Willis Jefferson Flournoy (August 9, 1895 – November 22, 1964) 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 ...

. He played from 1919 to 1932. He was nicknamed Jesse, Lefty, and Pud. He won the

Eastern Colored League The Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Clubs, more commonly known as the Eastern Colored League (ECL), was one of the several Negro leagues, which operated during the time organized baseball was segregated. League history Founding The ECL ...

earned run average (ERA) title in 1926 for the

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 ...

. On August 19, 1925, Flournoy struck William Williams, 18, while driving at a

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

intersection. He then drove Williams, who was found to have a fractured skull and possible internal injuries, to the hospital for treatment. Flournoy reported the incident to police, who did not press charges.

References

External links

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1895 births Year of death unknown Almendares (baseball) players American expatriate baseball players in Cuba Bacharach Giants players Baltimore Black Sox players Hilldale Club players Brooklyn Royal Giants players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Baseball pitchers Atlanta Black Crackers players People from Jasper County, Georgia Burials at Beverly National Cemetery 20th-century American sportsmen {{Negro-league-baseball-pitcher-1890s-stub