Willie Jefferson

Of the Jefferson brothers who briefly constituted one of the most formidable one-two punches in any Negro League pitching rotation, Willie “Bill” Jefferson was the more accomplished. Yet unlike his brother, Willie was a late bloomer, not reaching his prime until he was approaching his 40s. Also unlike his brother, who had a well-documented and checkered personal life, little is known of Willie’s adult life outside of baseball.

William Jefferson was born 18 years before his brother George Jefferson, on January 27, 1904, in Clearview, Oklahoma (then known as Indian Territory). According to census data, his father, Douglass, who was living and working on a farm with the Cushingberry family, was only about 22 years old at the time. Just two years earlier, he fathered Willie’s older brother, Lucky, in 1902 with Fannie Jones. It is likely that Willie and George had different mothers.1 Clearview, like several towns in Okfuskee County, including nearby Boley, where younger brother George was later born, was one of more than 50 all-Black towns in the state. Clearview boasted its own post office, general store, and two-story hotel. By 1914, educator and activist Booker T. Washington, who advocated for Black economic self-reliance, owned more than 5,800 acres of land in the county.2 Douglass is listed on the Dawes Rolls (the federal government’s attempt at documenting Native Americans at the turn of the century) as a member of the Creek Freedmen, a term that described mixed-race individuals with both Native and Black ancestry.

By 1920, 16-year-old Willie was living with the Lovett family, a move that likely occurred when his father served in France with the US Army in 1918-1919. The 1920 census lists him as Bilan and Delia Lovett’s “step-nephew.” Though he doesn’t appear in subsequent census data in Oklahoma after 1920, he listed his father’s wife, Lula, as his next of kin on his World War II draft card in 1942.

Although “grammar school” is listed on his draft card as his highest level of education, the Pittsburgh Courier noted in 1936 that Willie was “once the best twirler on Langston University’s team,” though it is unclear when he was there.3 Langston University, in Langston, Oklahoma, is the state’s only Historically Black university, producing several Negro Leaguers including teammate and Monarchs pitcher Zack Foreman and his brother George.

At the beginning of his career, Willie stayed somewhat close to home. From 1928 through 1935, he played with independent outfits in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Iowa including the Arkansas City Oilers,4 Arkansas City Beavers,5 Ponca Hot Shots,6 and Sioux City Ghosts. It was with the Ghosts that he first faced major-league-caliber competition. At the age of 30, in a 1934 tournament in Wichita, Kansas, that featured 54 teams from across the country, Jefferson led the Ghosts to a fourth-place finish. A few days later, on August 30, he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Monroe Monarchs in a tournament game that the Ghosts eventually won, 7-4. The Omaha World-Herald called the victory over the 1932 Negro Southern League champions “a little surprise.”7

In 1936 Willie joined the Claybrook Tigers, an independent team in Arkansas that broke away from the crumbling Negro Southern League. Jefferson’s signing with the team may have occurred under dubious circumstances. According to historian Phil Dixon, a Coca-Cola salesman tipped Claybrook manager Ted Radcliffe about a player who was doing time in prison for theft in Cleveland, Mississippi. Radcliffe then persuaded club owner John Claybrook to pay $300 to the warden in exchange for Willie Jefferson’s release.8

In 1937 Radcliffe was named manager of the Cincinnati Tigers of the new Negro American League. Radcliffe was quickly reunited with Jefferson when the Tigers reportedly acquired Willie from the Kansas City Monarchs before the season began.9 Jefferson immediately made headlines in the Black national press when he hurled a 4-0 shutout over the Middle-Atlantic League’s Dayton Ducks, a Class-C affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. In the recap of his performance, the Chicago Defender noted that Jefferson was a native of Greenwood, Mississippi.10 His recorded league stats for the season were less impressive: a 1-2 record and a 5.72 ERA in eight appearances totaling 39⅓ innings. He may have had other things on his mind – on July 4, his father, Douglass, died in Red Oak, Oklahoma. By the fall, it appears, he was relegated to bullpen duty on a crowded pitching staff, closing out a 9-2 victory against the Detroit Stars in South Bend, Indiana, on August 6.11 When he wasn’t pitching, he made at least three recorded appearances in left field for the Tigers.12

