA. During his whole career with the Buckeyes, Carswell accumulated a 7.30 ERA. His last appearance in 1946 was likely in the North-South game in which Cleveland, in a bizarre twist of geographical logic, participated as a member of the South’s squad. The game was slated for October 6 at Pelican Field in New Orleans and Carswell was mentioned among the stable of tossers for the South.69 The South won, 1-0, but lacking a box score, it is unknown if Carswell pitched in the contest.70 A second North-South game was slated to be played at Rickwood Field on October 13 and once again Carswell was listed as a possible starter.71 But without further documentation, it is impossible to determine if he ever took the field.

In February 1947 the Cleveland Buckeyes were making plans for spring training in Florida, and Carswell’s name was on the roster.72 They were set to cross bats in Bradenton with the Dayton Royals, described as Cleveland’s farm club.73 Throughout the spring of 1947, newspaper coverage of the Buckeyes continued to name Carswell as a member of their pitching staff. It does not appear, however, that he saw much action, and when he did get the call, the outcome was rarely positive. On May 15 he was hammered by the Grays at Redbird Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, 10-3.74 And then, on June 10, it was announced that Carswell was pegged to face the Black Barons in Buffalo.75 How did he fare in front of his hometown crowd? That question remains unanswered due to the lack of published coverage of the game. What is known is that less than a month later, Carswell was no longer wearing a Buckeyes uniform. In early July he signed with the Buffalo Harlem Giants.76 The Giants were a barnstorming team whose opponents were primarily local semipro outfits from western New York and Ontario. The Harlem Giants were known for recruiting former Negro League players and for their clowning and entertaining fans with their “amusing antics.”77

What prompted Carswell to abandon the Buckeyes for the Buffalo Harlem Giants? Several reasons come to mind. First and foremost, it may not have been his decision. His pitching stats were not in his favor and the parting may have been at the behest of the Buckeyes’ management. Another possibility is that he may have been recruited to join the Giants by a former Cleveland bullpen mate, Jeff Shelton, who had a brief stint with the Buckeyes in 1946. And finally, his move to the Harlem Giants may have been more for personal than professional reasons. His only son, Rudy Carswell, was born in Buffalo in 1947.

Carswell was slated to make his debut with the Harlem Giants on July 9 in Waterloo, Ontario.78 Newspaper coverage of the Giants’ games was sparse and the outcome of his first game with Buffalo is uncertain. That summer he did enjoy some success with his new mates. In mid-August, he held the Brantford (Ontario) Seniors to five hits in a 7-2 victory.79 On August 20 he helped lead his new team to victory by shutting out the Koch-Wallace nine of Dunkirk, New York, 7-0.80 Carswell gave up just two hits and was described as a pitcher “who also toils on the mound for the Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro American league.”81 Carswell toiled for the Buckeyes earlier in the year but was no longer with the team, and it doesn’t appear that he was on both rosters at the same time. After he signed with Buffalo, there are no records of Carswell playing for Cleveland for the remainder of the 1947 season. Fortunately for Carswell, he did not burn his bridges with the Bucks. He was back in a Cleveland uniform by the spring of 1948.

Carswell kicked off spring training in April with Cleveland with a 10-4 win over the Memphis Red Sox in a doubleheader that drew 3,900 fans at Martin Stadium.82 In early May Carswell demonstrated some “clever hurling” in a 15-3 drubbing of the Black Barons.83 A week later, in Springfield, Ohio, Birmingham exacted its revenge by crushing Carswell and his team, 11-6.84 The Buckeyes struggled throughout the summer to add games to the win column and keep their best players from being poached by White major-league teams. In July a teammate, outfielder Al Smith, was signed by the Cleveland Indians.85 Carswell never got the call to “The Show.” He remained with the Buckeyes through early June. The last mention of Carswell as a possible starter was a game between Cleveland and Memphis on June 8 in Dayton, Ohio.86 That summer, he disappeared from the Buckeyes’ roster and was not picked up by another Negro League team. In his final year with Cleveland, Carswell was credited with appearing in three games, had a 0-2 record, and rang up a 7.11 ERA. After the 1948 season ended, the NAL was in a financial and logistical tailspin. The league folded and Cleveland found itself as one of 10 teams in a new NAL.87

