Leroy Holmes (December 12, 1912 – October 7, 1985), nicknamed "Philly" and "Buddy", was an American

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 ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

between 1937 and 1945. A native of

Brunswick, Georgia Brunswick ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County, Georgia, Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-larges ...

, Holmes was the brother of fellow Negro leaguer Lefty Holmes and attended Bethune-Cookman College. He made his Negro leagues debut in 1937 for the

Jacksonville Red Caps The Jacksonville Red Caps were a Negro league baseball team based primarily in Jacksonville, Florida. They played the Negro American League from 1938 until 1942. History The team was based in Jacksonville, Florida playing at Durkee Field in ...

, and played for Jacksonville again the following season. Holmes split 1939 with the Cleveland Bears and

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 ...

, then played for the

New York Black Yankees The New York Black Yankees were a professional Negro league baseball team based in New York City; Paterson, New Jersey; and Rochester, New York. Beginning as the independent Harlem Stars, the team was renamed the New York Black Yankees in 1932 an ...

and

Cincinnati 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 ...

in 1945. He died in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

in 1985 at age 72.

References

External links

an
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats
an
Seamheads
1912 births 1985 deaths Jacksonville Red Caps players New York Black Yankees players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Baseball infielders Sportspeople from Brunswick, Georgia Cleveland Bears players Indianapolis ABCs players Cincinnati Clowns players {{Negro-league-baseball-infielder-stub