After the Cincinnati Tigers folded in the offseason, Jefferson followed Radcliffe and nearly a dozen other Tigers players to the Memphis Red Sox in 1938. With the sudden infusion of talent, the Red Sox flattened Negro American League competition and won the first-half title, their only pennant in franchise history. Willie was flexible for the Red Sox, starting and throwing five complete games and closing out five games in 13 appearances, good for a 3-5 record and a 3.67 ERA. He did not appear in the postseason series with the Atlanta Black Crackers that ended in controversy due to a dispute over venues. (No series between the Negro American League and Negro National League champions was played.) On October 2 he struck out eight and gave up one unearned run for the South All-Stars in a 3-1 victory over the North All-Stars in Memphis.13 After the season Jefferson moved West and joined Red Sox teammate Porter Moss on the Philadelphia Royal Giants of the California Winter League. With the Royal Giants, Jefferson pitched two complete games, including a 3-1 victory over the Joe Pirrone All-Stars on Christmas Day.14

Jefferson returned to Memphis again in 1939, registering only 35 recorded innings but throwing three complete games and a shutout. He then became part of the steady stream of Black players who were lured south of the border for more pay and better working conditions, joining Monterrey Carta Blanca of the Mexican League. In 1940 he shattered Martin Dihigo’s single-season league record of 18 wins, logging a 22-9 record along with a 2.65 ERA. His work in 1941 was less stellar as he fell to a 9-16 record.

Despite previous threats of lifetime bans, in 1942 all but two of the “prodigal sons” including Jefferson, Josh Gibson, Willie Wells, and Ray Dandridge returned to the Negro Leagues. Jefferson joined former Cincinnati Tigers teammate Eugene Bremer on the newly formed Cincinnati-Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro American League.15 At the all-star break in July, he was reportedly voted the league’s most valuable player,16 though curiously he was not selected for the East-West Game.

On August 15, 1942, Willie was purchased by the Philadelphia Stars for an undisclosed sum.17 In his first Stars appearance, he pitched a shutout and gave up only three hits in a 5-0 victory over the Chicago American Giants. On September 4 Jefferson went 3-for-4 at the plate in an 8-5 Stars defeat by the New York Black Yankees.18 Just three days later, a car accident in Geneva, Ohio, killed two Buckeyes players and injured five more. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Jefferson returned to the Buckeyes as one of only two available pitchers on the roster for a September 10 matchup against the Black Yankees in Cincinnati.19 Devastated, the Buckeyes lost the remainder of their schedule, including a doubleheader at home. It is unknown if Jefferson appeared in any of those games; box scores from the games have yet to be found.

After the season, Willie moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, along with several Buckeyes teammates. Buckeyes owner Ernest Wright provided housing, maintained steady employment, and kept a close watch on his players in Erie. Erie was listed as his home of record when he enlisted in the Army on November 9, 1942. Little is known of his military service aside from his discharge a short time later.

After his discharge, Willie returned to the Buckeyes for the 1943 season, headlining a revamped pitching staff that featured Ross “Satchel” Davis and Theolic Smith. On June 2 Willie threw a shutout in a 4-0 victory over the Cincinnati Clowns in Buffalo. Four days later, he pitched 12 grueling innings and scored the winning run in a 4-3 walk-off win over the Monarchs in Buffalo.20 On August 25 in Erie, he struck out 11 in a 4-3 victory over the Homestead Grays.21 Currently listed statistics show a 3-6 record and a 4.41 ERA in 65⅓ innings of work.

After the season, Willie returned to Erie and obtained a job at the General Electric plant in support of the war effort during the winter months. Sometime between 1941 and 1943, he married Jemilu Myrtle Franklin of Erie, a widow and a waitress at Ernest Wright’s Pope Hotel.22 (Jemilu’s younger sister, Lillian Manus, would marry George in 1958.)

In March 1944 the Pittsburgh Courier reported that Jefferson and Bremer were offered contracts in Mexico.23 Jefferson remained with the Buckeyes through the first months of the season, posting a 4-5 record and a 4.13 ERA in 10 recorded appearances. Eventually he reported to Mexico, posting a 3-4 record and a 4.07 ERA in 55⅓ innings with Puebla.24

For the Jefferson brothers, 1945 was a banner year as they led the Buckeyes to the Negro American League pennant. According to the team’s yearbook and unofficial records, George boasted a 16-1 record while Willie maintained a 14-2 record. Willie was named to the West’s pitching staff in the East-West Game, but he did not appear.25 Currently available statistics are more sparse and show only six appearances including the World Series. This discrepancy likely exists as the team’s recorded statistics may have been against all levels of competition, and box scores for the 1945 season have not been found.

