Frank Wickware (March 18, 1888 – November 2, 1967), nicknamed "Rawhide" and "the Red Ant", was an American

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

from 1909 to 1925. He was celebrated for his fastball, but had a checkered career. In 1914, Frank Wickware played for four teams: the

Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" F ...

, Mohawk Giants,

New York Lincoln Giants The New York Lincoln Giants were a Negro league baseball team based in New York City from 1911 through 1930. Founding The Lincoln Giants can trace their origins back to the Nebraska Indians, of Lincoln, Nebraska, from the 1890s. According t ...

, and

Brooklyn Royal Giants The Brooklyn Royal Giants were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Brooklyn, New York, Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. Formed in 1905 by John Wilson Connor (1875–1926), owner of the Brooklyn Royal Cafe, the team initiall ...

. His frequent moves between teams drew attention, with some fans and team managers criticizing his lack of commitment to a single club. This led to disputes, including a notable conflict when both the Lincoln Giants and American Giants claimed him during a championship series. Wickware explained that his decisions were influenced by the financial instability faced by Black players, as he sought better compensation for his talents. Despite the controversy, his pitching prowess kept him in high demand, cementing his status as one of the premier pitchers in early Black baseball. In a nationally syndicated article written in 1915, it was said that Wickware "is another negro pitcher who would rank with the

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "the Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and Manager (baseball), manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Ba ...

s, Joe Woods or

Grover Alexander Grover Cleveland Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950), nicknamed "Old Pete" and "Alexander the Great", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, an ...

s if he were a white man.""Color Line Loses 3 Great Pitchers to Major Leagues"
''Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph,'' Colorado Springs, CO, June 9, 1915, p. 7 In the previous year, another article announced Wickware was striking out an average of 11 players per game, and in two games in a row struck out 34 batters. Wickware's signature pitch seems to be a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

that appeared to be a

beanball "Beanball" is a colloquialism used in baseball, for a ball thrown at an opposing player with the intention of striking them such as to cause harm, often connoting a throw at the player's head (or "bean" in old-fashioned slang). A pitcher who thro ...

, but "his control is so perfect" that it was said he never "hit a batter in the head." But batters would jump away from the plate, only to have his

arch into place over the plate. His first wife Dottie"Notes of the Game" Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, Indiana, Saturday, July 18, 1914, Page 4, Column 6
/ref> traveled with the team. Wickware married Elizabeth McCann on May 18, 1915, in Chicago, and she followed him on a trip to California that year.Society of American Baseball Research Bio written by Stephen V. Rice
/ref> Wickware registered for the WWI Draft at the age of 29. He lists his birthplace as Girard, Kansas. He lists his current address as 3450 Wabash in Chicago, Illinois. Wickware lists his occupation as a baseball player, working for the American Giants of Chicago. He is listed as married and claims his wife and mother as dependents."WWI Draft Registration for Frank Ellis Wickware," Precinct 35, Ward 2, Chicago, Illinois, Date Unknown
/ref> At age 64, Wickware received votes listing him on the 1952 ''

Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States. It was acquired in 1965 by ...

'' player-voted poll of the Negro leagues' best players ever. In 2011, Wickware was inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame.

References

External links

an
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats
an
Seamheads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickware, Frank 1888 births 1967 deaths Brooklyn Royal Giants players Chicago American Giants players Chicago Giants players Detroit Stars players Indianapolis ABCs players Leland Giants players New York Lincoln Stars players Louisville White Sox (1914–1915) players New York Lincoln Giants players Philadelphia Giants players St. Louis Giants players Club Fé players San Francisco Park players Schenectady Mohawk Giants players United States Army personnel of World War I Baseball players from Kansas Sportspeople from Coffeyville, Kansas African Americans in World War I American expatriate baseball players in Cuba African-American United States Army personnel