Lamb: Two players who tried out before Jackie Robinson
From SABR member Chris Lamb at ESPN.com on April 15, 2015:
Joe Bostic, sports editor of Harlem newspaper the People’s Voice, arrived at the Brooklyn Dodgers’ spring training camp at West Point Academy in Bear Mountain, New York, shortly before noon on April 6, 1945. Bostic was accompanied by two Negro League veterans, pitcher Terris McDuffie and outfielder Dave “Showboat” Thomas.
Bostic told Harold Parrott, the Dodgers’ traveling secretary, he wanted to speak to team president Branch Rickey about a tryout for the ballplayers.
Parrott said Rickey couldn’t be disturbed because he was watching a game at another practice field at the West Point Academy. Like every other major league team, the Dodgers were training in the north because wartime travel prohibited them from going to Florida.
Bostic insisted on seeing Rickey. Parrott returned to Rickey with the message.
Read the full article here: http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/12691678/two-tried-jackie-robinson
Originally published: April 15, 2015. Last Updated: April 15, 2015.