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

August 1997

@SABR - NEGRO LEAGUES COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER

(portions reprinted with permission of editor)

------------------------------------------------------------

Editor: Dick Clark, 1080 Hull, Ypsilanti, MI 48198-6472

Telephone Number: (313) 487-5273; Fax (313) 487-0807

------------------------------------------------------------

CHAIRMAN'S REMARKS
As this newsletter is being mailed Willie Wells is being enshrined into The Hall of Fame. The entire Summer has been very busy. There's still time for you to take an active part. Please advise me of your area of expertise with regards to the Negro Leagues so I may refer questions I receive to you as opportunities present themselves.

Gregg Truitt has a new Emailaddress gregg.truitt@phwilm.zeneca.com

NEGRO LEAGUERS AND THE HALL OF FAME

Willie Wells joins other greats August 2nd in Cooperstown. I hope to have a complete report from Jim Riley for the next newsletter.
Bill Foster was elected to the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame.
A massive volunteer effort, spearheaded by Mike Kolleth is underway in Seguin and Luling, Texas to uncover biographical data on Smokey Joe Williams. This will be vital upon future election to the HOF.

PRIDE AND PASSION: THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN BASEBALL EXPERIENCE opened on June 12th. Rachel Robinson was on hand to dedicate the exhibit and sign books.

JACKSON (MS) ADVOCATE, June 19-25, 1997 "Pride and Passion"
"African-Americans paid tribute at Hall" 6/12/97
The exhibit is in six segments: Creating Opportunity (1860-1887); Barnstorming (1887-1919); Separate Leagues (1920-1933); Rebirth (1933-1946); Changing Opportunities (1946-1959); Post-Integration Era (1959-present).
I plan to view the exhibit in the next few weeks.

THE NEGRO LEAGUES BOOK

Bill Treese provided a wealth of information on Shreveport Black Baseball and the TOL League.
Tom Shieber passed on 1871 rosters for the Philadelphia Pythian and the Mutual of Washington DC.
Leslie Heaphy, compiler of the bibliography, is working with Scot Mondore at the HOF on an on-site updated listing of all entries.

SPECIAL EVENTS

On Tuesday June 17, 1997 Negro League Commemorative Night was held in Harrisburg, PA honoring the 1925 Harrisburg Giants. It was a huge success. Jim Riley, Lou Hunsinger and Gregg Truitt were among the attendees. Harrisburg Giants baseball caps were given to the first 1500 youth and 2000
commemorative programs to adults.... beautiful 20 page booklets. The Harrisburg Senators wore replica Giants uniforms. Ted Knorr with excellent help from the City of Harrisburg did a wonderful job in organizing this tribute. They had videos, batboy Marshall Waters, Ted, Calobe Jackson, and Jim Riley gave talks. Josh Gibson Jr. was on hand for signing and selling. I'll certainly be there for the next one.

On June 20th the SABR Convention began in Louisville, KY. I arrived Thursday evening to begin one long discussion of our passion, baseball, mainly Negro Leagues. The following NLC Members were in attendance: Bill Cash, Clark, Bob Davids, Paul Debono, Jan Finkel, Leslie Heaphy, Lou Hunsinger Jr. ,Ted Knorr, Larry Lester, Jerry Malloy, David Marasco, Sammy Miller, Rick Morris, Claudia Perry, Bill Plott, Jim Riley, Kaz Sayama, and Ray Schmidt. 18 folks, an excellent turnout!