In the spring of 1949, Carswell discovered that he could go home again – back to the “Harlem Colored Giants,” later repackaged as Abe Saperstein’s Harlem Globetrotters.88 In the spring of 1949, he found himself in familiar territory, barnstorming in the United States and Canada. He was named as one of the “fancy flingers” for the Trotters and started his season on a hot streak.89 In late May, a “crafty” Carswell pitched a no-hitter for seven innings en route to a 6-0 win against the Studebakers in South Bend, Indiana.90 That performance sparked rumors of interest from the Cleveland Indians and Saperstein was purported to have offered Carswell’s services to a scout for an eye-popping $100,000.91 The story made for good copy but one has to wonder how much of the report was serious journalism and how much was pure hucksterism by Saperstein. After all, the same columnist who wrote the story referred to Frank Carswell as “pitching sensation” “Lloyd Cardswell,” a misspelling that appeared in various forms in the Trotters’ press releases for the remainder of the season.92

Carswell’s 1949 season with the Globetrotters was possibly one of his best. Although detailed newspaper accounts of the outcomes of the Trotters’ games were far outnumbered by articles promoting coming games, when results were published, Carswell’s wins outpaced reports of his losses – a definite improvement over his record with the Buckeyes. As Saperstein’s nine traversed North America, Carswell’s pitching prowess led his team to impressive wins in Canada, California, Oregon, Nebraska, and Montana, before the team headed back east.93

In 1950 Carswell left his home in Buffalo and hit the road once more with the Globetrotters. With 100 wins and just 19 losses to their credit during the 1949 season, the Trotters were on a roll. Carswell’s name still occasionally appeared in newspapers as “Lloyd Cardswell,” especially early in the season, including some of their first games with the Brooklyn Cuban Giants in Kentucky.94 It is difficult to determine his record for the 1950 season. Only a handful of his appearances were mentioned in newspapers and included wins over the Cuban Giants in Davenport, Iowa, in June, and Decatur, Illinois, in September.95 Carswell’s tenure with the Globetrotters ended with the 1950 season.

By the spring of 1951, Carswell, now nearly 34, reported to the Chicago American Giants’ spring training in Meridian, Mississippi.96 He was counted among the “eight pitching prospects to make the Giants a contender in the Negro American League pennant.”97 But he didn’t have much of a chance to dirty his Giants uniform. By June he had been sold to Syd Pollock’s Indianapolis-Buffalo Clowns for the reported hefty price of $7,500.98 Carswell quickly proved his worth with a five-hit win over the Philadelphia Stars.99 But the summer of 1951 wasn’t all fun and games for the Clowns. In July, their bullpen was decimated when two pitchers, Harry Butts and Pedro Naranjo, were “bribed” to defect to the “Canadian Manitoba-Dakota Circuit” (presumably the Mandak League), and a third hurler, Whit Graves, was induced to jump to the Dominican Republic’s summer leagues.100 Other players, including outfielder Nat Peeples and Honey Lott, were sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox respectively.101 Pollock was apoplectic. From his perspective, the players received fair salaries, the turnstiles were humming, and their chances of making it to the majors were high if they remained with the team.102 Pollock was quoted as saying that the jumpers “cut their noses off to spite their faces.” But Carswell did not take the leap, remaining with the Clowns for the remainder of the season. It was another up-and-down year for Carswell. In early July he dropped a game to the Monarchs in front of his hometown crowd in Buffalo, 9-4.103 And then, on July 20, he pitched a two-hit shutout against the Baltimore Elite Giants at Sulphur Dell in Nashville to win 2-0.104 He finished the season with a 4-4 record.105

