Spotswood Poles

“I’d like to have played in the Majors.”1 — Spotswood Poles

Spotswood Poles. One could not ask for a more memorable name. And with the unique appellation, not surprisingly, his name was misrepresented in multiple ways in official documents. The1886 Winchester, Virginia Register of Birth, the earliest official notification of Poles’ arrival, spelled his first name as Spottswood with two t’s. The 1900 Census has his first name as Spootsie. His 1905 marriage license shows Spootwood. The 1910 Census incorporated only one t: Spotswood. And by the 1910s, the correct spelling of Spotswood was the norm.

All this is interesting, but why does Spotswood Poles matter? For one, he was an outstanding baseball player whose career, blocked from playing in the National or American League alongside and against White ballplayers, received a paucity of attention. Poles also matters because of his superlative military service during World War I that eventually merited his burial at Arlington National Cemetery years later. So yes, Poles deserves attention, and not just because of a quirky name.

Spotswood Poles was born on November 7, 1886, in Winchester, Virginia.2 He was the son of French Poles and Malinda Barber, the youngest of 10 children.3 He was born when his father and mother were 51 and 37, respectively. His parents were born enslaved, French in Rappahannock County, Virginia and Malinda in Clarke County. The latter, east of Winchester, was where the two were married on September 14, 1871.4  His unusual name may have been inspired by Virginia colonial Governor Alexander Spotswood and his descendants.

Precious little is known of Poles’ upbringing. Poles himself shed some light on his early years in a 1953 interview, reminiscing, “I played baseball since I was six years old using a broom stick and a tennis ball. I believe in starting young, because the more experience you have the better off you are—not only in baseball but in everything else.”5 Legend has it that “[in] 1897, his father, French Poles, signed him up to play on one of the local sandlot teams.”6  

In 19027, the Poles family relocated to Springdale, a neighborhood in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania just north of downtown. There, according to Dr. Layton Revel and Luis Muñoz, Poles “played ball in the Harrisburg boy’s league that was sponsored by the Hello Bill Club.”8 As early as 1903, Poles (then aged 16) was playing with the Springdale Athletic Club. He was at shortstop against State Arsenal in a game that the opposition won 9-6.9

A few years later, Harrisburg baseball sports entrepreneur Colonel William Charles Strothers signed 19-year-old Poles to play for Strothers’ Harrisburg Giants, a Black baseball team that played an independent schedule throughout the Middle Atlantic states. In May 1906, the Harrisburg Star-Independent wrote “The Harrisburg Giants have organized for the season.” Poles was listed as the team’s third baseman.10 Local newspapers captured Poles’ play with the Giants over the next several years. He was in the Giants lineup on June 24, 1909 in a game that Harrisburg lost 10-5 against Sol White’s Philadelphia Giants at the Harrisburg Athletic Club Ground.11 Reportedly, “Philadelphia [then] signed…Poles who left town with them after the game.”12

To have been recruited and signed by the famous Philadelphia Giants, one of the nation’s premier Black teams, was quite an accomplishment. At 5-feet-7 and somewhere around 165 pounds, Poles’ primary attribute was speed, which he used both on the base paths and as a far-ranging fielder. A switch-hitter who threw right-handed, he would become a lineup fixture, playing the outfield or third base, and hitting against both left and right-handed pitchers.

He was Sol White’s kind of player. Poles was of similar build as White, and each brought an intensity to their game. White had just turned 41 when he signed Poles to patrol the outfield and play third, as needed. White had led his Giants, with the help of pitcher Rube Foster, to unparalleled success in the early to mid-1900s. In 1907, he had published Sol White’s Official Base Ball Guide with the assistance of Philadelphia sportswriter H. Walter Schlichter.13 Historian John Holway called White “an infielder who would go on to become the most influential figure in the first decades of Negro baseball.”14 What better way for Poles to launch a career on the big stage?

After trading one Giants uniform for another, Poles was soon in the Philadelphia lineup in a game on July 3, batting seventh and playing center field for Sol White’s squad. Poles had a hit and scored two runs in the Giants’ 10-6 win over Coatesville.15 A day later Poles played both ends of a doubleheader, a win over the Cuban Giants in the first game and a loss to Ridgewoods in the second.16 In the first of his two years with Philadelphia in games against comparable talent, the box scores show a .238 batting average. It was a time of learning for Poles, now playing alongside the likes of John Henry Lloyd, Dan McClellan, Frank Duncan,  Bill Francis, and Bruce Petway. In postseason play, the Giants defeated Rube Foster’s Leland Giants, three games to one. Poles had definitely made the big time.