In the World Series, Willie drew the Game One starting nod at Cleveland Stadium. Jefferson and Grays starter Roy Welmaker each threw shutout ball through six innings before the Buckeyes rallied for one run each in the seventh and eighth innings. With the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the top of the ninth, Jefferson induced a game-ending double play by Sam Bankhead. The 2-1 Buckeyes victory “was a storybook ball game that ended like a movie thriller … the likes of which has not been seen here in many a moon,” Wendell Smith of the Pittsburgh Courier wrote.26 The Buckeyes went on to sweep the Grays for their first and only title. Willie appeared in only the Series opener, but the brothers remained with the team and appeared together in least one exhibition, a 7-1 loss to the Grays at Yankee Stadium.27

In the offseason, the Jefferson brothers took their talents to Venezuela. While George joined the American All-Stars, Willie played for both the Estrellas del Caribe (Caribbean All-Stars) and Estrellas Zulianas (Zulia Stars). In the finale of the Serie Monumental (Monumental Series), Willie pitched 13 innings and stole home for Zulia in a 7-6 victory over the American All-Stars.28 Presumably before this performance, Willie provided some insight into how he was viewing his time in South America when he remarked to the Pittsburgh Courier’s Wendell Smith in December that “things here aren’t as interesting as they were when I saw you in Mexico.”29

The Buckeyes were unable to replicate their previous year’s success with the brothers in 1946. While George nursed injuries that kept him sidelined for most of the season, Willie remained in Venezuela with the Sabios del Vargas (Vargas Wisemen) of the new Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional. The Cleveland Call and Post noted in May that Jefferson was due to return after the season ended in the summer,30 but a follow-up story on June 8 stated that he “indicated by his silence to Manager [Wilbur] Hayes’ correspondence that he would not return to the states.” Jefferson and teammate Parnell Woods were promptly suspended for five years. Statistics show that he was able to sneak in a single recorded appearance with the Buckeyes in 1946 – a third of an inning in which he gave up six runs and four hits. Behind the arms of Jefferson and his former rival Roy Welmaker, Vargas would go on to win the LVBP’s championship while Jefferson was named a league all-star. Remaining in Venezuela, Jefferson and Woods continued playing for local teams in the Zulia region throughout the summer. 31

A joint session of the Negro American and National League owners before the 1947 season affirmed the five-year ban on Jefferson, Woods, and Avelino Cañizares. Buckeyes ownership argued without success that Jefferson and Woods wound up stranded due to their passports being held by Venezuelan officials.32 Jefferson moved to Cuba and joined the pitching staff of the Habana Leones in the only season of the Cuban Players League, recording a 1-0 record in eight appearances.33

Back stateside and likely evading the ban by playing outside of the confines of the Negro National and American Leagues, Willie split 1948 with the independent Cincinnati Crescents,34 San Francisco Sea Lions,35 and the Negro Southern League’s New Orleans Creoles.36 In May 1949 he signed with the New Castle Nats of the Middle Atlantic League, an affiliate of the Washington Senators, and was expected to pitch out of the bullpen.37 It is unclear if he made any appearances with the team.38 By June, he reportedly returned to the Creoles,39 though his second stint in New Orleans appeared to be brief as the ban was presumably lifted for him to rejoin the Buckeyes for a doubleheader against the Indianapolis Clowns in July.40 Willie remained in Cleveland for the 1950 season, giving up six runs in a 6-1 loss to the Memphis Red Sox on July 2.41 By the end of the month, the Buckeyes folded for good in the wake of a disastrous 3-33 start.42

At the age of 47 in 1951, Willie moved to Canada and joined several Negro League veterans including former Cincinnati teammates Lloyd Davenport and Ted Radcliffe on the Elmwood Giants of the integrated Manitoba-Dakota (Mandak) League, registering a 5-7 record in 17 appearances.43 On July 12 Jefferson led the Giants to the finals of the $1,500 Brandon Invitational tournament with a one-hit 3-0 victory over the Carman Cardinals.44 Giants general manager Curly Haas name-dropped Jefferson directly as the Mandak League sought to move up to Class-B classification in 1952. He noted that Jefferson was “good enough to win games,” but that there would be “no place for old men like him in our new league.”45

