Home-grown Kentuckians in the Negro Leagues

Philosophically, socially and historically, Louisville and Kentucky have been Southern in their customs and outlook. At times this perspective has fueled ugly incidents. Toledo newspapers reported that when Moses “Fleet” Walker, the very first major Negro major leaguer in the American Association, first appeared in a game in Louisville, he was booed, hissed and insulted due to his race. A similar “welcome” of jeers and insults greeted the Montreal Royals’ Jackie Robinson at this appearance in Parkway Field in 1946 as he led his team against the Colonels in the Junior World Series. Both incidents eventually backfired against the Louisville players. During Louisville’s trips to Toledo and Montreal, the home fans, knowing the insults that their star players had endured, turned their anger on the entire Colonel nine, whose play suffered.

On the other hand, after the legendary Rube Foster joined the Leland Giants in 1907, the back team’s forays into Louisville would result in many admirers of both races. A fan said, “Every time he came to Louisville those Leland Giants used to walk right away from those Louisville teams — white and colored.”  And who can forget the image of Louisvillian Pee Wee Reese standing with his arm on the shoulder of Dodger teammate Jackie Robinson amidst abuse from an opposing dugout, or Kentuckian A.B. “Happy” Chandler’s role as baseball commissioner in giving the green light to admit blacks in the major leagues?

In 1887, Louisville was a charter member of the six-team League of Colored Base Ball Players, the first black professional league. In fact, Jerry Malloy, a SABR historian, reports that “the Falls City Club of Louisville was said to be the only black team in the nation that owned its own grounds, ‘a handsome park at 16th Street and Magnolia Avenue.’  However, construction of the park was not completed in time for the season opener . . .”  (But Louisville receives no respect from author Art Rust, Jr. who, in Get That Nigger Off The Field, cites the team as “Fall City of Louisiana.”)

Although the league collapsed in less than two weeks due to myriad financial setbacks (and after one Louisville Fall City victory), it lasted long enough to showcase the talents of many African-American players. (But the Boston Resolutes surely were not pondering their role in history as they worked their way back to their hometown by doing odd jobs in barbershops and waiting hotel tables, having been stranded in Louisville when their team folded in early May.)

In spite of frenetic Negro League activity in the region around “Kentuckiana” (the Louisville and Southern Indiana area), black professional baseball on a major level was virtually nonexistent during the golden years of Negro League ball in the ’30s and early ’40s. A survey of books and writings on all-black professional teams and the Negro leagues reveals little mention of significant Louisville accomplishments or accolades on the team level.

Although Negro Major League activity in the area was absent, there was much black baseball occurring at the semipro, independent and minor league levels of competition. Fueling this interest was the fact that Kentucky was the birthplace of a number of players who made important individual contributions to the Negro Major Leagues.

This list of African-American Kentuckians who played in the Negro leagues is not meant to be all-inclusive. The difficulties in researching Negro leagues, teams and players are well-documented:  unstable teams, folding leagues, and team-jumping players, all little-reported by the mainstream newspapers and mostly ignored by historians and statisticians until 1970. The purpose of this article is only to name and recount the careers of a few of the “home-grown” Kentuckians who plied their trade in professional baseball long before Jackie Robinson appeared.

JOHN BECKWITH
Born: Louisville (Jefferson County), 1902

This huge (6-foot-3, 220 lbs.), powerful right-handed slugger was one of the original “tape measure” home run hitters, but he also managed to earn a lifetime .366 BA!  Beckwith achieved these results in spite of being a pull hitter who consistently faced tremendously overshifted defenses and sidearm curveballs. Defensively, he played every position on the field, beginning his career as a shortstop-catcher and ending as a third baseman.

After moving to Chicago early in life, he turned professional in 1916, signing with the Montgomery Grey Sox and then playing with the Chicago Giants until 1923. In 1921, he became the first person to hit a ball over the roof and out of Cincinnati’s Redland Field (left field). He later hit a homer in Washington which hit a sign 460 feet way and 40 feet off the ground!

While with the Baltimore Black Sox (1924-26 and 1930-31), Beckwith was team captain and hit .452 with 40 home runs against all teams in 1924 (.403 in league play). The next year, he became the manager of the Black Sox, but resigned after he was suspended for beating an umpire.

In 1927, with the Harrisburg Giants, he finished second in the league in home runs, and was credited with 72 homers against all competition. The following year, Beckwith clouted 54 homer runs for the Homestead Grays, and he followed that performance by being the second-leading hitter in the Negro American League in 1929 with a .443 average. Despite breaking his ankle and missing two months of the 1930 season with the Lincoln Giants, he hie .480 in league play and .546 against all levels!  In exhibition games against white major leaguers, Beckwith had a career BA of .337.

In spite of his extraordinary hitting and versatility, Beckwith was hampered by his turbulent personality, quick temper and excessive drinking. His relationship with teammates was often strained, and he excelled at no one particular position.