The Philly Giants were nearing the end of their competitive run. Poles played regularly during their penultimate year in 1910, establishing himself as a steady fielder and solid bat, hitting a serviceable .281. The following year (1911), New York entrepreneurs Jess and Rod McMahon pooled their money to form the New York Lincoln Giants. They quickly enticed Sol White to jump ship and bring with him Philadelphia’s core—Dick “Cannonball” Redding, Bill Francis, Louis Santop, Dan McClellan, and Poles. Other Black teams were pirated by the McMahons as well, making for a squad that by the end of the season called itself “Colored Champions of the East.”17 As one of the team’s relative youngsters at the age of 24, Poles hit .306.

In 1912, Poles appears to have played for another team before playing for the Lincoln Giants that year. He played in center in a game with the Pittsburgh Giants on April 24 before showing up again in Lincoln box scores.18  On June 13, the New York Age reported that “in Sunday’s game (June 10) between the Lincoln Giants and New London team Poles and Capt. Lloyd became embroiled in an argument. Poles quit the team, and a few hours later made overtures to Manager Connor to become a member of the [Brooklyn] Royal Giants. An agreement was reached, and the speedy fielder was sent to join the Royals.”19 On July 4, Poles’ former and current teams met, resulting in a Royal Giants victory. The two teams played again on July 27; this time the Lincoln Giants won. Poles went hitless for the Royals.20 And then, as reported by the New York Age, “The following afternoon Poles was seen again in a Lincoln Giants uniform.”21

Somehow Poles settled matters with the McMahons and Lloyd (who continued to manage the Lincolns until giving way to Dick Wallace in 1914). He remained a fixture with the Lincoln Giants through 1914, minus a brief flirtation with the McMahons’ new interest, the New York Lincoln Stars, at the beginning of the 1914 campaign.

A March newspaper article confirmed the creation of the Lincoln Stars and the team’s lease for the Lenox Oval at 145th Street and Lenox Avenue. Poles, Williams, Redding, Wiley, Santop, Bill Pettus, and Lloyd featured prominently in the promised lineup.22 In the meantime, wrote the Brooklyn Eagle, “The team known for several seasons as the Lincoln Giants, with headquarters at Olympic Field in Harlem, has changed hands, the McMahons having retired, and is now an incorporated club, with James J. Keenan as president. Grant Johnson, the well-known “Homerun,” will manage the outfit, which will open the season on April 5.”23

Poles’ stay with the Stars was brief. He appeared in their lineup on a Sunday, April 12 game against the Mohawk Giants, going 2-for-3 in an 8-2 win.24 By the following Sunday, he was playing again for the Lincoln Giants in a doubleheader.25 Once settled in with the Lincoln Giants, he had one of his best years: his combined stats from the Stars and Lincolns show a batting average of .486, OBP of .486, an OPS of .986, and an OPS+ of 174. At the end of the season, Poles and an amalgam of players from the Stars, Giants, and Brooklyn Royal Giants journeyed to Cuba to play under the moniker of the Lincoln Giants, a team that Poles himself managed.26

Poles resumed play with the Lincoln Stars in 1915; while some have reported that he managed the team, the March 15 Brooklyn Eagle listed Sam Lloyd as manager.27 Seamheads also identified Bill Pettus at the helm at some point, and Revel and Muñoz suggested that Sol White also managed the team. Although the records aren’t clear, it might well have been that Poles had his shot as well as manager that year.

A trademark of Black baseball in the early 1900s was fluid player movement among teams. Players signed contracts on a year-to-year basis and soon got the lay of the land when it came to where they might play the next season to garner a better wage and play on a competitive side. With that in mind, back to the Lincoln Giants went Poles in 1916. Changing uniforms did not affect his on-field performance; alongside teammates Smokey Joe Williams, Dick Redding, Doc Wiley, and Bill Pierce, Poles’ Lincolns fared just fine in their independent schedule.