In September 1951 the Clowns and the Monarchs staged a “month-long series, which has been branded as the World Series of the Negro American League.”106 That series morphed into a barnstorming tour with Jackie Robinson’s All-Stars that continued through the end of October. During that time, the Clowns were repackaged as the “New York All-Stars,” and “Negro American League All-Stars” as fodder for Robinson’s traveling nine. Carswell was on the roster for all three iterations. His postseason record is uncertain, but based on published accounts of the contests, he enjoyed no success on the mound against Robinson’s team, although the crowds loved it. In Knoxville, Tennessee, 7,500 enthusiastic fans roared as Robinson rocketed one of Carswell’s offerings over the left-field fence.107 On October 22, over 3,000 turned out to see Carswell defeated by Robinson’s All-Stars in Asheville, North Carolina, 6-3.108 It was noted that the Asheville crowd was composed of roughly 1,000 White fans and the “remainder were Negroes, turning out to watch members of their race perform who have made good in the higher brackets of baseball.”109 The last report of Carswell starting for his squad against Robinson’s All-Stars was on October 29 in New Orleans, when he was on the losing end, falling 10-6 before a crowd of 4,000.110

In the early 1950s Carswell crossed paths with two of the greatest baseball players of all time –Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron. In the 1951 postseason, he barnstormed with the teams that faced Robinson’s All-Stars. In 1952 he was Aaron’s teammate on the Indianapolis Clowns. Carswell reupped with the Clowns in April 1952 and wore number 38.111 He was primarily used in relief in the spring, but by midseason he notched a pair of good wins as a starter against the Philadelphia Stars and the Chicago American Giants.112 As the season drew to a close, Carswell, aided by Aaron’s “brilliant fielding and hefty slugging,” battled the Black Barons for a 16-10 win in Knoxville.113 That partnership worked well in the postseason when the Clowns captured the Negro League World Series by winning seven of 12 games from the Black Barons.114 Carswell “led the Clowns’ hurlers in the series with two wins and no losses,” while Aaron blasted five homers and hit .402 during the championship run.115 It was one of the better seasons of Carswell’s career. The Clowns toured in style in a “$30,000 motor coach” and on at least one occasion drew over 22,000 fans, no doubt thanks to their teenage rookie, Hank Aaron.116 Over the thousands of miles racked up that summer, Carswell got to know Aaron. He observed his daily habits, including one in particular that earned the youngster his nickname, Pork Chop.117 According to Carswell, “The man ate pork chops three meals a day, two for breakfast, two for lunch, three for dinner, and a spare [from] time to time for a snack.”118 Carswell continued, “We all called him Pork Chop,” and added that thanks to Aaron, other players started “thinking about strict pork chop diets so’s they could hit like he could.”119

The 1953 season was Carswell’s final year in baseball. He returned to Pollock’s Indianapolis Clowns, but Aaron did not; he signed with the Boston Braves and was on his way to a Hall of Fame career. But in April the Clowns added a new player to the roster, Toni Stone, a female second baseman who was sure to capture headlines and bring curious fans through the turnstiles.120 The Clowns were managed by Albert “Buster” Haywood in his final year with the team. Haywood used Carswell primarily as a reliever in the spring and as a starter later in the season, just as he had the previous year.121 In late May Carswell pulled out a 9-4 win over the Monarchs before a sparse crowd of less than 2,000 at Muny Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.122 In mid-July he had a bad night against the Black Barons in Asheville, giving up nine hits and losing 3-0.123 The Barons roughed him up again during the last week in July, this time at Sulphur Dell by a score of 14-1.124

Carswell’s summer continued on a downhill slide when he and the Clowns were dethroned by the Monarchs in mid-August in Kansas City, 4-1. The regular season ended with a thud for Carswell, but he had one last role to play before ending his career. In the 1953 postseason, the Clowns barnstormed against the “Negro Western All-Stars,” essentially a junior-varsity squad formed by a subset of Indianapolis players.125 Haywood was in charge of the Clowns’ “A Team,” while Carswell was tapped to wrangle the “All-Stars.”126 In late October, Carswell took over the reins for the Clowns when they played a two-game series against Robinson’s All-Stars at Pelican Stadium in New Orleans.127 Robinson’s squad included the Cleveland Indians’ Luke Easter and the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Gil Hodges.128 Nine thousand fans filled the stands to watch Robinson’s nine capture the first game, 4-3.129 Carswell’s final game likely came in an exhibition on November 5 in Miami against Robinson’s All-Stars – a 15-5 loss to end his career.130 Carswell’s career as a manager was brief but he made a positive impression on his team. According to Clowns infielder Gordon Hopkins, “Carswell was a good manager. I liked him. He was one of the Clowns’ old pitchers and he was taking care of managerial things for the All-Stars. He was a wonderful manager; he wasn’t too hard on the guys. He gave us a lot of flexibility, but he just wanted to see what everybody could do.”131

