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Louis Santop
Louis Santop Loftin (January 17, 1889 – January 22, 1942) was an American baseball catcher in the Negro leagues. He became "one of the earliest superstars" and "black baseball's first legitimate home-run slugger" (Riley), and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. Some sources show a birth year of 1890, but his Navy records and Baseball Hall of Fame records support the earlier date. Playing career Santop was born in Tyler, Texas. At age 19 he played for teams in Fort Worth, Texas and Guthrie, Oklahoma before joining the Philadelphia Giants. In 1910, his only full season with Philadelphia, Santop and fellow rookie Dick Redding formed a "kid battery", catcher and pitcher. (Riley) Most of the teams he played for were not considered major league teams (Hillsdale in 1923-26 is the exception), so his performance is not fully documented. Baseball Reference shows a career batting average of .356 in 433 games but the Seamheads database shows .328 in 515 games. His four years w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher is also called upon to master many other skills in order to field the position well. The role of the catcher is similar to that of the wicket-keeper in cricket. Positioned behind home plate and facing toward the outfield, the catcher can see the whole field, and is therefore in the best position to direct and lead the other players in a defensive play. The catcher typically calls for pitches using hand signals. The calls are based on the pitcher's mechanics and strengths, as well as the batter's tendencies and weaknesses. Essentially, the catcher controls what happens during the game when the ball is not "in play". Foul tips, bouncing balls in the dirt, and contact with runners during plays at the plate are all events to be handl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Redding
Richard Redding (April 15, 1890 – October 31, 1948), nicknamed "Cannonball", was an American pitcher, outfielder, and manager (baseball), manager in baseball's Negro league baseball, Negro leagues, regarded as perhaps the fastest pitcher in the history of black baseball (which makes the origin of his nickname no mystery). In his career, he played for the Philadelphia Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, Lincoln Stars (baseball team), Lincoln Stars, Indianapolis ABC's, Chicago American Giants, Brooklyn Royal Giants, and Bacharach Giants. Career Born in Atlanta in the era of racial segregation, Redding was functionally illiterate and was not allowed to play in the Major Leagues because of his race. Against all levels of competition he threw seven no-hitters in one year and approximately thirty in his career. Quiet and clean-cut off the field, he was as intimidating as anyone on it. He had a limited pitching repertoire, but his main pitch, his fastball, was feared by batters all o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grantland Rice
Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the son of Bolling Hendon Rice, a cotton dealer, and Mary Beulah (Grantland) Rice. His grandfather Major H. W. Rice was a Confederate veteran of the Civil War. Rice attended Montgomery Bell Academy and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he was a member of the football team for three years, a shortstop on the baseball team, a brother in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and graduated with a BA degree in 1901 in classics. On the football team, he lettered in the year of 1899 as an end and averaged two injuries a year. On the baseball team, he was captain in 1901. Sportswriter In 1907, Rice saw what he would call the greatest thrill he ever witnessed in his years of watching sports during the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biz Mackey
James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey (July 27, 1897 – September 22, 1965) was an American catcher and manager in Negro league baseball. He played for the Indianapolis ABCs (1920–1922), New York Lincoln Giants (1920), Hilldale Daisies (1923–1931), Philadelphia Royal Giants (1925), Philadelphia Stars (1933–1935), Washington / Baltimore Elite Giants (1936–1939), and Newark Dodgers/Eagles (1935, 1939–1941, 1945–1947, 1950). Mackey was regarded as black baseball's premier catcher in the late 1920s and early 1930s. His superior defense and outstanding throwing arm were complemented by batting skill which placed him among the Negro leagues' all-time leaders in total bases, runs batted in and slugging percentage, while hitting over .300 for his career. Mackey was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. Baseball career Mackey was born in Eagle Pass, Texas, to a sharecropping family that included two brothers. He began playing baseball with his brothers on the Lul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Warfield
Francis Xavier Warfield (April 26, 1897 – July 24, 1932) was an infielder and manager in the Negro leagues. Career Standing at just 5'7", Warfield was known primarily for his fielding and baserunning excellence, but he also had several good years at the plate. In 1922, he hit .342 for the Detroit Stars. He played on the Hilldale teams that won the Eastern Colored League pennants from 1923 to 1925, with Warfield being the manager for two of them. Warfield became player-manager of the Baltimore Black Sox in 1929 and led them to the Negro American League championship. He and teammates Oliver Marcelle, Dick Lundy, and Jud Wilson became known as the "Million Dollar Infield" because their collective talents may have been worth $1,000,000 to the major leagues had they been white. Baseball writer Bill James ranked Warfield as the eighth-greatest second baseman in negro league history, calling him a "complete defensive wizard". Warfield was known to have a violent nature that led t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Duncan (baseball, Born 1901)