Poles remained with the Lincoln Giants for the 1917 season—he was in the opening day lineup28— but was lured by Ed Bolden, owner of the Hilldale squad from Philadelphia, who was hard at work building a professional Black team in the city. In late June, the Philadelphia Tribune announced Poles’ acquisition by Bolden.29 Poles was in the Hilldale lineup as early as June 21, getting a hit in a 3-0 loss to Bacharach.30 In fact, the papers noted that Poles was signed to play in midweek with Hilldale, but was available to return to the Lincoln Giants on the weekends and on Fridays. Sure enough, box scores that summer affirmed his dual role.

What came next for Poles was his signature moment outside baseball. On July 12, 1916, while living in Harlem, he enlisted in the New York Army National Guard’s 15th Regiment, nicknamed the Harlem Rattlers.31 With the onset of the United States’ entry into World War I, the Regiment was absorbed into the U.S. Army. Poles’ military record indicates his formal enlistment in the U.S. Army on October 24, 1917, with Supply Company in the 15th Infantry Regiment of the 60th Division, from which he was transferred into Company D in December. His draft registration card listed his residence as 136th West 143rd Street in Harlem.32 The unit departed for France on December 17, 1917, on the troop ship USS Pocahontas from Hoboken; it arrived at the port of Brest, France on December 27.33 Once in France, the 15th was recommissioned as the 369th Infantry Regiment of the 93rd Division.

The 369th, like most Black units, was assigned supply and construction duty to support the frontline troops. However, in March 1918, General John J. Pershing, the commander of American troops in Europe, assigned what had become known as the Harlem Hellfighters to a French Division, with which they fought in combat for the duration of their service in France. The 369th saw action in several battles and offensives, including Chateau Thierry, Belleau Wood, Champagne-Marne, Meuse-Argonne, Campagne, and Alsace.34

Promoted to sergeant on September 22, Poles was wounded less than a week later, on September 28, at the outset of the Meuse-Argonne offensive that lasted until the armistice.35 After the end of the war, Poles’ unit traveled home on the troopship Regina De Italia, departing from Brest on February 3, 1919, and arriving in New York on February 12. Soon thereafter, the 369th took part in a New York City Parade honoring soldiers returning from France.36 Poles was honorably discharged on February 24. His military service “earned five individual battlefield star decorations.”37 In 1932, he became “the recipient of the new War Department Decoration, the Purple Heart, for active service rendered overseas with his regiment in 1918.”38

Poles’ Stateside return found him picking up where he left off: playing baseball. He resumed playing for Hilldale. However, a slow start for Hilldale and the allure of playing with a more accomplished side – the Bacharach (Atlantic City) Giants – enticed him to jump teams. Bacharach employed familiar faces such as Pop Lloyd (who also managed the squad), Ben Taylor, and Cannonball Redding. Poles batted .29739 for the Giants, whose record that year against rival Eastern clubs was 14-8.

The following year, 1920, heralded the creation of the Negro National League. The league encompassed only teams in the Midwest; the likes of the Atlantic City (Bacharach) Giants, Baltimore Black Sox, Hilldale Daisies, Brooklyn Royal Giants, and New York Lincoln Giants in the East were left to play an independent schedule. For the 1920 season, Poles returned to the Lincoln Giants, his former team. He played alongside Smokey Joe Williams (player/manager), Doc Wiley, Bill Pettus, Jules Thomas, and Fats Jenkins. Poles would finish his career with the Giants, playing for them until 1923. Even in his later years, the box scores often showed him batting leadoff and patrolling left field. Only toward the end of his career was he more frequently found lower in the order and playing third or short. In those last four seasons, Poles showed he could still hit. He posted batting averages of .267, .394, .380, and .292, respectively, from 1920 to 1923. Healthy On Base Percentages of .371, .456, .436, and .400 demonstrated that he had not lost his batting eye.

In an interview in the 1950s, Poles recalled that after the 1923 season, at the age of 36, “I was still batting above .300 when I quit…The only thing was that I got tired of all the train travel and carrying those bags around all the time. “40

Several histories of Poles suggest that he played briefly for a new incarnation of the Harrisburg Giants in 1928. This remains unclear. The Poles in the 1928 Giants lineup for certain was Ed “Googles” Poles, an infielder previously with the Baltimore Black Sox. Perhaps Spots Poles was involved initially but did not remain on the squad. And Poles himself did not mention playing with the Giants in 1928 in later newspaper interviews.