After the 1953 Clowns’ season ended, Carswell hung up his uniform for good and headed back home to Buffalo, where he took a job at the Chevrolet metal-casting plant in Tonawanda, a suburb on the north side of Buffalo.132 He retired from Chevrolet in 1972 “due to illness.”133 At the age of 61, Frank Carswell, known to his family as “Spark,” died in Buffalo on October 23, 1978, and was buried in Ridge Lawn Cemetery in Cheektowaga, New York.134 He was survived by his wife, Carrie Hunley Carswell, and his son, Rudy Carswell.

Sources

Unless otherwise indicated, all Negro League statistics and records were sourced from Seamheads.com and baseball-reference.com. Ancestry.com was used to access census, birth, death, marriage, military, immigration, and other genealogical and public records.

Notes

1 John W. Hammond, “Around the Circle,” Macon (Georgia) Telegraph, March 25, 1934: 10. Kaolin is a soft white mineral widely used in manufacturing.

2 “Industrial League May Be Organized, Macon Telegraph, April 17, 1935: 2.

3 Isaac D. Kremer, “Albion Interactive History,” Website, Isaac D. Kremer, Main Street America, http://isaackremer.com/albion/business/b_albion_malleable/.

4 James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues (New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1994), 155. Riley incorrectly identified Atlanta as Carswell’s birthplace and erroneously placed his boyhood years in Albion, Michigan.

5 Riley, 155, 565.

6 “Hill’s Stars Win Over Silver Creek,” Buffalo Times, August 13, 1926: 17; Riley, 565.

7 “Buffalo Stars Organize,” Buffalo Times, August 9, 1932: 6.

8 “Rock Howells Go Big Time, Set for Stadium Party,” International Gazette (Buffalo), June 10, 1944: 1.

9 David Montgomery, “Legends of the Lost City,” Buffalo News, August 5, 1990: E1, E2.

10 “Black Rocks Trounce Montgomerys, 15-5, Retain Muny Lead,” Buffalo Courier-Express, June 5, 1944: 13.

11 “Rock Howells Go Big Time, Set for Stadium Party.”

12 “Buckeyes to Give Proven a Tryout,” New Philadelphia (Ohio) Daily Times, June 22, 1944: 9.

13 “Buckeyes Unable to Retain Lead,” Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator, July 11, 1944: 18.

14 “Buckeyes Unable to Retain Lead.”

15 “Buckeyes Unable to Retain Lead.”

16 “Series Taken by Cleveland,” Dayton (Ohio) Journal Herald, July 14, 1944: 6.

17 “Series Taken by Cleveland.”

18 “Simon Pures Provide Upset Exhibition with Pros,” Hamilton Spectator, August 11, 1944: 24; “Negro Nines End Season Saturday,” Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) Evening News, September 13, 1944: 13.

19 Tommy Moore, “Krustomen Get Two Tests from Now Until Weekend,” Hamilton Spectator, August 10, 1944: 21.

20 “Krustomen Get Two Tests from Now Until Weekend.”

21 Tommy Moore, “Navy May Not Have Team to Start O.R.F.U. Race,” Hamilton Spectator, August 11, 1944: 25.

22 “Simon Pures Provide Upset Exhibition with Pros,” Hamilton Spectator, August 11, 1944: 24.

23 Tommy Moore, “Navy May Not Have Team to Start O.R.F.U. Race.”

24 “Buckeyes Beat League Foe, 12-2,” South Bend (Indiana) Tribune, August 26, 1944: 8.

25 “Buckeyes Beat League Foe, 12-2.”

26 “Buckeyes Beat League Foe, 12-2.”

27 “Baltimore Routs Buckeyes, 13-3,” Harrisburg Evening News, September 18, 1944: 11.

28 “American Giants Meet Buckeyes on Saturday Evening,” Waco (Texas) Tribune-Herald, April 15, 1945: 8.

29 Bob Overaker, “Beers and Buckeyes Clash Here Tonight,” South Bend Tribune, May 18, 1945: 25.

30 “Hoosier Beer Defeated, 9-4, by Buckeyes, South Bend Tribune, May 19, 1945: 8.