There is so much to do at a SABR gathering it is becoming harder to review all the great events. The player panels are top notch and the Louisville Slugger Museum Tour was first-rate. There was a fine ball game, trivia contest, ballparks tour, as well as a luncheon and Awards Dinner. Our sincere congratulations to Len Levin, the L. Robert Davids Award winner. NLC member Adrian Burgos won a MacMillan-SABR Award for JUGANDO en al NORTE: CARIBBEAN PLAYERS IN THE NEGRO LEAGUES 1910-1950. Aside from the terrific bull sessions between most of us and seeing of old friends, the true highlight of the convention for everyone is the NLC Meeting at 7:00 AM on Saturday morning (we'll probably switch to a night meeting in the future). Larry and I put on such an illuminating meeting it would astound you. Being astounded this year were 26 folks. In addition to earlier mentioned folks were Barry Mednick, Bill Dunstone, John Matthews IV, Elfren Bernier, Andy McCue, Tim Wilds, Bill Treese, Lloyd Johnson, and Eduardo Valero. Later that morning many of us saw Ray Schmidt's presentation on the Illinois-Iowa League of 1890-1892; Larry Lester's Discover Greatness; Ted Knorr's The Harrisburg Giants of 1925; Jan Finkel's Who Should Be In The Hall Of Fame; and Kaz Sayama's The First Professional Japanese Baseball Player, Goro Mikami of the All Nations team. That Saturday evening the Negro League Players Panel took center stage to a packed room. Bill Cash, Connie Johnson, Clinton "Butch" McCord, Tom Turner, and Slick Surratt wer terrific and really kept the crowd entertained and educated. Larry was up very early, on Sunday, to catch a 5:00 AM flight back to KC for a surprise birthday party for his dad. We held on with the Redbirds game, business meeting and more good conversation. An outstanding publication was part of the convention package. A CELEBRATION OF LOUISVILLE BASEBALL IN THE MAJOR & MINOR LEAGUES. Among the articles was Home-Grown Kentuckians in the Negro Leagues by Harry Rothgerber Jr.

Next year's convention will be in San Mateo, CA. in June. If you can't make that come to Harrisburg, PA in July for a special Negro Leagues Committee Convention. We will get together for three days. All day Friday, Saturday, and concluding Sunday. The dates are all that is undecided. Either July 10, 17, or 24 (Friday dates). Due to the splendid work done by Ted Knorr and others to make the recent honoring of the Harrisburg Giants a tremendous success, the Mayor of Harrisburg, the Honorable Stephen Reed, has invited our committee to hold this gathering in the Pennsylvania Capitol. Their Negro League Commemorative Committee will be able to assist us in the planning and with logistical support. I'm pleased to say that Ted Knorr will be our coordinator on the scene and Sammy Miller will help out with the project on this end. It may be September or October before we will know the exact dates but let us know now if you are interested or not. This will be a really exciting weekend. We will be involved in next year's celebration at Island Park. We will have guest players, player and historian panels. Presentations will be on ONLY the Negro Leagues by the experts, US. We will probably limit presentations to 10-15. But we can have an expert give one on their speciality. We should be able to have merchandise booths and displays/exhibits of various items. PLUS we will be able to sit around and listen to all sorts of discussions. It should be fun. No conflict with the SABR National Convention. Contact me, or Sammy Miller or drop a line to me. Reserve your spot in the presentations.

The St. Louis Cardinals saluted Jackie Robinson and honored Negro Leaguers, July 4-6, 1997. On the 4th the Cards wore St. Louis Stars uniforms while the Pirates wore Homestead Grays duds. Players on hand to be honored were Joe Henry, Josh Johnson, Lee Moody, Eugene Smith, and Sam Taylor. Larry Lester has a complete recap on the Web.
The Detroit Tigers third annual Negro League Celebration was held on July 5th and was very successful with over 37,0000 in attendance. Kids 14 and under received replica Detroit Stars jerseys. Special guests included Ozzie Virgil Sr., Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, Buck O'Neil, and former Batimore Elite Giant Don Troy. A passel of Detroit area players were also introduced before the game, Frank Duncan, Eugene Collins, Herold Gordon, Rufus Lewis, Ted Rasberry, and Ron Teasley among them. There was also Special Guest Rosa Parks. The Orioles looked good in their baggie Elite Giants uniforms and the Stars won a thriller.

UPCOMING EVENTS

On August 7th, The Committee To Restore Pop Lloyd Stadium invites you to Continuing The Legacy of "Pop" honoring Marie Boyd,historian/librarian and Wilbert "Huff" Royal, educator/youth recreation leader. Please contact Michael Everett at (609) 343-7350 ext 138 or 927-8914.
The "Pop" Lloyd celebration this year will be the weekend of October 11th, In Atlantic City, NJ with lecture and awards ceremonies on Sunday the 12th. A great time!
In April, 1998 placement and dedication of the historic marker at John Henry "Pop" Lloyd's grave will take place. Exact date later.
On August 16th, the Wilmington Blue Rocks will hold their second annual Judy Johnson Night. A slew of special events will take place beginning at 6:15 PM. Prior to this will be a cookout at Gregg Truitt's home.
On August 23rd Leon Day Park will be dedicated at 10:00 AM. The park is located at 900 Franklintown Road at corner of Ellamont Street, in West Baltimore. A host of events and picnics will follow.
A Tribute To Wilmer Fields will be held in Mt. Laurel, NJ on Saturday, September 27, 1997. The banquet starts at 6:00 PM and an open forum will be held from 10 to noon with a player panel. Call 1-800-603-5113 for info and tickets.

COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS

We are always saddened to report the deaths of players. Eugene "Jeep" McClain died in West Philadelphia, PA on July 7th; PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS 7/11/97. Earl Woodson passed in Seattle, WA on 5/29. Clarence Inman died 7/3/97 in Baltimore at 80; Ozzie Tidmore passed at 61; obit THE PLAIN DEALER 6/19/97. John Sengstacke, expired May 28th at 84 in Chicago. He was owner of THE CHICAGO DEFENDER and MICHIGAN CHRONICLE. THE DETROIT NEWS 5/30/97 , THE DETROIT FREE PRESS, 5/30/97. We also have Bill Plott's article on Piper Davis from the BIRMINGHAM NEWS. Also, BIRMINGHAM POST-HERALD 5/22/97.
A good friend to everyone, Chris Fullerton died in an auto accident May 29th. Chris had worked on the Rickwood Field restoration and Birmingham Barons Media Guide among many projects. He was only 29. THE SOUTHERN REGISTER, Summer, 1997.
The North Carolina Senate adopted a resolution on June 19, 1997 honoring Buck Leonard. Buck could not attend, his health is not good.
"Baseball researchers to convene in Louisville," LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL 6/2097. Buck O'Neil was on hand when No 42 was retired in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.
Diamonds In The Desert: International Baseball Conference will be held March 18-21, 1998 at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. (520) 284-0811.
Images of Greatness: A Tribute to Negro Leagues Baseball is currently on exhibit in Birmingham, AL until August 24, 1997. It is a sculpture exhibit and is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Black Barons Negro League World Series Championship.... (actually won by the New York Cubans). The show is outstanding, regardless.
Charlie Tiano celebrated his 85th birthday on July 22th.
Tim Booker recently taped two videos, After Jackie: Black Baseball in the 1950's with info on the Champaign IL Eagles & Vintage Years featuring Buck O'Neil.
Merl Kleinknecht-"Cleveland and the East-West All-Star Game & Brad Sullivan-The Patroit Game, 2: The Negro League's Benefit Game are among many articles in the SABR published ALL-STAR BASEBALL IN CLEVELAND, available from SABR office.
Larry Doby dedicated a playground project at E. 59th Street and Woodland in Cleveland. It is now Larry Doby Park
Jazz Antiqua will premiere The Ballad of Josh Gibson, a jazz ballet on August 9, 1997 at John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
Clement Hamilton points out that "Other" anniversaries occured in 1947 besides JR & Doby. Check for any articles on Willard Brown & Henry Thompson debuts and Dan Bankhead's appearance.
On July 13th, in Minneapolis The Twins wore St. Paul Gophers dark blue uniforms and Cleveland the 1945 Buckeye replica outfits.
The Burlington Indians retired Larry Doby's No 14.

ONLINE COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS

"Remembering Mr. Brewer" article could also be received over the Net.
Larry Lester will have upcoming pieces on St. Louis Negro League Tribute and Minority Attendance at Games at majorleaguebaseball.com website.
"Jackie's Wish: No More Participation Without Representation," by Larry Lester.