Poles’ career in the pre-Negro League era was more than enough to stamp him as an outstanding player. Like many of his peers, he played the game year-round, emblematic of the notion that Black ballplayers “never dropped the ball.” Week in and week out, they played for the money, for the competition – and when it came to playing south of the border, for the welcome and respect they received, unlike the reception they had in the segregated United States.

Poles appeared several times in the Cuban winter league, first in 1910-1911 with Club Fé. The team fared poorly against rivals Almendares and Habana, but Poles batted well – in 26 games he hit .360 and scored 20 runs. He returned to Club Fé in January 1912, this time with a stronger outfit that nonetheless still finished third against their two Cuban rivals. Poles hit .259 in 23 games and led the league in doubles. At the end of 1912, he was back in Cuba, this time with the Lincoln Giants to play in an exhibition series with Almendares and Habana. The Giants performed poorly, winning only five times in 13 games.41 Poles and several teammates remained in Cuba after the series and again played for Club Fé in 1913 that won the winter series for the first time since 1906. Smokey Joe Williams and Dick Redding provided strong pitching, and a mix of Cuban and African American ballplayers ensured a steady lineup. In addition to hitting .364, Poles led the league in runs, hits, triples, and at-bats, helping his team to the title.42

In October 1914, player-manager Poles led the Lincoln Stars (also referenced as the Lincoln Giants) to Cuba to participate in the American Series against the Stateside Birmingham Barons and the local Almendares and Habana teams. His team fared poorly, going 4-9-1; only Poles and Louis Santop hit respectably. As he had previously, Poles stayed on in Cuba after the series to play with Club Fé for the 1914-1915 winter league campaign. The team fell back to its old ways and won only five games out of 33 against Almendares and Habana. Poles hit just .226. It was his last season in Cuba.43

Two other opportunities beckoned Poles in the offseason. He was of an age and time when the Florida Hotel League thrived; thus, he appeared there from 1914 to 1917, and again in 1921. In his only season with Royal Poinciana (1914), Poles led the league in hitting at .353. The Breakers side bested Poles’ Royal Poinciana team eight games to six to win bragging rights. For the next three years (1915-1917), Poles played for the Breakers, having been recruited in 1915 by Pop Lloyd to jump sides. He played again for the Breakers in 1916, persuaded this time by Smokey Joe Williams. He hit .375 and .164, respectively, in those two years and helped lead the Breakers to the championship in 1915. Poles hit poorly (.182) for the Breakers in 1917, a team imcluding quite a few New York Lincoln Giants. His team relinquished the Florida Hotel League title to Royal Poinciana, led by Rube Foster and many of his Chicago American Giants teammates. Box scores for two games in 1921 show Poles in the lineup for the Breakers, going 4-for-7.44

Another offseason venue for Black ballplayers was the California Winter League. Poles played in 1920-1921, when the Lincoln Giants played an independent schedule against California teams rather than as part of league play. The Giants compiled a 20-2 record. Poles batted .365 in 19 games; he played in a formidable lineup alongside Biz Mackey, Bill Pettus, Jules Thomas, Henry Blackman, Jess Hubbard, and Ping Gardner.45

Upon retirement from the game, Poles and his wife Bertha returned first to Winchester, where he owned and operated a cab company. “I got out of baseball and bought myself five taxicabs,” Poles shared in an interview years later.46

Afterwards, the couple returned to Harrisburg. Both worked at the Middletown Air Depot (in the Harrisburg suburb of Middletown) beginning in 1942 during World War II. They “serviced airplanes for the Army Air Corps and constructed engines for cargo planes.”47 Poles remained employed by the Air Depot into the 1950s.48

While in Harrisburg and with occasional sojourns to New York City, Poles kept his hand in the game. He organized a team under the auspices of the Elks Club in New York in 1932.49 In the late 1930s, Poles was spotted at an old-timer’s game on Randalls Island in the East River.50

In 1946, Poles opened a baseball school for young men between the ages of 15 and 25 in Harrisburg.51 His club, Poles A.C., played local sides in the Mid-City Twilight League;52 a box score from 1946 shows Poles himself in center field.53 In his later years, he was vice-president  of the Harrisburg Senators Colored Booster Club.54 Poles also alluded to umpiring for a time in the Negro National League.55

