James Henry Winters, Jr. (April 29, 1899 – December 12, 1971), nicknamed "Nip" and "Jesse", was an 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, ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

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 many top eastern teams from 1920 to 1933, and considered one of the top left-handed pitchers of his day. Winters also played in the Cuban Winter League in 1923 for Almendares. At age 53, Winters 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."1952 Pittsburgh Courier Poll of Greatest Black Players"
/ref>

Career

Negro Leagues

Nip Winters debuted with the independent Norfolk Stars, playing with them from 1919 and 1920. He was acquired by the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants in early 1921, and threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

for them against the

Indianapolis ABCs The Indianapolis ABCs were a Negro league baseball team that played both as an independent club and as a charter member of the first Negro National League (NNL). They claimed the western championship of black baseball in 1915 and 1916, and fin ...

on July 26, 1922. He played for the

Hilldale Club The Hilldale Athletic Club (informally known as Darby Daisies) were an American professional Negro league baseball team based in Darby, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia. Established as a boys team in 1910, the Hilldales were developed by their ...

from 1922-1928 and in 1931, the

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 ...

from 1928-1929, and returned to the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants from 1931-1933, before making his final appearance with the Philadelphia Stars in 1933. He was highly respected amongst his peers, and was chosen by a number of former Negro Leagues players and managers to their "All-Time Teams", including

Chappie Johnson George "Chappie" Johnson Jr. (May 8, 1877 – August 17, 1949) was an American baseball catcher and field manager in the Negro leagues. He played for many successful teams from 1895 to 1920 and he crossed racial boundaries as a teacher and c ...

and Doc Lambert. In his time in the Negro Leagues, his career record was 89-42 with an

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

of 3.55 and 1114.2 innings pitched. He also recorded 546 strikeouts and 368 walks. As a hitter, he compiled a .288 batting average with 183 hits, 13 home runs, 42 doubles, 13 triples, 105 RBI, 82 runs scored. He drew 49 walks and stole 7 bases.

Exhibitions

Winters would often participate in exhibition games against MLB stars after the season concluded, squaring off against the likes of

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig ( ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941), also known as Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig, was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was ...

, and

Lefty Grove Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's ...

. In these exhibitions, he would split 2 decisions with Grove, with each pitcher winning 1 and losing 1. He also both struck out and allowed a home run to Ruth, and allowed a triple to Gehrig.

Cuban League

Winters pitched in the winter Cuban League from 1923-1926, compiling a 4-12 record in three seasons.

References

External links

an
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats
an
SeamheadsNip Winters
at

SABR Sabr () (literally 'endurance' or more accurately 'perseverance' and 'persistence'"Ṣabr", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'') is one of the two parts of Iman (concept), faith (the other being ''shukr'') in Islam. It teaches to remain Spirituality, sp ...

Bio Project * 1899 births 1971 deaths 19th-century baseball players Almendares (baseball) players Bacharach Giants players Baltimore Black Sox players Baseball first basemen Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Washington, D.C. Harrisburg Giants players Hilldale Club players Homestead Grays players New York Lincoln Giants players Washington Pilots players {{Negro-league-baseball-infielder-stub