August 1996
October 1996
December 1996
February 1997
April 1997
June 1997
August 1997
October 1997
December 1997
February 1998
April 1998
October 1998
SABR - NEGRO LEAGUES COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER
SABR - NEGRO LEAGUES COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER
August 1996 (portions reprinted with permission of Dick Clark) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Editor: Dick Clark -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAIRMAN'S REMARKS
As this newsletter is being mailed Bill Foster, the 13th Negro Leaguer, is being enshrined into The Hall of Fame.
NEGRO LEAGUERS AND THE HALL OF FAME
Negroleaguesbaseball.com is the address of Leading Edge Production's online Webzine. This site is for all NL folks with a computer or not. Please read on. It is a real eye opener. It features (1) video interviews with players (currently Roy Campanella) plus a biography; (2) updated excerpts from the NL Newsletter including upcoming events new to all; (3) an Art Gallery with exclusive features, currently Dane Tilghman paintings and prints; (4) a Did You Know area covering barnstorming, East-West All-Star games, Great Negro League teams, Newspapers and Sportswriters and the Golden Era (currently the 1933 All-Star game); (5) A lobby effort to increase Negro League player representation in the HOF...(Guest historians will profile candidates worthy of admission to Cooperstown- Bill Wright by Todd Bolton, currently there are Veterans Committee names, HOF board members and more A bio of current inductee Bill Foster and The Negro Leaguers in The Hall are other features) and (6) Forum and other links which will include ESPN and The Baseball Hall of Fame. ESPN will be publicizing the lobbying effort.
NEGRO LEAGUES COMMITTEE PUBLICATION
Frank Keetz was able to fill in data on Lynn Perry and also pass along some info on
Oscar Charleston's two week stint with the Mohawk Giants in 1936.
Change the 1954 Louisville Black Colonels to Clippers.
Bob Hoie put some finishing touches on the 1946 WCBA register. We're trying to get all
rosters together.
Tod Maher passed along more scores of games. Brad Sullivan has sent some interesting 1942
Cleveland material.
SPECIAL EVENTS
The New York State Assembly held "A Salute to the Negro Baseball Leagues" on June 4th. It included a ceremony in the assembly chamber in which special proclamations were awarded to New York State residents who played in the Negro Leagues, plus others ie, Buck O'Neil and Ted Radcliffe. Jimmie Armstead, Rodolfo Fernandez, Billy Harrell, Archie Jones, James Jenkins, Ray Noble, Warren O'Neill, Carlos Rivera, Robert Taylor, James Robinson, Armando Vasquez, and Edsall Walker were the honorees from New York State. There was a reception and dinner that evening at the state museum. About 250 attended, including a number of Albany little leaguers. Joe Black and Larry Doby were speakers and O'Neil was the main speaker. A truly great time!