Local newspapers noted Poles’ management of an integrated semipro team in the early 1950s called the Harrisburg Giants. “I enjoy working with the boys,” Poles remarked. “I have a few good prospects and I think that two of them in particular have a chance to make the majors someday.”56 One of his players was his nephew, Reed, who showed promise with the Giants and then later while serving in the US Air Force.57 After a Giants doubleheader, the senior Poles called his nephew “better than I was at his age.”58

William Clark, sports columnist for the New York Age, named Poles to his all-time all-star nine in 1937.59 Fifteen years and a great deal of Negro League talent later, Poles made the Pittsburgh Courier’s Honor Roll.60 Put another way, Poles was considered one of the 22 greatest Negro League outfielders ever, even though nearly all of his career took place in the shadows before the Negro National League’s formation in 1920.

In 1950, Poles was interviewed by a Harrisburg newspaper on having been named on Smokey Joe Williams’ All-Time Negro League Team. Asked about his greatest thrill, Poles reminisced about one of his earliest years in the game, 1909.

“We were in a three-game series [with the Chicago American Giants] and both teams had won a game. We held a 3-2 lead and Detroit was batting in the last of the ninth. Two were out and the bases loaded when George Wright really laid into one. I turned around and started running. I didn’t think a catch was possible, but I kept moving. At the last moment I leaped several feet for a desperate stab and the ball stayed in the glove pocket. Newspaper photographers got a picture of me making the catch. My advice to kids wanting to be ball players is never give up. Make the last try.”61

In 2006, Poles was included on the ballot that presented 39 Negro League players and executives considered for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame. Seventeen were chosen; Poles fell short.62

How good was Poles? As he recalled in 1951, John McGraw, manager of the New York Giants, “used to come down to the Polo Grounds and watch us play every Sunday and he wanted us, but some others didn’t and until a couple of years ago, great baseball talent like Satchel Paige went to waste.” That newspaper article further noted that McGraw’s widow found a notation in her husband’s diary listing five Negro Leaguers he would like on his team. The list was headed by Poles.63

Spotswood Poles died of cancer on September 12, 1962, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. His obituary from his adopted hometown of Harrisburg made no mention of his baseball career. Rather, it noted that “he was a retired employe [sic] of the Middletown Air Depot; member of the Bethel AME Church; World War I veteran.” It added that he would be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.64

Indeed, after Poles died, his widow applied for a grave marker there. The application was immediately accepted, affirming Poles’ dedicated service to his country. He was given a full military funeral and was buried in Section 42, Grave 2324.65

In 2019, the City of Winchester named a street after Poles, and then installed an interpretative historical marker. And in 2024, Poles’ hometown named a park after him. Although still not enshrined in the Hall of Fame as many believe he merited, Poles is a hero in his place of birth.66

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Donna Halper and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Larry DeFillipo.

Sources

Unless otherwise noted, statistics used are from Seamheads or Baseball Reference. The author expresses appreciation for John Holway’s depiction of Poles in the 1975 SABR Baseball Research Journal. Thanks are due to Winchester, Virginia’s Handley Regional Library System for its Spottswood Poles Collection and to Brian Brehm of the Winchester Star. The author appreciated Fred Brillhart’s piece on Poles featured in the 1998 Commemorative Program honoring Poles at the Harrisburg Senators (AA Eastern League) Second Annual Negro League Night.

Notes

1 Al Clark, “Sports Shop,” Harrisburg Patriot News, September 16, 1962: 46.

2 The Virginia Register of Births identifies Poles’ birthdate as November 7, 1886. Subsequent military service and U.S. Census records suggest alternatively December 7, 1887; December 15, 1887; and December 1888 as Poles’ date of birth. The application for his gravesite headstone at Arlington National Cemetery included a November 26, 1887 birthdate but the actual headstone has inscribed December 9, 1887. Poles’ Pennsylvania Certificate of Death listed December 7, 1887, suggesting that his military records were on file and used by the Veterans Administration Hospital in Lebanon, Pennsylvania where Poles died. Seamheads assigns Poles a birthdate of December 27, 1887. It is not uncommon for those born before the turn of the 20th century for there to be conflicting records. For the purposes of this bio, the Virginia Register of Births is considered the official record.

