Brehm: Negro Leagues star Spottswood Poles receives long-overdue honors

From Brian Brehm at the Winchester Star on April 18, 2019:

If Spottswood Poles had been born a century later, he would have been a superstar.

Instead, most people in his hometown of Winchester have no idea who he was or what he did.

That’s about to change.

Poles, an African-American who became a hero on ballfields and battlefields alike, will be recognized by city officials and the Valley League’s Winchester Royals baseball team on June 14 with the unveiling of an interpretive historical marker and the naming of a road for him in Jim Barnett Park.

“A lot of folks are working different areas to bring that night together,” Winchester Planning Director Timothy Youmans said. “We recognized a few years ago this guy was pretty significant.”

That may be an understatement. Poles was a decorated hero in World War I, and many of today’s sports aficionados argue he should be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Read the full article here: https://www.winchesterstar.com/winchester_star/spottswood-poles-to-receive-long-overdue-honors-from-city/article_b0aa970b-f597-5d4e-8c25-aaa40f3b4007.html



Originally published: April 18, 2019. Last Updated: April 18, 2019.