31 “Buckeyes Win Third Straight,” Dayton Daily News, May 29, 1945: 12.

32 “Buckeyes Rout Giants 9 to 0,” Dayton Daily News, June 19, 1945: 16.

33 Bob Overaker, “Beers Shine Afield, but Buckeyes Win, 7-3,” South Bend Tribune, July 20, 1945: 21.

34 “Two Games on Island Field,” Harrisburg Patriot, August 1, 1945: 11.

35 “Black Barons Defeat Cleveland Club,” Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser, August 21, 1945: 6.

36 “Peg Parsons, “Armour’s Homer Paces Buckeyes to 4-3 Victory Over All-Stars,” Erie (Pennsylvania) Daily Times, September 12, 1945: 12.

37 “Buckeyes Make It a Banner ‘Hayes Day,’” Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 3, 1945: 31.

38 “Grays Edge Buckeyes in Abbreviated Battle,” Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, September 13, 1945: 16.

39 “Buckeyes Win,” Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal, September 14, 1945: 28; John Holway, The Complete Book of Baseball’s Negro Leagues: The Other Half of Baseball History (Fern Park, Florida: Hastings House Publishers, 2001), 426.

40 Holway, 426.

41 “Cleveland Buckeyes Hold Negro Baseball World’s Championship,” Monongahela (Pennsylvania) Daily Republican, September 21, 1945: 2.

42 “Major All-Stars Here Tonight,” Dayton Herald, October 1, 1945: 9.

43 “Major All-Stars Here Tonight.”

44 “The Sports Note Pad,” Baltimore Afro-American, September 29, 1945: 30.

45 “Major All-Stars Here Tonight”; “Game Called,” Dayton Daily News, October 2, 1945: 20.

46 Jimmie N. Jones, “Cleveland Buckeyes, World Champions to Open Spring Training at Birmingham, Ala.,” Atlanta Daily World, March 20, 1946: 5.

47 “Buckeyes, Barons Split,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 30, 1946: 26.

48 “Cleveland Buckeyes Shade B’ham Black Barons, 10-9,” Atlanta Daily World, April 23, 1946: 5.

49 “Rains Blocking Negro Opener,” Dayton Herald, May 2, 1946: 22.

50 “Buckeyes and Barons Clash Here Tuesday, Dayton Daily News, May 5, 1946: 21.

51 “Buckeyes Divide Pair with Barons,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 6, 1946: 18.

52 “Black Barons Break Even,” Birmingham Post, May 13, 1946: 11.

53 “Clowns Blank Cleveland on Garcia’s Two-Hitter,” Indianapolis Star, May 20, 1946: 18.

54 “Bucks, Chicago Divide Holiday Doubleheader,” Chicago Defender, June 8, 1946: 11.

55 “Cleveland Nine Routs Atlanta, 10-1,” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, June8, 1946: 19; William J. Plott, The Negro Southern League: A Baseball History, 1920-1951 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2015), 157.

56 “Cleveland Nine Routs Atlanta, 10-1.”

57 “Monarchs Take Two from Cleveland,” Chicago Defender, June 22, 1946: 11.

58 “Memphis and Bucks Divide,” Chicago Defender, July 13, 1946: 11.

59 “Buckeyes Win Three from Barons,” Chicago Defender, August 3, 1946: 11.

60 “Buckeyes Triumph, 8-6,” Buffalo Courier-Express, July 28, 1946: 16.

61 William J. Scheffer, “12,435 Watch as Grays Win; Stars Tied,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 6, 1946: 25.

62 “12,435 Watch as Grays Win; Stars Tied.”

63 “12,435 Watch as Grays Win; Stars Tied.”

64 “Red Sox Trip Bucks, 5-1; Then Bow to Grays, 4-2,” Atlanta Daily World, August 9, 1946: 5.

65 “Red Sox Trip Bucks, 5-1; Then Bow to Grays, 4-2”; “Homestead Grays Tops in Capital 3-Team Bill,” Dayton Daily Bulletin, August 9, 1946: 4.

66 “Birmingham Swipes Pair,” Chicago Defender, August 31, 1946: 11.