3 According to familysearch.org, Poles had nine siblings: Mattie, Bessie, Margaret, John, Mary E, Anna, one unnamed sister, and two unnamed brothers. William H and Charles are listed as brothers-in-law, the former married to Mary E., the latter married to Margaret.

4 Virginia, US, Marriage Registers, 1853-1935 for Malinda Barber. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62154/images/62154_i1023836-00026?pId=90663187

5 Saul Kohler, “Spotts Poles Helps Kids Get Started in Baseball,” Harrisburg Sunday Patriot News, April 26, 1953: 49.

6 Spottswood Poles (U.S. National Park Service); last accessed on September 10, 2025.

7 Saul Kohler, “Spots Poles ‘Directs’ Joe Caffie,” Harrisburg Evening News, April 24, 1951: 23.

8 Dr. Layton Revel & Luis Muñoz, Forgotten Heroes: Spottswood Poles, Center for Negro League Baseball Research, 2013: 1. Spottswood-Poles-Book.pdf.

9 “State Arsenal Defeats Springdale AC,” Harrisburg Star-Independent, June 3, 1903: 7.

10 “Harrisburg Giants Organized,” Harrisburg Star-Independent, May 21, 1906: 10.

11 “Philadelphia Giants Won: Harrisburg Giants Played Loose Game But Hit Hard,” Harrisburg Patriot-News, June 25, 1909: 6.

12 Dr. Layton Revel & Richard J. Puerzer, Early Pioneers of the Negro Leagues: Colonel William “C.W.” Strothers, Center for Negro League Baseball Research, 2017: 7. Colonel Strothers 2018-04.pdf.

13 Jay Hurd, “Sol White,” SABR BioProject, accessed January 31, 2026.

14 John Holway, The Complete Book of Baseball’s Negro Leagues: The Other Half of Baseball History. (Fern Park, FL: Hastings House Publishers, 2001), 21.

15 “Phila. Giants Victorious,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 4, 1909: 16.

16 “With the Amateurs,” Brooklyn Eagle, July 6, 1909: 22.

17Revel and Muñoz, Forgotten Heroes: Spottswood Poles, 5.

18 “McCann’s Crowd Rally in Ninth,” Bridgeport (Connecticut) Farmer, April 25, 1912: 8.

19 “Poles Quits Lincolns and Joins Royals,” New York Age, June 13, 1912: 6.

20 “Lincolns Get Even With Royals,” New York Age, August 1, 1912: 6.

21 “Kidnapping Players the Latest Game,” New York Age, August 15, 1912: 6.

22 “M’Mahons Get Lease on New Grounds,” Hudson Observer (Jersey City, NJ), March 28, 1914: 4.

23 “Semi-Pro Teams Plan Big Season,” Brooklyn Eagle, March 24, 1914: 18.

24 “Dismukes Strikes Out Ten,” New York Age, April 16, 1914: 6.

25 “Lincoln Giants Win Two,” New York Age, April 23, 1914: 6. The left-behind squad also played and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies and tied with the New York Giants. See “Big Leaguers Lose,” New York Age, October 15, 1914: 6 and “Lincoln Giants Tie N.Y. Giants,” New York Age, October 26, 1914: 6.

26 “Semi-Pro Gossip,” Brooklyn Eagle, October 5, 1914: 19. New York papers also reported on what was probably the remainder of the Lincoln Giants that remained stateside, playing in October and November against the Cuban Stars, semi-pro teams in the New York area, and in early November, a team of White players from the American, National, and several minor league teams. Poles was not on this latter squad.

27 “Semi Pro Teams Will Start Soon,” Brooklyn Eagle, March 15, 1915: 18.

28 “Lincoln Giants Open Season,” New York Age, April 19, 1917: 6.

29 “Hilldale Lands Poles, of Lincoln Giants to Play Mid-week Games,” Philadelphia Tribune, June 30, 1917: 7.

30 “Bacharach Giants Put Check to Hilldale’s Streak,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 22, 1917: 14.

