Daniel Robert Bankhead (May 3, 1920 – May 2, 1976) was the first African American

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

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 ...

. He played in the

Negro leagues 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 ...

for the Birmingham Black Barons and the Memphis Red Sox from 1940 to 1947, then played for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

from 1947 to 1951.

Early life and Marines

A native of

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, he attended public schools there. His brothers Sam,

Fred Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Fred ...

, Joe, and Garnett also all played baseball in the Negro leagues. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedit ...

from April 1942 to June 1946 and achieved the rank of sergeant. While in the Marines, he played for the Montford Point baseball team and toured the states to raise morale.

Baseball career

Bankhead had a strong career in

Negro league baseball 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 ...

, playing for the Birmingham Black Barons, Cincinnati Clowns, and Memphis Red Sox. Sportswriter Frank 'Fay' Young of the ''Chicago Defender'' said he was "among the top three hurlers in the Negro American League," and noted that he was one of ten players being seriously considered by Major League scouts. Bankhead was signed not long after the Negro Leagues' All-Star game, by Branch Rickey to play in the

' farm system. Bankhead, who was 24 years old at the time, was also an excellent hitter who was leading the

with a .385 batting average when purchased by the Dodgers, hit a home run in his first major league at-bat on August 26, 1947, in

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush, Brooklyn, Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York City, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Dodgers baseball tea ...

off Fritz Ostermueller of the

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

; he also gave up ten hits in innings pitching in relief that day. He finished the season having pitched in four games for the Dodgers with an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) of 7.20. Bankhead was shipped to the minor leagues for the 1948 and 1949 seasons. Pitching for clubs in

Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua () is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. It is on ...

, and

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

, in 1948, he recorded 24 wins and six losses. He returned to the Dodgers for the 1950 season, appearing in 41 games, with twelve starts, and finished with nine wins, four losses, and a 5.50 ERA. In 1951, his final year in the majors, he appeared in seven games, losing his only decision, with an ERA of 15.43. After he played his final major league game, Bankhead spent time in the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

, playing with various teams through 1966.

Death

Bankhead died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

at a

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

hospital in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, on May 2, 1976, the day before his 56th birthday. He was interred at Houston National Cemetery on May 10, 1976.

References

External links

an
Seamheads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bankhead, Dan 1920 births 1976 deaths African Americans in World War II African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American military sports players Baseball players from Walker County, Alabama Birmingham Black Barons players Broncos de León players Broncos de Reynosa players Brooklyn Dodgers players Burials at Houston National Cemetery Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Deaths from cancer in Texas Drummondville Royals players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente pitchers Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Red Sox players Mexican League baseball pitchers Military personnel from Alabama Montreal Royals players Nashua Dodgers players People from Empire, Alabama Pericos de Puebla players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Sultanes de Monterrey players United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps reservists

Early life and Marines

Baseball career

Death

See also

References

External links