The following articles: Salute to The Negro Leagues Program ALBANY TIMES-UNION 6/5/96, "Memorable Day for Proud Men", "Catskill Wild Man still tellin' baseball stories," 6/5/96, TROY RECORD 6/5/96, "When only the ball was white," SCHENECTADY DAILY GAZETTE, 6/5/96, "State Assembly honors pioneers of integration,"
The Annual Convention of SABR was held in Kansas City, MO, June 6-9th. The following NLC members were in attendance; Steve Bennett, Tim Booker, Dick Clark, Bob Davids, Paul Debono, Jan Finkel, Dr. Leslie Heaphy, John Holway, Larry Lester (everywhere), Jerry Malloy, Sammy Miller, Claudia Perry, Jim Riley, Al Ritter, Prior Smith, and Bill Williamson. On Thursday at noon the sales area opened and this became the place where we would meet old and new friends. The Seymour Award reception that night saw David Zang win for his FLEET WALKER'S DIVIDED HEART (big assist to Jerry Malloy). Friday started the research presentations. Features were John Holway "Negro Leaguers and The Hall of Fame; Cooperstown Ticking Clock". Leslie Heaphy & Gai Berlage "Female Images in Baseball: Women in the Negro Leagues and the All-American Girls' Baseball League." Finally, Jim Riley "Buck Leonard and Monte Irvin". Larry Lester was able to tape these along with the NLC meeting (1 90-minute cassette). Everyone was then off to the Buck O'Neil and Friends Luncheon hosted by Larry Lester (a superb job by Larry). Buck was his usual eloquent self, truly inspiring. Buck must have sold a couple of hundred books and signed everything afterwards. Larry had a brief respite and then was among the Baseball Research Panel with Mark Rucker, Bill James, Steve Gietschier and Tim Wiles. Larry raced home afterwards and hosted his daughter Erica birthday party and then was back to host the Awards Banquet. We have a tape of Bob Feller and Steve Fehr speeches. (1 90-minute tape). Larry went home to recover before a busy Saturday. The NLC meeting began at 10:15 AM with an excellent turnout and a fine meeting. Joining the NLC members were Ralph Christian, Terry Harrison, Charles Jones, Paul Parker, Dave Stevens, Ted Hathaway, David Marasco, Richard Spry and veteran NLC contributors, Ted Knorr, Gail Berlage, Elfran Bernier, Bill Treese, Bill Dunstone, and Eduardo Valero. (The listing of people's projects will be in the next edition due to space limitations). At 12:30 PM we were off on the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum tour. Many of us got to see the Paseo YMCA, The Kansas City Call and the excellent exhibit at the museum. Larry again hosted a player panel with Connie Johnson, Bryon Johnson, Jess Rogers, Slick Surratt, and umpire Bob Motley. After the tour it was back to the Marriott and then to the tailgate party and ballgame. Sunday was slower with the business meeting starting at 9:00 AM.
Additional items:
SCD 6/21/96 "SABR comes to Kansas City" and SCD 7/12/96, "SABR puts
spotlight on Negro Leagues"
The convention booklet UNIONS TO ROYALS: THE STORY OF PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL IN KANSAS CITY
has the following articles: 1. Only The Stars Come Out At Night: J.L. Wilkinson and His
Lighting Machine by Larry Lester;
2. Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige by Lester;
3. Bullet Joe and The Monarchs: Will Cooperstown Let Them In? by John Holway; and
4. Monarchs Rule by Bonnie Serrell as told to Barry Mednick.
Finally, Jim Riley has put forth a most interesting proposal. How about a Negro
League Committee Convention, somewhere in America for let's say 2 or 3 days. Not competing
with the SABR National but one for NL enthusiasts. Let me know if you are interested and
any thoughts you have.
On June 8th, the Detroit Tigers honored Negro Leaguers at Tiger Stadium, where the Tigers
wore Detroit Stars 1920's uniforms and the Yankees wore New York Black Yankee uniforms.
THE DETROIT NEWS, 6/9/96, "Tigers honor black pioneers of baseball." ANN ARBOR
NEWS, 6/9/96 "Yankees, Tigers show old look"
On June 12th the New Jersey State Baseball Umpires Association honored the Negro Leagues,
mainly the champion Newark Eagles of 1946 and more specifically, Charles Biot. Bob
Peterson was there to autograph copies of ONLY THE BALL WAS WHITE and Larry Hogan gave an
overview of Negro Baseball. Charles Biot was given a framed copy of a State Senate
resolution commemorating the 1946 Eagles and Negro Baseball.
On June 12th ten players were honored in Nashville as the Nashville Sounds and Buffalo
Bisons wore replica uniforms. A great time was had by Dan Black, Sidney Bunch, Wesley
Dennis, Edward Derrick, Ed Martin, Verdell Mathis, Clint McCord, Ira McKnight, Joe B.
Scott, and Jim Zapp.
