Charles Byron Harmon (April 23, 1924 – March 19, 2019) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB), who played for the

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

(1954–1956),

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(1956–1957), and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

(1957). He batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

Early life

The tenth of twelve children, Chuck Harmon was schooled as an athlete at Dunbar Elementary by legendary Franklin Wonder Five basketball player Burl Friddle, Harmon played for the Washington High School Hatchets, who won two consecutive Indiana state basketball championships in 1941 and 1942. His brother Bill also played for the 1941 team. Harmon served in the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

during World War II spending all 3 years stateside at the

Great Lakes Naval Training Station Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only current boot camp, located near North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois, along Lake Michigan. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training ...

, playing baseball.

College career

Harmon and longtime teammate and friend Art Grove then reunited with Friddle to play for the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a Public university, public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, ...

, where they helped an all-freshman squad (that included

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

's Davage Minor) advance to the championship game of the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

(NIT), losing to St. John's. Grove and Minor went on to play professional basketball. After a three-year stint in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

, Harmon returned to the University of Toledo, where he served as the Rockets' co-captain in both the 1947–48 and 1948–49 seasons. Harmon was also a baseball star for the Rockets. During the summer of 1947, Harmon briefly played professional baseball with the

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

Indianapolis Clowns The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball team in the Negro American League. Tracing their origins back to the 1930s, the Clowns were the last of the Negro league teams to disband, continuing to play exhibition games into the 1980s. Th ...

, using the alias "Charlie Fine" to preserve his collegiate eligibility.

Professional basketball

For its 1950–51 season, the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) was integrated. Harmon tried out for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

but was cut along with Isaac "Rabbit" Walthour, another black star, although Chuck Cooper did make the Celtics squad. Harmon finished that season as player-coach of Utica in the American Basketball League, becoming one of, if not the first, African-American to coach an integrated professional basketball team.

Professional baseball

On April 17, 1954, he became the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

to play for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

' franchise, known during the mid-1950s as the ''Redlegs''. Pinch-hitting for pitcher

Corky Valentine Harold Lewis "Corky" Valentine (January 4, 1929 – January 21, 2005) was an American professional baseball pitcher who worked in 46 career games in Major League Baseball as a member of the 1954 and 1955 Cincinnati Redlegs. Born in Troy, Ohio, Va ...

against

Lew Burdette Selva Lewis Burdette, Jr. (November 22, 1926 – February 6, 2007) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Boston / Milwaukee Braves. The team's top right-hander during its years in Mil ...

, Harmon flied out in the seventh inning of a 5–1 loss to the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

County Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also used for Green Bay Packers fo ...

. In that game he came to bat after another

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

Nino Escalera Saturnino Escalera Cuadrado (December 1, 1929 – July 3, 2021) was a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and scout whose playing career extended for 14 seasons (1949–1962). The outfielder and first baseman appeared for one full ...

, an Afro-Latin American from

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

who pinch hit immediately before Harmon to become the first black player to appear for the Cincinnati franchise. Harmon got his first hit on April 25, 1954. Starting and leading off for the Reds at home in

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) a ...

in a 3–2 win over the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, Harmon singled in the first inning off Howie Pollet. He later doubled and scored on an error, and drew one walk. His final game was the site of his first,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

's County Stadium on September 15, 1957 where, appearing as a pinch runner for the

, he scored his final run on a double play. Harmon hit over .300 during five consecutive

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

seasons but never approached such numbers in the majors. He also played for the Cardinals and Phillies. In between, Harmon played winter ball in

with the Leones de Ponce and Criollos de Caguas clubs in the 1953–54 and 1955–56 seasons, respectively, while appearing with the Puerto Rican champion Caguas in the 1956 Caribbean Series. In a four-season major league career, Harmon was a .238 hitter with seven

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 59 RBI in 289

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

. After his Major League career ended, he played four seasons in the minors, from 1958 to 1961 in

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...

leagues for five teams. Following his playing career, Harmon worked as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

in baseball, and the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

in basketball. Later he worked as an administrative assistant for the Hamilton County Court System in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. He remained active in ''SWAP'' (Seniors With A Purpose) and other youth-related services.

Personal life

In 1977, Harmon was inducted as part of the inaugural class of the University of Toledo Athletic Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in . In 1997,

Golf Manor, Ohio Golf Manor is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. It is almost completely surrounded by the Pleasant Ridge and Roselawn neighborhoods of Cincinnati. The population was 3,814 at the 2020 census. History Golf Manor was laid out ...

(a suburb of Cincinnati) renamed one of its streets "Chuck Harmon Way" after its longtime resident. In addition, in cooperation with the Cincinnati Reds, a renovated ball field was named in his honor in the multi-use municipal Volunteer Park. On April 20, 2004 (the 50th anniversary of Harmon's debut as the Cincinnati Reds' first African-American player), the Reds honored him during Chuck Harmon Recognition Night at

Great American Ball Park Great American Ball Park is a baseball stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds, and opened on March 31, 2003, replacing Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium), the Reds' fo ...

. The pregame ceremonies included the unveiling of a special historic plaque, which now hangs near the entrance of the ballpark. Harmon was married for 62 years to his wife, Daurel "Pearl" Harmon, who died in November 2009, two days before her 83rd birthday. They had three children. Harmon died March 19, 2019.

References

External links

Cincinnati Historical Society Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Chuck 1924 births 2019 deaths African-American baseball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Braves scouts Baseball players from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana Burlington Flints players Charleston Senators players Cincinnati Redlegs players Cleveland Indians scouts Criollos de Caguas players Gloversville-Johnstown Glovers players Hawaii Islanders players Indianapolis Clowns players Leones de Ponce baseball players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente infielders Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente outfielders Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Miami Marlins (International League) players Olean Oilers players Omaha Cardinals players People from Washington, Indiana Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Salt Lake City Bees players Toledo Rockets baseball players Toledo Rockets men's basketball players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Utica Pros players United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen