Felton "Skipper" Snow (October 23, 1905 – March 16, 1974) was a

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

professional baseball player who played for the

Nashville Elite Giants Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

that later became the Columbus Elite Giants, the

Washington Elite Giants Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and the Baltimore Elite Giants. Snow played on the West Squad in the

East-West All-Star Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salma ...

s of 1935 and 1936. In 1940, he became a player-manager for the Baltimore Elite Giants. Snow was born in

Oxford, Alabama Oxford is a city in Calhoun, Talladega, and Cleburne counties in the State of Alabama. The population was 22,069 at the 2020 census,. Oxford is one of two principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

in 1905 and moved to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

as a youngster. In 1929, he began playing for different Louisville ballclubs and eventually joined Tom Wilson's Nashville Elites. Snow was known as a solid hitter, and a good fielder and baserunner. Eventually, Snow became the Elite Giants' standout third baseman. He batted .301 in 1939 and played in two Negro league All-Star games. In the 1935 All-Star game, he batted .670. His 1936 West All-Star team included such stars as

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

, Josh Gibson and

Cool Papa Bell James Thomas "Cool Papa" Bell (May 17, 1903 – March 7, 1991) was an American center fielder in Negro league baseball from 1922 to 1946. He is considered to have been one of the fastest men ever to play the game. Stories demonstrating Bell's sp ...

. In 1939, he began doing double duty as player-manager of the Baltimore Elite Giants. In his first year, the Giants finished in fourth place (winning 20 games in 44 games), but the Negro National League decided to matchup them up in a four-team tournament with the

Homestead Grays The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 by Cumberland Posey, and remained in continuo ...

(36 wins in 56 games), the

Newark Eagles The Newark Eagles were a professional Negro league baseball team which played in the Negro National League from 1936 to 1948. They were owned by Abe and Effa Manley. History Formation The Newark Eagles were formed in 1936 when the Newark Do ...

(33 wins in 56 games), and the Philadelphia Stars (24 wins in 54 games). In the Playoffs, the Giants faced the Eagles in a best-of-five series and won three games to one to advance to the Championship Series against the Grays. They pulled off the upset in five games (one tie) to win their first and only pennant. In seven seasons as player-manager he batted .333, .227, .269, .200, .270, .245, and .306. Snow retired from baseball in 1950 with over 21 years of playing time. The Giants finished second place four more times in his tenure. In retirement, Snow returned to Louisville and worked for the local

armory Armory or armoury may mean: * An arsenal, a military or civilian location for the storage of arms and ammunition Places *National Guard Armory, in the United States and Canada, a training place for National Guard or other part-time or regular mili ...

. Following a work injury, he took a job at the Hubbard's Lane Barber Shop where he worked until his death in 1974 at the age of 68. From 1987 to 2007, there was a Felton Snow baseball team in the

St. Matthews, Kentucky St. Matthews is a city in Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States. It forms part of the Louisville Metro government but is separately incorporated as a home rule-class city. The population was 17,472 at the 2010 census, up from 15,852 at th ...

Little League Baseball program. He was buried in an unmarked grave, but in September 2022, he was given a graveside monument thanks to the Louisville Chapter of

SABR The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

and other donors. In conjunction with that ceremony the Louisville Bats retired his jersey number (2).

References

External links

an
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats
an
Seamheads
* an
Seamheads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snow, Felton 1905 births 1974 deaths African-American baseball players Snow,Felton Baseball players from Alabama Columbus Elite Giants players Louisville Black Caps players Louisville White Sox players Nashville Elite Giants players Negro league baseball managers New Orleans Crescent Stars players People from Oxford, Alabama Washington Elite Giants players 20th-century African-American sportspeople

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