Articles: THE TENNESSAN 6/13/96 "Negro Leaguers Honored" and "A rich base
for Negro League lore," NASHVILLE SCENE 5/2/96 "They might have been heroes:
Memories of Nashville and the Glory Days of baseball's Negro Leagues"
On Saturday June 22, 1996 Oliver "The Ghost" Marcelle was inducted into the Louisana Sports Hall of Fame. This culminated years of effort by Jay Sanford. This is a great honor for the Marcelle family and especially gratifying that Jay Sanford, who made the presentation speech, saw his efforts rewarded. ALEXANDRIA DAILY TOWN TALK 6/22/96, and 6/16/96
Also on June 22th Jerry Malloy and Paul Debono took Bobby Robinson to a White Sox game. Bobby is 93 and still spry, vigorous, and sharp.
Bill Plott was in attendance in Asheville, NC for the "In Black And White" promotion July 6th & 7th. Players for Asheville and Hickory wore various Negro Leagues uniforms. A lot of fun things happened that weekend. Articles include ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES 7/5/96, "Leonard, 89, relives his glory days in Negro Leagues" & "Paige's catcher (Frazier) Robinson is full of stories of his place in history", 7/7/96 "Negro League Great Honored" (O'Neil) "Negro Leaguers honored at today's Tourists game" and 7/8/96 "Tourists win on special day"
Prior to the Major League All-Star game of July 9th was FanFest. An SCD article of 7/12/96, "How Heroes of Baseball Were Gathered" tells of players attending, including Gene Benson, Joe Black, Bill Cash, Mahlon Duckett, Stanley Glenn, Sammy Haynes, Max Manning, and Buck O'Neil. The PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS had a special Negro League feature 7/2/96 "Negro League All-Time Team", "A history worth exploring" , "The mecca of Black Baseball, It was much more than a game","The Black Lou Gehrig" The Colorado Rockies Baseball Club welcomed The Negro Leagues Baseball Exhibit to Coors Field July 25th through July 30th with an luncheon honoring Negro Leagues Baseball. Special guest was National League President Leonard Coleman.
UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS
August 31, 1996 7:05 PM will be Judy Johnson Night: A tribute to Negro League Baseball at Judy Johnson Field at Frawley Stadium, Wilmington, DE Joe Mitchell and Gregg Truitt are heading up the event.
The Committee to Restore Pop Lloyd Stadium will hold its special THE EAGLES AS WORLD CHAMPIONS, THE COLOR LINE IS BROKEN 1946-1996, A COMMEMORATION AND REMEMBRANCE the weekend of October 5th & 6th, 1996 in Atlantic City, NJ. A reunion of the players from the Newark Eagles and Kansas City Monarchs from the 1946 World Series will occur along with other programs and events including a Negro League Heritage Baseball game, and a special showing of the documentary BEFORE YOU CAN SAY JACKIE ROBINSON. Rachel Robinson and Larry Doby are to be presented with awards.
A committee is being formed in Indianapolis to begin the project of creating a life-sized statue of Oscar Charleston. They are looking for volunteers and will be seeking funds ($30-40,000). Dan Edwards, a nationally known sculptor is very interested in doing the statue. Circulating petitions and writing letters will probably be asked of us. The NLC plans to be strongly involved.
COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Wilmer Fields is in good condition after undergoing a quadruple bypass July 8th. Thomas Jackson died May 29, 1996 in St. Louis. Clyde McNeal passed April 14, 1996 article 4/20/96 SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS. An exhibit at the Hoboken Historical Museum, "Play Ball! A Garden State Legacy" includes New Jersey's Negro Leagues. Tara Mack passed along a radio story on the West Coast Baseball Association. Sunday June 9th, A Negro League Reunion and Card Show brought together Russell Awkard, Jim Cohen, James McCurine, Emilio Navarro, and Andy Porter in Livonia, MI. On July 13th, Bill Barnes, Sherwood Brewer, Gene Collins, Mel Duncan, Cecil Kaiser, Maurice Peatros, Ted Rasberry, Bobby Robinson, and Ron Teasley appeared in Detroit to sign autographs. Cleveland's first Negro League Reunion took place July 20th & 21st featuring HOFer Monte Irvin along with Willie and Dave Pope, Sam Jethroe, Claro Duany, Harold Tinker, Charlie Rivera, Ray Noble, Rodolfo Fernandez, Henry Kimbro, and Jim Zapp. Nap Gulley and Sherwood Brewer were in Seattle June 22th and 23rd, 1996 for a autograph show. Nap was a guest of Ed Cesarone that weekend. Nap visited Kamiakin Junior High School in Kirkland, WA to meet 500 plus students on their final day of school. He visited classrooms,spoke one on one with kids, signed autographs and demonstrated pitching techniques. A great time for all! Jerry Malloy sent out a great piece on the SABR-L on Richard "Dick" Johnson/Male and The Color Line, complete with footnotes (a typically great piece).
Other articles:
KANSAS CITY STAR 7/1/96 "Picking up the tempo" article about the total 18th
& Vine project. KANSAS CITY GLOBE July 12-18, 1996, "Ewing Kauffman Foundation
Grants $500,000 Gift to The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum," KANSAS CITY STAR 7/13/96,
"Negro Leagues Museum gets Kauffman gift,"
I finally got to see SOUL OF THE GAME. I believe it to be very entertaining with solid acting, a great cast, good period detail, but it is a MOVIE not ever close to a documentary. View it only as entertainment. 4/20/96 CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, "HBO movie examines Black Baseball greats."
ONLINE COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS
This is a rapidly growing area and we hope to assist you with what is available out there. The Moxie Internet Galleries has many one page articles on a wide variety of Negro League subjects and many bios of the great players. email at moxie@nc5.infi.net Cotton Sports Collectibles http://www.cmv.com/~detour/cotton/ has many collectibles including the latest Bobbin Heads of Turkey Stearnes and Cool Papa Bell. The Fosters Rube and Bill are out now. Call 1-800 450-7298 Pin#3182 for a catalog. David Marasco has a web site at http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~dmarasco/david.html His email is igor@clark.phys.nmu.edu David has links to the Moxie site and Jim Riley's page along with a web page for youngsters. You can also get David's thoughts on the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Connect with http://www.annonline.com to listen to a Buck O'Neil audio interview.
From YAHOO! INTERNET LIFE Magazine is " Nine Great Baseball Web Sites", A Hall of Fame web site is http"//www.enews.com/bas_hall_fame/ USA TODAY 7/9/96 , has Total Baseball Site also ESPNET and others.
NEGRO LEAGUES RELATED ARTICLES