NEGRO LEAGUES RELATED ARTICLES

SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE, "Negro League Star Reminder of Past" (O'Neil).
THE GLOBE AND MAIL (Toronto) 7/29/97, "Sharon Robinson Appointment."
KANSAS CITY STAR 7/20/97, "Journalist Sam Lacy has write stuff for Hall of Fame honors."
THE WASHINGTON POST NATIONAL WEEKLY EDITION, 7/14/97, "Stepping Out of the Shadow." (Doby)
EMERGE June, 1997, "A museum of their own."
JET, 6/30/97, "Wendell Smith"
BASEBALL DIGEST, July, 1997, "Larry Doby: an overlooked Black Pioneer in the AL"
LA WEEKLY, June 6-12, 1997, "Remembering Mr. Brewer: LA's godfather of Black Baseball"
USA TODAY BASEBALL WEEKLY, June 11-17, 1997, "It isn't easy being Pumpsie" (Green)
KAISERSLAUTERN AMERICAN (Germany), May 30, 1997, "Chasing a dream that could not be caught" by Cristian Mendoza Munoz.
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 5/9/96, "No Major disappointments," (Fields)
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINAL 7/19/97, "Trailblazers"
THE RECORD (Hackensack,NJ) 7/8/97, "Some belated recognition," (Doby)
SCD, 6/13/97, "Paige never really got his chance in the bigs."
KANSAS CITY STAR 7/1/97, "Statues to grace baseball shrine."
ALL STAR CLEVELAND, "My Story" by Larry Doby
NEW YORK TIMES, 7/14/97, "Barnstorming Kids Retrace Robinson's Steps."
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 7/5/97, Barnstormers **5pp
USA TODAY BASEBALL WEEKLY, July 10-15, 1997, "On The Road Again."
NEWARK STAR-LEDGER, Jerry Izenberg column, "Baseball's unfinished business," Larry Doby & the HOF
THE SUNDAY RECORD (Hackensack,NJ) 7/6/97, "Second to None"
WASHINGTON POST 7/8/97, "Larry Doby crossed baseball's color barrier second."
AP, "Doby:Baseball's forgotten pioneer gets his due"1pg
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/5/97, "Negro League players honored during Tribute to Robinson," & 7/6/97, "Baseball makes play to bring Black fans back."
KANSAS CITY STAR, 7/5/97, "Just 11 weeks after Robinson, Doby was blazing trails through baseball, too,"; 7/11/97, "Is this baseball's idea of racial progress? & 7/12/97, "All things Jackie" "Rickeys remain part of tradition," & "Against the tide,"
JACKSON (MS) ADVOCATE July 10-16, 1997, Lyle Wilson article, "Magnolias that blossomed in Black Baseball."
JOLIET (IL) EVENING HERALD, 5/31/97, "Baseball History's highs and lows, in Black and White."
SABR, Cleveland Indians Barrier Breakers
THE WASHINGTON POST, 6/11/97, "Going to bat for Robinson," (Lacy) & 6/15/97, "Flipping for lids"
SCD, 7/18/97, "Doby in shadows of the spotlight"
ASBURY PARK PRESS (NJ) 6/20/97, "out of the shadows
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE, 7/29/96, "Joe Black"
THE DETROIT FREE PRESS, "Doby has been in forgotten pioneer."
THE BEACON JOURNAL 6/1/97, " As simple as Black & White"
SIDELINES, April/May, 1997, letter from the editor about HOF quotas & Game of the month April, 97 Crawfords vs American Giants.
SIDELINES, June/July, 1997, "The real pioneer" Fleet Walker, "
CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/19/97, "A pioneer's dream remembered," (Foster) & 7/20/97, "Sam Lacy"
SCD 8/1/97, "Negro Leaguers gather for Meadowlands show"
SCD, 8/8/97, "Double Duty Radcliffe popular figure on show circuit," & "Three teams have variation of Robinson patch."
Bob Dolgan was kind enough to pass along his series of articles from THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER on the following dates (more to come) all 4/20-Rickey;4/27-Wendell Smith;5/12-Ashford;5/19-Frank Robinson;5/26-Bill Lucas;6/3-Bill White; 6/9-Pumpsie Green; 6/16-Curt Flood; 6/23-Paige; 6/30-Dan Bankhead; 7/15-Moses Walker.

