John Gerald "Gable" Shackelford (July 17, 1905 – June 27, 1964), was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

, and executive 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 ...

in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. In addition to his baseball career, Shackelford was also an attorney, having received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...

. He lived much of his early life in

Prescott, Arkansas Prescott is a city in and the county seat of Nevada County, Arkansas, United States. The community had a population of 3,296 at the 2010 census. Prescott is part of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area. Located 100 miles southwest of Little ...

, and in

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County, Arkansas, Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs ...

Biography

Shackelford was born in 1905 in Tennessee, the son of John D. Shackelford and Lula May Oliver. He grew up in Prescott, Arkansas, where his father worked as a high school principal and a lawyer. His mother died when he was only four, but his father remarried the next year. Later, when Shackelford was a young adult, he and his family moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas. During the mid-1920s, Shackelford attended

Wiley College Wiley University (formerly Wiley College) is a private historically black college in Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is one of the ...

Marshall, Texas Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population of ...

, serving as president of the Alpha Sigma fraternity. As a student, he advocated for literacy among blacks and participated on the school's baseball and basketball teams. He was particularly good at baseball and was selected as the best third baseman in the Southern Athletic Association in 1923. In fact, Shackelford was talented enough play professionally during the summers between semesters with several Negro league baseball teams, including the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in 1924, the

Harrisburg Giants The Harrisburg Giants were a U.S. professional Negro league baseball team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. History Originally formed in April 1890 by Colonel William "C.W." Strothers as an amateur team, they became s ...

in 1925, and 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 ...

in 1926. Shackelford played with the

Birmingham Black Barons The Birmingham Black Barons were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1920 until 1960, including 18 seasons recognized as Major League by Major League Baseball. They shared their home field of Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, wi ...

in 1930. After graduating from Wiley, Shackelford moved to

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, and studied at the

to become an attorney like his father. He graduated in 1931 and set up a law practice in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. Meanwhile, he both managed and played for various semi-professional Negro teams in nearby

Lowell, Michigan Lowell is a city in Kent County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,783 at the 2010 census. Lowell is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is about east of the city of Grand Rapids. The city is mostly surrounded by ...

, including the Fineis Gas Colored Giants from 1931-1932, the Dixie Gas Stars from 1933-1934, and the Chicky Bar Giants in 1935. By 1940, Shackelford moved his law practice to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. While there, he became involved in Negro league baseball administration. He was nominated for president of the

Negro American League The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season. Negro American League franchises :''An ...

in 1944, but lost the election to J. B. Martin. The following spring, Shackelford became involved in the foundation of the upstart

United States League The United States League (USL), alternately called the United States Baseball League, was one of the several Negro baseball leagues created during the time organized baseball was segregated. The USL was organized as a minor league in 1945 by Br ...

and was elected president of the organization. The league operated from 1945-1946, but competition from already existing Negro leagues, as well as difficulties associated with wartime economics, ultimately caused it to fail. In addition to serving as president for both seasons the league operated, Shackelford managed the league's Cleveland Clippers in 1946. Shackelford continued to practice law in Cleveland for many years, eventually moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Death

At some point in his later life, he traveled to

Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, maki ...

. Ill with tuberculosis, Shackelford died there on June 27, 1964. He was buried in Panteon Colonias Cemetery in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico.http://arkbaseball.com/tiki-index.php?page=John+Shackelford&structure=Negro+League+Baseball Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia - No Known Copyright

References

External links

an
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1905 births 1964 deaths 20th-century African-American lawyers 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American sportsmen African-American baseball players Baseball executives Baseball players from Tennessee Baseball second basemen Baseball third basemen Birmingham Black Barons players Chicago American Giants players Cleveland Browns (baseball) players Harrisburg Giants players Negro league baseball executives Negro league baseball managers People from Prescott, Arkansas Sportspeople from Hot Springs, Arkansas Tuberculosis deaths in Mexico University of Michigan Law School alumni {{negro-league-baseball-infielder-stub