Frank Lee Duncan Jr (February 14, 1901 – December 4, 1973) was a baseball player in the Negro leagues from 1920 to 1948. He was primarily a catcher for the Kansas City Monarchs, handling their pitching staff for over a decade. While playing part-time, he managed the Monarchs to two pennants in 1942 and 1946; he managed the Monarchs for the longest of all managers in team history with six and he won 281 games as skipper, a club record. He caught two no-hitters with the Monarchs, in 1923 and 1929. Playing career Duncan broke in with the 1920 Chicago Giants, forcing John Beckwith to move from catcher to shortstop. He hit just .161. In 1921, Duncan moved to the Monarchs and batted .250/.295/.277 (BA/OBP/SLG) for the combined season. In 1922, Duncan improved to .235/.317/.313 at the plate and was credited with 22 sacrifice hits to lead the Negro National League in that category. He led the NNL's catchers in fielding percentage (.984) and assists (91). In 1923, he batted .257/.332 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1924 Colored World Series
The 1924 in baseball, 1924 Colored World Series was a best-of-nine match-up between the Negro National League (1920–31), Negro National League champion Kansas City Monarchs and the Eastern Colored League champion Hilldale Club, Hilldale. In a ten-game series, the Monarchs narrowly defeated Hilldale 5 games to 4, with one tie game. It was the first World Series between the respective champions of the NNL and ECL. It was the second year of existence for the ECL, but no agreement could be reached in 1923 for a postseason series, owing primarily to unresolved disputes between the leagues. Five members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Baseball Hall of Fame participated in the series: Biz Mackey, Judy Johnson, and Louis Santop played for Hilldale, while Bullet Rogan and José Méndez played for the Monarchs. In addition, Monarchs owner J. L. Wilkinson was also inducted into the Hall. Series summary * Kansas City Monarchs vs. Hilldale * Monarchs won the Series, 5–4 (1 tie) * T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", he began his MLB career as a star left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. In 1936, Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" inaugural members. At age seven, Ruth was sent to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a reformatory where he was mentored by Brother Matthias Boutlier of the Xaverian Brothers, the school's disciplinarian and a capable baseball player. In 1914, Ruth was signed to play Minor League baseball for the Baltimore Orioles but was soon sold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josh Gibson
Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. Baseball historians consider Gibson among the best power hitters and catchers in baseball history. In 1972, he became the second Negro league player to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Gibson played for the Homestead Grays from 1930 to 1931, moved to the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1932 to 1936, and returned to the Grays from 1937 to 1939 and 1942 to 1946. In 1937, he played for Ciudad Trujillo in Trujillo's Dominican League and from 1940 to 1941, he played in the Mexican League for Azules de Veracruz. Gibson served as the first manager of the Cangrejeros de Santurce, one of the most historic franchises of the Puerto Rico Baseball League. Gibson was known as a spectacular power hitter who, by some accounts, hit close to 800 career home runs. He was known as the "black Babe Ruth"; in fact, some fans at the time who saw both Ruth and Gibson ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscar Charleston
Oscar McKinley Charleston (October 14, 1896 – October 5, 1954) was an American center fielder and manager in Negro league baseball. Over his 43-year baseball career, Charleston played or managed with more than a dozen teams, including the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords, Negro league baseball's leading teams in the 1930s. He also played nine winter seasons in Cuba and in numerous exhibition games against white major leaguers. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976. One of the Negro leagues' early stars, Charleston was by 1920 generally considered "the greatest center fielder and one of the most reliable sluggers in black baseball." He and Josh Gibson share the record for Negro league batting titles with three, and he is the only player to win batting titles in multiple leagues. He was the second player to win consecutive Triple Crowns in either batting or pitching (after Grover Cleveland Alexander), a feat matched just one time by a batte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeff Tesreau
Charles Monroe "Jeff" Tesreau (March 5, 1888 – September 24, 1946) was an American Major League Baseball player. Standing , Tesreau was given the nickname "Jeff" because he resembled boxer Jim Jeffries. Baseball career Tesreau initially signed with a minor league team of the St. Louis Browns in 1909. In , his contract was purchased by the New York Giants. After two years in the minors, Tesreau learned how to throw a spitball, which became his signature pitch. He started the second game of the season for the Giants. ''The New York Times'' wrote, "Tesreau has curves which bend like barrel hoops and speed like lightning. He's just the kind of a strong man McGraw has been looking for." Tesreau finished his rookie season with 17–7 record and on September 6 he would no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0. He also had a National League leading ERA of 1.96. Earned run average officially became a statistic of Major League Baseball in 1912, and Tesreau, along with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smokey Joe Williams
Joseph Williams (April 6, 1886 – February 25, 1951), nicknamed "Cyclone Joe" and "Smokey Joe", was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro league baseball. He is considered one of the greatest pitchers of all-time and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. Baseball career Williams was born in Seguin, Texas. One of his parents was African American, and the other was a Comanche Native American. Williams grew up to become an outstanding pitcher, but as his path to the major leagues was barred by the color line, he spent his entire 27-year career (1905–1932) pitching in the Negro leagues, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Williams entered professional baseball in 1905 with the San Antonio Black Bronchos and was an immediate star, posting records of 28-4, 15-9, 20-8, 20-2, and 32-8. After that, the Chicago Giants, a team higher in the pecking order of black baseball, acquired him. In 1910, the Giants owner Frank Leland pronounced him the best pitcher in baseball, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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