After completing his playing career in 1938, he managed the White Plains (N.Y.) Crescents, a minor team, before leaving baseball entirely. He died in New York City in 1956.

JUNIUS “RAINEY” BIBBS
Born: Henderson (Henderson County), 1910

Leaving Kentucky at an early age, this infielder moved to Terre Haute, Indiana. He later starred as a collegiate football player, and became a baseball professional with the Detroit Stars in 1933.

Bibbs had a banner year with the Cincinnati Tigers in 1936, when he hit .404 and doubled for the West in the All-Star game. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs as they won three straight pennants 1939-41.

Primarily a second baseman, Bibbs was a switch-hitting line-driver to all fields. Possessing only average speed, he was still a good bunter and leadoff man. He ended his play by hitting .309 for the Cleveland Buckeyes in 1944. He died of a heart attack in 1979.

EARL BUMPUS
Born: Uniontown (Union County)

This fastball pitcher broke in with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1944 but became a Birmingham Black Baron in mid-season. Although he had a 1-8 record with a 6.50 ERA that year, he was chosen to start a World Series game against the Homestead Grays. Bumpus pitched a complete game, but lost.

The big (6-foot, 215 lbs.) lefty possessed excellent control to go with his strong fastball, but he lacked a decent curve. In his second season, he went 4-2 with a 3.63 ERA. When not pitching, he sometimes substituted in the outfield. His last season was 1948, when he was 0-4 with Chicago.

CHARLES “PAT” DOUGHERTY
Born: Summer Shade (Metcalfe County), 1879

This big side-wheeling lefty was referred to as the “black Marquard.”  During his 10-year career, he was one of the best left-handers in any league, and he was at his peak during a brief six-year span (1909-15) with top Chicago-area teams.

As a rookie in 1909, he won both of the Leland Giants’ victories in their five-game playoffs against the St. Paul Gophers, but he lost the final, 3-2. In those three complete games he allowed only 8 hits and 4 earned runs!  Later that year, he engaged in a memorable duel with Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown of the Chicago Cubs in an exhibition game. Dougherty struck out the first three batters, yielded a run in the second inning, then shut the Cubs out the rest of the way. It was a tough 1-0 loss.

The next year, he compiled a 13-0 record for the excellent Leland Giants of Rube Foster. Foster referred to the team as the greatest of all time, black or white. In 1913, Dougherty pitched a no-hitter for the Giants.

Dougherty often aided his pitching efforts by his good hitting. He began having control problems in 1915, and by 1918 had made his final appearance. He died in 1940.

WILLIAM DEMONT “BILL” EVANS II
Born: Louisville (Jefferson County), 1899

As a tall, skinny schoolboy in Louisville, Evans loved sports and starred in both football and baseball. For two years he attended Livingston College prior to becoming a semipro pitcher/shortstop in 1919 with the Louisville White Sox. The next year, he joined Gilkerson’s Union Giants and also became the team secretary. Often playing against players such as Weaver, Felsch and Jackson, who were banned in the “Black Sox” scandal, he learned how to bunt and perfected that art.

Evans was an outstanding defensive player, with a strong, accurate throwing arm and great instincts on the field. His usual position was either center field or shortstop, and he played well at these positions for the talented Homestead Grays, 1930-34. A light hitter (from both sides of the plate) but great bunter, and possessing blazing speed on the basepath, Evans generally hit in the bottom part of the Grays’ order. With several other teams, he was the leadoff man. While he hit only .141 in 1927, according to partial statistics from the Cleveland Hornets, he tallied .328 for the Grays in 1930. Evans also regularly played winter ball for teams in Florida and California.

After his playing days ended, Evans became a manager until the 1950s. He also worked as a sportswriter for the Louisville News and as a playground director; he later founded the Midwest Association of Coaches.

CARL LEE GLASS
Born: Lexington (Fayette County), 1898

Glass’ career was spent as a pitcher and first baseman. He was a big southpaw with a great curve which, unfortunately, was not matched by his control.

Although he had losing records for the Memphis Red sox in the late 1920s, he was still regarded as the ace of their staff. In 1929, he compiled a 6-10 pitching record, batted .276 while playing outfield and first base, and managed the team for a while.

His playing time after 1930 considered of a brief stint with the Cincinnati Tigers in 1936, where he ended his 14-season career.

SAMUEL THOMAS “SAMMY T.” HUGHES
Born: Louisville (Jefferson County), 1910

Dropping out of school after the eighth grade in Louisville, this tall, graceful right-hander learned to play baseball. He eventually signed with the Louisville White Sox at age 19 as a first baseman. Switched to second base in 1932 with the Washington Pilots, he began to establish his reputation as the best at that position during the golden years of the Negro leagues.

