Robert Shedrick Mitchell (March 31, 1900 – May, 1971), nicknamed "Pud", 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 ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

in the 1920s. A native of

Sparta, Illinois Sparta is a city in Randolph County, Illinois, Randolph County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,095 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city was the principal filming location for the 1967 film ''In the Heat of the ...

, Mitchell was the twin brother of fellow Negro leaguer George Mitchell. He made his Negro leagues debut in 1923 for 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 ...

. The following season, he was a

batterymate In baseball, the battery is the pitcher and the catcher, who may also be called batterymen, or batterymates in relation to one another. History Origins of the term The use of the word 'battery' in baseball was first coined by Henry Chadwick ...

of pitching brother George with the St. Louis Stars. Mitchell died in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

in 1971 at age 71.

References

External links

an
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats
an
Seamheads
1900 births 1971 deaths Birmingham Black Barons players St. Louis Stars (baseball) players Baseball catchers Baseball players from St. Louis People from Sparta, Illinois American twins Baseball players from Randolph County, Illinois {{Negro-league-baseball-catcher-stub