Willie instead joined the independent Baton Rouge Hardwood Sports, leading the all-Black team to the finals of the $6,000 Indian Head Invitational Tournament.46 On July 26 he returned to old form and threw a shutout in a 2-0 victory over the Moose Jaw Maples.47

Now 49, Jefferson returned for one last season in 1953 with the Regina Caps, an all-Black team managed by Jim Williams. On July 6 he yielded 13 hits in a 12-3 loss to Moose Jaw.48 Less than two weeks later, on July 17, he was released.49 He was also listed in some accounts as a member of the semipro Erie Lakers throughout the year, though he may have been confused for George, who was Erie’s starting right fielder.50

Sometime before 1948, Willie and Jemilu separated,51 and on July 16, 1964, she died. Willie’s brother George is named in her obituary as her brother.52 Willie’s whereabouts at the time of her death is unknown. The couple had no children.

Willie was residing in Houston when he died of unspecified causes on May 31, 1972. He was interred close to home at Prairie Springs Cemetery in Okemah, Oklahoma. His brother George died a decade later and was buried near him.53 No obituary has been found. 

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 the Seamheads Negro Leagues database.

Photo credit: Willie Jefferson, Seamheads.com.

Notes    

1 Public records available on Ancestry.com attribute Douglass and Lula’s marriage to 1924. No information regarding Willie’s mother has been found.

2 “Clearview,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=CL009, accessed January 1, 2025.

3 Chester Washington, “Chez Says,” New Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Courier, September 26, 1936: 14.

4 “Ashton shut out by A.C. Negroes,” Blackwell (Oklahoma) Journal-Tribune, August 13, 1930: 7.

5 “Ark City Beavers Meet Milford in Skirmish Tonight,” Wichita Beacon, August 16, 1933: 6.

6 “Hot Shots Will Play Double-Header Sunday,” Ponca City (Oklahoma) News, September 18, 1931: 11.

7 “Ghosts Whip the Monarchs,” Omaha World-Herald, August 30, 1934: 20.

8 Phil Dixon and Patrick Hannigan, The Negro Baseball Leagues, 1867-1955: A Photographic History (Mattituck, New York: Amereon House, 1992), 211.

9 No statistics or proof of Willie Jefferson’s time on the Monarchs exists. He may have been traded before playing a game for the team, or the newspaper account may have been incorrect. “Hoosiers Are Rivals of Tiger Nine Today,” Cincinnati Enquirer, May 29, 1937: 13.

10 “Cincy Team Nips Dayton in Thriller,” Chicago Defender, May 8, 1937: 15.

11 “Tigers Rout Detroit Club at Lippincott,” South Bend (Indiana) Tribune, August 7, 1937: 6.

12 “1937 Cincinnati Tigers,” Seamheads Negro Leagues Database, https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/team.php?yearID=1937&teamID=CT&LGOrd=2&tab=fld, accessed December 18, 2024.

13 “Retrosheet Boxscore: South All Stars(S) (SAS) 3 North All Stars(N) (NAS) 1,” Retrosheet, https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/1938/B10020SAS1938.htm.

14 William McNeil, The California Winter League (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing, 2002), 194-195.

15 “Good Staff Boasted,” Cincinnati Enquirer, May 3, 1942: 34.

16 “Buckeyes Oppose Giants Tomorrow,” Akron Beacon-Journal, July 6, 1942: 12.

17 “Ches Buchanan Blanks Potent Bushwicks, 6-0,” Philadelphia Tribune, August 15, 1942: 14.

18 “Black Yankees Defeat Stars, 8-5,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 4, 1942: 32.

19 “Buckeye Club Plays Black Yankees,” Cincinnati Enquirer, September 9, 1942: 18.

20 “Buckeyes Split Two With Monarchs, Hold Lead,” Cleveland Call and Post, June 12, 1943: 11.

21 “Sports,” Paterson (New Jersey) Morning Call, August 26, 1943: 18.