Hughes was a brainy player who usually batted second in the lineup. He could bunt, make contact, hit and run and he had good extra-base power, but he was not a home run threat. Defensively, Hughes was superb, possessing a strong arm, wide range and great double-play skills. Five times he was selected to play in the East-West All Star Game, hitting .263 in those contests.

With the Baltimore Elite Giants, during a tightly contested pennant race in 1942, Hughes received word that a tryout would be arranged with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His dream of major league ball did not materialize. Despite his .301 average, the Elites lost the flag to the Homestead Grays.

“Sammy T.” spent 1943-46 with the Army in combat in the Pacific Theater. By the time he returned, his skills had eroded and he retired after hitting .277 in 1946. His lifetime Negro League average was .296 and he is credited with a .353 average against major leaguers in exhibition games.

Hughes worked for several major corporations in Los Angeles after he left baseball.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT “TED” PAGE
Born: Glasgow (Barren County), 1903

Ted Page moved to Youngstown, Ohio at age nine and played basketball and football there. Eventually, he was offered a scholarship to Ohio State University as a halfback. Instead, he chose to sign with baseball’s Toledo Tigers after high school thus beginning a successful 15-year career as an outfielder-first baseman.

As an aggressive, intimidating competitor, Page hated to lose. He was a line-drive hitter and good bunter who usually batted second or sixth, and who used his great speed to advantage on the basepaths. Buck Leonard compared him to Ty Cobb as a slider. Page’s lifetime average in black baseball was .355, and in exhibitions against major league players he hit an astounding .429.

Ted Page played for two of the greatest teams in Negro League history – the 1931 Homestead Grays and the 1932 Pittsburgh Crawfords. With the Grays he was the regular right fielder, batted second, and hit .315. As a teammate of Satchel Paige on the Crawfords, he hit .352 in 1932 and .362 in 1933.

While sliding into a base in 1934, Page injured his knee and subsequently lost his blazing speed. Still, he was good enough at the plate to hit .329 in 1935. In the last season, this hard-playing bull-headed outfielder batted leadoff and hit .351 for the Philadelphia Stars.

After he left baseball, Page eventually bought the bowling alley at which he worked and became a prominent person in bowling circles. For many years he even wrote a regular bowling column in a newspaper. After his retirement, Page met a violent death at the hands of a man who beat him with a ball bat in Pittsburgh.

CLINTON “CLINT” THOMAS
Born: Greenup (Greenup County), 1896

A career .300 hitter, Clint Thomas was an offensive threat who hit for average and with power over his 19 seasons as a professional ball player.

At age 14, he left Green up to look for work in Columbus, Ohio. He played amateur ball there until military service during World War I. After his discharge in 1919, he played semipro ball in Columbus until he was signed as a second baseman by the Brooklyn Royal Giants in 1920.

Defensively, Thomas later developed into a superbly agile, rifle-armed center fielder. With the Black Yankees, he was called “the black DiMaggio.”  At the plate he had a sharp eye, and earned another nickname:  “Hawk.”

In 1923, he hit .373 with 23 homers and 56 stolen bases to help Hilldale win the first Eastern Colored League flag. The Daisies also won the next two pennants, with Thomas batting .363 and .351, and split the first two World Series against Negro National League champ Kansas City Monarchs. For Hilldale, Thomas usually batted fifth and played left field. He led the league in stolen bases (23) in 1927 and hit a total of 28 home runs against all competition that year. When the ECL disbanded in 1928, he was signed by the Bacharach Giants and hit .342 in the 1929 season.

During the ’20s, Thomas often played winter ball in Cuba, compiling a lifetime average of .310 in his six seasons there. Interestingly, he also hit a homer off a young pitcher named Fidel Castro, the future revolutionary leader. Later, in a 1934 exhibition game against major leaguers, he tripled in the ninth off Dizzy Dean and then stole home to win the game 1-0.

In his last full season (1937), he hit his 367th homer and carried a .343 average into late June with the New York Black Yankees. Thomas retired after playing briefly for them in 1938.

After working for several years as a guard at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Thomas went to West Virginia where he worked as a custodian and supervisor in the Department of Mines and State Senate. His 80th birthday party in his hometown of Greenup, Kentucky in 1976 truned into the first Negro League’s reunion and became an annual event for several years.

FELIX “DICK” WALLACE
Born: Owensboro (Daviess County), 1884

Wallace went to nearby Paducah (McCracken County), Kentucky to begin his baseball career in 1903 as a third baseman for the Paducah Nationals. He traveled east in 1906 to play for the Cuban Giants.

Primarily used at second base and shortstop, Wallace was superb. He has been proclaimed as the best middle infielder of the second decade of the century. He was fast, ran the bases well, hit consistently and was marvelous defensively.

He played primarily with the St. Louis Giants during the years 1911-21, hitting the the second slot in the lineup. During a brief stint with the Lincoln Giants in 1914, he hit .348.