SUNDAY STAR-LEDGER 5/19/96, "The Forgotten Flight of Newark's Eagles," "Jess Elster, Grand Rapids Mr. Baseball" from January/February, 1993 MICHIGAN HISTORY MAGAZINE "Baseball and Blues fuse in film on Memphis," USA TODAY BASEBALL WEEKLY July 3-10, 1996, (The Dr. John Haddock film on the Memphis Red Sox) "The Travelling Man Goes To Portland" (Satchel Paige) by David Marasco from THE DIAMOND ANGLE May/June, 1996 THE DIAMOND ANGLE, August, 1996 has "Strangebrew: Smoke, Lights, and Josh Gibson" & "Stars in their time Hall of Fame," on Brewer, Smith, and Redding. "Written in Stone" STAR MAGAZINE May 26, 1996 (Paige gravesite) July/August, 1996 Issue #7 of THE VINTAGE & CLASSIC BASEBALL COLLECTOR has a very nice article on Chuck Harmon: The Black Red. AUTOGRAPH TIMES May/June, 1996 "The Negro Leagues" "(Charlie) Grant should be Cincinnati Legend" CINCINNATI POST 5/18/96 THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER 4/7/96, "Teaching baseball...and life," PITTSBURGH COURIER, May, 1949, Change of Pace column features Maurice Peatros. CHICAGO TRIBUNE 7/8/96 Double Duty picture with Mark Grace & 7/20/96 "A past era Dutifully recalled" CHICAGO SUN TIMES 7/8/96, "Oldest living Negro Leaguer now too busy to be bitter," (Radcliffe) JET 7/22/06, "Ted Double Duty Radcliffe, Oldest Living Ex-Negro Leaguer at 94" SCD 6/21/96 edition which featured the NL and SABR. Buck O'Neil and Bob Feller on the cover. Fireball Bill Beverly, Dave Whitney, . & "Negro League great Bill Foster finally gets his chance with election to Hall" by John Holway SCD 6/28/96 Gene Collins . SCD 7/12/96 Slick Surratt SCD 7/26/96 Big Edsall Walker
CURRENT AND FUTURE INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS
Bill Plott reports slow but sure progress on the Negro Southern League. Leslie Heaphy is at the University of Kansas this summer researching and having fun. Tom Owens is beginning work on an oral history book for youth, on the Negro Leagues. Lyle Wilson is putting the finishing touches on his manuscript on African-American teams in the Seattle area 1911-1951. Guy Stanley is seeking any info researched on the Jacksonville Red Caps and the NSL. Contact Email at GUYS973068@aol.com Paul Debono is finishing up his Indianapolis Black Baseball book and plans a presentation in Louisville next year on West Baden and French Lick, Indiana teams.
THE MARKETPLACE
A couple of reviews on Monte Irvin's autobiography NICE GUYS FINISH FIRST written with Jim Riley from Tom Knight of the BROOKLYN SPECTATOR 5/8/96 and Jerome Holtzman On Baseball CHICAGO TRIBUNE 5/12/96 A new book out is BASEBALL AND THE COLOR LINE by Tom Gilbert, 1995 soft cover $9, 176pp + pictures & appendix. A very nice read. It isn't about the Negro Leagues per say as about The Color Line. Recommended. THE BAMBINO VISITS CUBA, 1920 is a combined Spanish-English text, 38pp English with boxes and stats $12. Order from Julio Ruiz Asomante 1674, Summit Hills, Rio Piedras, PR 00920. The latest issue of SIDELINES Vol 2 Issue 2, June, 1996 has The Negro Leagues Part 4 (The All-Time All-Star Championship replay) . Another book out that I haven't seen is AMERICA'S NATIONAL: A STUDY OF RACE AND MERIT IN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL by Bret Billet and Lance Formwalt, $49.95 by Praeger. I have read Buck O'Neil's autobiography I WAS RIGHT ON TIME written with Steve Wulf and David Conrads, 254pp, 28 pictures $23. It is an easy read and thoroughly enjoyable book. You will feel just like you were sitting next to this fine man. Very highly recommended. Get this book and Monte's and you'll not be disappointed.
ARTICLES:
PITCH WEEKLY (KC) July 4-10,1996 "Negro League History comes to life" CHRISTIAN
SCIENCE MONITOR 6/19/96, "I wasn't too early-I helped pave the way" KANSAS CITY
STAR 5/26/96 "Just in time for Summer" & 6/2/96 "Triple Play"
SARASOTA HERALD TRIBUNE, 6/11/96, "Right On Time" THE WASHINGTON POST 7/7/96
Book World section. Black baseball, short reviews of O'Neil's, Irvin's, Ribowsky, STEALING
HOME an initimate family portrait by the daughter of Jackie Robinson and ON BLACK AND
WHITE Race and Sports in America. SCD 7/19/96 book review section covers I WAS RIGHT ON
TIME.
FINAL REMARKS
Our next newsletter will be October's. Please get all information to me before the
last week of September.
Dick Clark & Larry Lester NLC Co-Chairpeople