22 Jemilu is listed in the Erie city directory as a widow in 1941 and Willie’s wife in 1943.

23 “Cleveland Official Says Mexicans Are ‘Stealing’ Players,” New Pittsburgh Courier, May 25, 1944: 12.

24 “1944 Pericos de Puebla,” Seamheads Negro Leagues Database, https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/team.php?yearID=1944&teamID=PUE&LGOrd=7, accessed December 9, 2024.

25 “All-Star Tilt Scheduled for Comiskey Park,” Michigan Chronicle (Detroit), July 21, 1945: 14.

26 Wendell Smith, “Battling Bucks Win 2 to 1, 4 to 2 in World Series,” New Pittsburgh Courier, September 22, 1945: 12.

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

28 Javier Gonzalez and Carlos Figueroa Ruiz, Campos de Gloria: El beisbol en Venezuela, 127 años de historia 1895-2022 (Biblioteca Digital Banesco), 389-391.

29 Wendell Smith, “The Sports Beat,” New Pittsburgh Courier, December 22, 1945: 16.

30 Cleveland Jackson, “Ohio Lads Stave Off Disaster as Injuries Riddle Buch’s Staff,” Cleveland Call and Post, May 25, 1946: 22.

31 Carlos Figueroa, “Sabios de Vargas premiered LVBP titles,” Ultimas Noticias, https://en.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/deportes/sabios-de-vargas-estrenaron-titulos-de-la-lvbp/, accessed December 17, 2024.

32 “Saperstein Turned Down; Ban on Jumpers Stays,” Los Angeles Tribune, March 8, 1947: 14.

33 Jorge S. Figueredo, Who’s Who in Cuban Baseball, 1878-1961 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing, 2015), 390.

34 “Auscos Meet Tough Cincinnati Crescents Tonight,” St. Joseph (Michigan) Herald-Press, June 15, 1948: 8.

35 Bob Towner, “Hanyzewski Pitches Studebakers to Win,” South Bend Tribune, July 14, 1948: 25.

36 William Plott, The Negro Southern League: A Baseball History, 1920-1951 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing, 2015), 236.

37 “Nats Will Play Vandergrift Pioneers Twin Bill Here Tonight,” New Castle (Pennsylvania) News, May 25, 1949: 20.

38 Though he was listed on the roster according to newspaper accounts, Jefferson does not appear in statistical records for the team. “1949 New Castle Nats Statistics,” Baseball Reference, https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=165e2aa0, accessed December 9, 2024.

39 “New Orleans Creoles Meet Cubans at League Park,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 26, 1949: 42.

40 “Clownmen Held Even by Bucks,” Baltimore Afro-American, July 16, 1949: 15.

41 “Listless Buckeyes Drop Two,” New Pittsburgh Courier, July 8, 1950: 24.

42 “Cleveland Buckeyes Fold Up,” Kansas City (Missouri) Call, July 28, 1950: 8.

43 “1951 Statistics,” Western Canada Baseball, https://attheplate.com/wcbl/1951_2.html, accessed December 9, 2024.

44 “1951 Tournaments,” Western Canada Baseball, https://www.attheplate.com/wcbl/1951_1k.html, accessed December 9, 2024.

45 “Mandak Loop to Continue,” Regina (Saskatchewan) Leader-Post, October 17, 1951: 23.

46 “1952 Baton Rouge,” Western Canada Baseball, https://www.attheplate.com/wcbl/1952_1g11.html, accessed December 9, 2024.

47 “Tourists Nip Maples in Quickie,” Regina Leader-Post, July 28, 1952: 19.

48 “Double Win for Maples,” Saskatoon (Saskatchewan) Star-Phoenix, July 7, 1953: 12.

49 “1953 Game Reports,” Western Canada Baseball, https://attheplate.com/wcbl/1953_1i.html, accessed December 9, 2024.

50 “Lakers Top Jamestown, 3-1,” Erie Sunday Times, May 3, 1953: 44.

51 The 1948 Erie city directory lists Jemilu, George, and Lillian but makes no mention of Willie. Willie is listed as Jemilu’s husband in 1946.

52 “Mrs. J. Jefferson” (obituary), Erie Daily Times, July 17, 1964: 21.

53 “William Jefferson (1904-1972),” Find a Grave Memorial, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/70370257/william-jefferson, accessed December 28, 2024.