31 Spottswood Poles (U.S. National Park Service); last accessed on September 10, 2025.

32 New York, U.S., Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917-1919 for Spottswood Poles.

33 Spottswood Poles (U.S. National Park Service).

34 Spottswood Poles (U.S. National Park Service).

35 New York, U.S., Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917-1919 for Spottswood Poles.

36 “Thousands of Troops Home: Ship in Storm,” Elmira Star-Gazette, February 14, 1919: 3.

37 Revel and Muñoz, Forgotten Heroes: Spottswood Poles, 11.

38 “Sergt. Spotswood Poles Gets Purple Heart,” New York Age, October 29, 1932: 2.

39 According to Seamheads.

40 Spotts Helps Kids Get Started in Baseball, Harrisburg Patriot News, April 26, 1953: 27.

41 “Fe Team Far Ahead in Cuban League,” Brooklyn Eagle, January 16, 1913: 16.

42 Jorge S. Figueredo, Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, 1878-1961 (McFarland & Company, Jefferson, NC, 2003), 91-103, 357.

43 Figueredo, 110-115. See also Revel and Muñoz, 15-16.

44 William F. McNeil, Black Baseball Out of Season: Pay for Play Outside the Negro Leagues (McFarland & Company, Jefferson, NC, 2007), 210. See also Revel and Muñoz, 18.

45 William F. McNeil, The California Winter League: America’s First Integrated Professional Baseball League (McFarland & Company, Jefferson, NC, 2002), 76-77.

46 Spotts Helps Kids Get Started in Baseball: 27.

47 Spottswood Poles (U.S. National Park Service).

48Harold Hickernell, “Spots Poles Given Berth on All-Time Negro Nine,” Harrisburg Patriot News, May 14, 1950: D-2.

49 “Poles to Manage Monarch Elks Nine,” New York Age, May 7, 1932: 6.

50 “Baseball Veterans to Show Wares At Randalls Is. Sunday,” New York Age, August 20, 1938: 8.

51 “To Have Baseball School,” Harrisburg Patriot News, February 18, 1946: 9.

52 “Sandlot League Formed in City,” Harrisburg Telegraph, June 11, 1946: 17.

53 “Poles A.C. Beats Rockville Team,” Harrisburg Evening News, July 11, 1946: 28.

54 “Group to Honor Brooks Lawrence Thursday Night,” Harrisburg Evening News,” August 13, 1951: 15.

55 “Harrisburg’s Spotswood Poles Says Satch Paige is 45-47 and No More,” Harrisburg Patriot News, May 24, 1953: 56.

56 “Spots Poles Helps Kids Get Started in Baseball,” Sunday Harrisburg Patriot News, April 26, 1953: 49.

57 “Reed Poles Hits Longest Homer,” Harrisburg Evening News, March 14, 1957, 35.

58 “Poles Lauds Young Poles,” Harrisburg Evening News, June 29, 1953: 17.

59 William E. Clark, “The Sports Parade: “All-Time” “All-Star” Nine,” New York Age, December 18, 1937: 8.

60 “Courier Experts’ ‘Role of Honor’: Also Listed Among Baseball’s Immortals,” Pittsburgh Courier, April 19, 1952: 28.

61 Harold Hickernell: D-2.

62 Andrew Linker, “Hall should have nothing to hide: Secrecy surrounding Negro Leagues voting takes away from process, dishonors players,” Harrisburg Patriot News, March 5, 2006: T22.

63 Saul Kohler, “Spots Poles ‘Directs’ Joe Caffie,” Harrisburg Evening News, April 24, 1951: 19

64 “Poles,” Harrisburg Evening News, September 15, 1962: 7. Winchester, Virginia’s Handley Regional Library System could find no record of an obituary of Poles in the Winchester Evening Star. 

65 Spottswood Poles (1887-1962) – Find a Grave Memorial.

66 Brian Brehm, “Spottswood Poles to receive long-overdue honors from city,” Winchester Star, April 17, 2019 (Spottswood Poles to receive long-overdue honors from city | Winchester Star | winchesterstar.com); Anna Merod, “A hero on the ballfield and the battlefield,” Winchester Star, June 16, 2019 (A hero on the ballfield and the battlefield | Winchester Star | winchesterstar.com); and Brian Brehm, “One of baseball’s greatest players honored at Poles Park dedication,” Winchester Star, February 29, 2024 (One of baseball’s greatest players honored at Poles Park dedication | Winchester Star | winchesterstar.com).