ADDITIONAL JACKIE ROBINSON ARTICLES

HALL OF FAME MUSEUM BOOK , JR Items
SPORT, August, 1997, "Sportfacts"
THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Commemorative Section 3/31/97
"Jackie Robinson, Hero" an essay by Mark Williams
EMERGE, April, 1997, "Jackie Robinson Legacy"
SPIRIT (Southwest Airlines Magazine), "First class all the way."
"Robinson cards to be distributed at Fan Fest"
THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 5/16/97, "No 42 saluted"**1pg & "Chuck Harmon throws out first pitch."
"Stealing Home" on JR exhibit in LA.
"Robinson highlights HOF retro pins," SCD6/13/97
AP, 5/27/97 "School celebrates Robinson Anniversary"
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, 5/5/97, "17 days in May,"
JR 50th anniversary caps (ad); JR comic book, Upper Deck cards, Coke bottles (ad) ; JR Anniversary Patch
"A night to remember" ALL STAR CLEVELAND
BIOGRAPHY, July, 1997, "Here's to you, Mr Robinson"
SCD, 7/4/97, "Past. present MLB players tell what Jackie Robinson means to them," & 7/25/97, "Wide array of collector items being produced," & "More new Robinson stuff," . & "JR Silver Dollar coins & gold coin,
AP, 7/15/97, "Capitol Hill steals Robinson coin proceeds away from poor kids,"

CURRENT AND FUTURE INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS

Amanda Richardson is using the NLC newsletter as part of her Language Arts class.
Brent Newton is seeking ways he can assist with Negro Leagues research. Contact him at (202) 518-5809.
Carol Katherine Cooper (215) 536-4359 is seeking any information on the career of Frank Evans, who started his career in the late '40's.
Francis Kinlaw is seeking info on Cuban great Hector Magrinat, Email kin law@juno.com
Christopher Threston is writing a seminar paper as he completes his Masters Degree at Rutgers University. His topic is Black Baseball in Philadelphia. Contact him with any assistance at (609) 985-3725.
Paul Russell, curator, of The Chico Museum, 141 Salem St., Chico, CA 95928, (916) 891-4336 is seeking assistance in locating photos on the California Tigers from Berkeley, CA, KC Monarchs Travel team under Cool Papa Bell, the Sioux City, IA Ghosts and Sioux Indian Team for a currently showing exhibit, "From The Red Hots to The Heat: 122 Years of Chico Baseball.
The upcoming THE NATIONAL PASTIME will have an excellent article that will settle the "Bill Veeck & the Phillies" debate.

THE MARKETPLACE

SUNDAY AFTERNOONS AT GARFIELD PARK: Seattle Black Baseball teams 1911-51 is an excellent read and addition to one's library. Great research and writing by Lyle Wilson.
David Skinner reports that SPORT IN CUBA, chapter 2 "Cuban Sports before 1959 is most relevant with 18 pages on Cuban Baseball.
BASEBALL WITH A LATIN BEAT by Peter Bjarkman from McFarland, 1994 is a really good history of Latin ball, 318 pages, 16 pages of pictures and another 140 pages of appendices. I just got a copy, an excellent book.
THEY CAME TO PLAY: A Photographic History of Colorado Baseball has a chapter on "Black Baseball in Colorado"
INVINCIBLE SUMMER covers trips to gravesites of Hall of Famers, including Negro Leaguers.
THE KING OF SWAT: An Analysis of Baseball's Home Run Hitters Fron the Major, Minor, Negro, and Japanese Leagues by William McNeil does a good job covering the Negro Leagues. Recommended, you will be surprised who is the King of Swat.
HORNSBY HIT ONE OVER MY HEAD: A Fan's Oral History of Baseball features "Cool Papa Bell Was My Hero" by Larry Lester and also has many other SABR folks involved.
Commemorative envelopes on Josh Gibson and Jackie Robinson from Little Sun $12.50
THE VINTAGE & CLASSIC BASEBALL COLLECTOR July/August, 1997 has an autograph values article on Willie Wells
Sammie Haynes has a new catalog out, call 888/238-8393.
Look for SECOND TO NONE video about Larry Doby.
The McFarland Baseball Books Catalog is out. Besides KING OF SWAT, Brent Kelley's VOICES FROM THE NEGRO LEAGUES: Conversations With 52 Baseball Standouts of the Period 1924-1960 is due in the fall. BASEBALL IN 1939 by Lawrence Katz has a "Worlds Apart" chapter which covers the Negro Leagues and is 30 pages.
A book release party was held on August 1, 1997 in Indianapolis celebrating Paul Debono's THE INDIANAPOLIS ABCs: History Of A Premier Team In The Negro Leagues. I should have a review in the next newsletter, should be great.

FINAL REMARKSOur 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

www.blackbaseball.com