Whirty: Self-defense or whitewashed lynching for Negro League owner Fred Gorée
From SABR member Ryan Whirty at Home Plate Don’t Move on September 14, 2015, with mention of SABR member Ronald Auther:
“Justifiable homicide by a gunshot wound.”
That’s the cause of death listed on Louisiana native and Chicago resident Fred Gorée’s St. Louis County, Mo., death certificate. It was signed on Aug. 3, 1925, with date of death stated as two days prior.
The document also said the determination of the cause of death involved an inquest.
Meanwhile, a jury was clearing the deputy constable involved in the incident of any wrongdoing in the late-night, roadside scuffle that caused the officer to fatally shoot Gorée, who was on his way with his semipro baseball team, the Chicago Independents, to play a reported barnstorming game in St. Charles, Mo., depending on the source.
The news of Gorée’s death practically flew under the radar; the black press, even, failed to report much about an incident that, to this day, has Gorée’s descendants searching for any information about their progenitor’s fate.
Read the full article here: https://homeplatedontmove.wordpress.com/2015/09/14/self-defense-or-whitewashed-lynching/
Originally published: September 15, 2015. Last Updated: September 15, 2015.