67 “Red Sox in Victory,” Memphis Commercial Appeal, September 23, 1946: 13.

68 “Red Sox in Victory.”

69 “North-South Game Sunday,” Chicago Defender, October 5, 1946: 11.

70 “Negro Leagues Stage Single Game Today,” Birmingham News, October 13, 1946: 37.

71 “Negro Leagues Stage Single Game Today.”

72 “New Shortstop for Cleveland,” Chicago Defender, February 8, 1947: 20.

73 “New Shortstop for Cleveland.”

74 “Homestead Grays in Win Over Cleveland,” Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, May 16. 1947: 25.

75 “Buffalo’s Carswell to Hurl Negro Game Opener,” Buffalo News, June 10, 1947: 29.

76 “Carswell with Harlem Giants,” Buffalo News, July 9, 1947: 5.

77 “Clarence Center Fire Co. Ball Team to Play Harlem,” Amherst Bee (Williamsville, New York), June 20, 1946: 6.

78 “Harlem Giants Nine Plays at Clarence Tonight,” Buffalo News, July 9, 1947: 5.

79 “Buffalo Giants Win,” Buffalo Courier-Express, August 18, 1947: 14.

80 “2,000 Watch Koch-Wallace Nine Lose, 7-0, to Giants,” Dunkirk (New York) Evening Observer, August 21, 1947: 18.

81 “2,000 Watch Koch-Wallace Nine Lose, 7-0, to Giants.”

82 “Red Sox Gain Split,” Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 12, 1948: 18.

83 “Cleveland Buckeyes Defeat Black Barons,” Atlanta Daily World, May 7, 1948: 8.

84 “Birmingham Barons Outslug Cleveland Buckeyes, 11-6,” Springfield (Ohio) Daily News, May 11, 1948: 13.

85 “Indians Sign Alonzo Smith,” Atlanta Daily World, July 15, 1948: 5.

86 “Memphis Lineup Revamped for Game Tonight,” Dayton Herald, June 8, 1948: 22.

87 “Grays Quit League; New Circuit Formed,” Baltimore Afro-American, December 11, 1948: 7.

88 “New Tigers to Be Seen at Home Game Tomorrow,” Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario) Record, May 6, 1949: 23.

89 “New Tigers to Be Seen at Home Game Tomorrow.”

90 Bob Towner, “Globetrotters Defeat Studebaker Baseball Team,” 6-0,” South Bend Tribune, May 24, 1949: 17.

91 Ken McConnell, “Before and After,” Daily Province (Vancouver, British Columbia), May 21, 1949: 7.

92 Ken McConnell, “Before and After”; “Globetrotters Defeat Local All-Star Team,” Eugene (Oregon) Guard, July 24, 1949: 14; “Trotters Boast Negro Ball Stars for Game Wednesday at Hudson,” Albany (Oregon) Democrat-Herald, July 25, 1949: 7; “Stars Fill Globetrotters Ranks,” Chadron (Nebraska) Record, August 12, 1949: 8.

93 “Airlifters Bow to Trotters in Thrill-Packed Cambell Benefit Game,” Great Falls (Montana) Tribune, July 4, 1949: 9; “Harlem Nine Sweeps Pair From Davids,” Oakland Post-Inquirer, July 18, 1949: 14;  “Globetrotters Defeat Local All-Star Team”; “Trotters Boast Negro Ball Stars for Game Wednesday at Hudson”; “Stars Fill Globetrotters Ranks”; “Globetrotters Tag 11 to 2 Loss on Miles City Club,” Miles City (Montana) Star, August 17, 1949: 7.

94 “Negro Nines Play Twin-Bill Next Sunday,” Louisville Courier-Journal, May 14, 1950: 32; “Globetrotters Meet Cubans at Hoptown,” Madisonville (Kentucky) Messenger, May 17, 1950: 14.

95 Jerry Jurgens, “Trotters Sock 22 Hits; Slam Cubans, 13-5,” Davenport (Iowa) Daily Times, June 10, 1950: 6; “Globetrotters Top Brooklyn Cubans, 9 to 1,” Decatur (Illinois) Herald and Review, September 4, 1950: 13.

