Mesrey: New photos of Negro Leagues legend Turkey Stearnes discovered 40 years after his death
From Dave Mesrey at Blogspot.com on May 8, 2018, with mention of SABR member Gary Gillette:
Every picture tells a story, and this one is no exception.
In the summer of 1979, a group of aging African-American ballplayers gathered in Greenup, Kentucky, at the home of newspaper publisher Tom Stultz for the first annual Negro Leagues baseball reunion.
What started out as a birthday party for Clint “The Hawk” Thomas turned into a full-fledged reunion featuring the likes of Ray Dandridge, Buck Leonard, Buck O’Neil, and Judy Johnson.
Former Detroit Stars center fielder Norman “Turkey” Stearnes made the trip from Detroit, traveling by plane for just the second time in his life. The Nashville native, then 78, had retired to Detroit, where after his baseball career he’d worked for nearly 30 years in the foundry at the Ford Motor Company’s storied Rouge complex.
Read the full article here: https://hamtramckstadium.blogspot.com/2018/05/new-turkey-stearnes-photos-discovered.html?m=1
Originally published: May 9, 2018. Last Updated: May 9, 2018.