96 “Ame. Giants Open Spring Training,” St. Louis Argus, March 2, 1951: 20.

97 “Ame. Giants Open Spring Training.”

98 “Clowns’ Manager Purchases Player,” Macon (Georgia) News, June 7, 1951: 21.

99 Les Matthews, “Sports Train,” New York Age, June 9, 1951: 14.

100 “Indianapolis Clowns Baseball News,” Macon News, July 3, 1951: 13.

101 “Indianapolis Clowns Baseball News”; Alan J. Pollock, Barnstorming to Heaven: Syd Pollock and His Great Black Teams (James A. Riley, ed.), (Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 2006), 222.

102 “Indianapolis Clowns Baseball News.”

103 “Clowns, Monarchs Divide Twin Bill,” Buffalo Courier-Express, July 9, 1951: 14.

104 “Carswell Shuts Out Giants in Dell Tilt,” Nashville Tennessean, July 21, 1951: 10.

105 “Veteran Ball Stars Return Signed Contracts to Clowns,” Alabama Tribune (Montgomery), April 4, 1952: 7.

106 “Clowns Engaged in Month Long Series,” Macon News, September 12, 1951: 25.

107 Frank Weirich, “Jackie Robinson Mobbed as Stars Win Game, 9-6,” Knoxville (Tennessee) News-Sentinel, October 17, 1951: 16.

108 “Robinson’s All-Stars Defeat AL Nine, 6 to 3,” Asheville (North Carolina) Times, October 23, 1951: 15.

109 “Robinson’s All-Stars Defeat AL Nine, 6 to 3.”

110 “Robinson’s All-Stars Win,” Washington Evening Star, October 30, 1951: 16.

111 “Clowns Ink 4 Including Sub for King Tut,” Chicago Defender, April 5, 1952: 17; “Negro Teams Meet Today,” Baltimore Sun, May 18, 1952: 7D.

112 “Clowns Capture Round Robin in Negro Loop Ball,” Buffalo Evening News, July 21, 1952; “Clowns Overcome Giants in ‘Straight’ Ball Game,” Elmira (New York) Star-Gazette, August 1, 1952: 12.

113 “Rookie Leads Clown Victory,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, September 20, 1952: 6.

114 “Clowns Baseball Champions,” Macon Telegraph, October 13, 1952: 2.

115 “Clowns Defeat Barons to Win NAL Playoff, 7-5,” Chicago Defender, October 18, 1952: 18.

116 “Hall Drug Battles Famed Indianapolis Clowns Tuesday Night,” Battle Creek (Michigan) Enquirer, August 10, 1952: 16; “First in Sports, Buffalo Courier-Express, August 13, 1952: 18.

117 Pollock, 228.

118 Pollock, 228.

119 Pollock, 228.

120 “Clowns and Baseball Notes,” Macon Telegraph, April 2, 1953: 26.

121 “Birmingham Nine Blanks Clowns Before 3,563,” Asheville Citizen, July 14, 1953: 15.

122 “Game Won by Clowns,” Omaha Morning World-Herald, May 27, 1953: 28.

123 “Birmingham Nine Blanks Clowns Before 3,563.”

124 “Black Barons Rout Indianapolis, 14-1,” Nashville Tennessean, July 25, 1953: 11.

125 “Clowns, Western All-Stars Schedule Game Here Sept. 13,” Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Journal, September 6, 1953: 20; Brent Kelley, The Negro Leagues Revisited: Conversations with 66 More Baseball Heroes (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2010), 291.

126 “Clowns, Western All-Stars Schedule Game Here Sept. 13.”

127 “9,000 See Big Leaguers; 2nd Game Tonight,” New Orleans Item, October 26, 1953: 20.

128 “Robinson’s All-Stars Win at Little Rock,” Shreveport Journal, October 23, 1953: 29.

129 “9,000 See Big Leaguers; 2nd Game Tonight.”

130 “All-Stars Beat Clowns 15-5,” Miami Times, November 7, 1953: 1.

131 Kelley, 294.

132 “Frank Carswell, Ex-Pitcher,” Buffalo News, October 27, 1978: 36.

133 “Frank Carswell, Ex-Pitcher.”

134 “In Memoriam,” Buffalo News, October 27, 1978: 36.