The guardian., 1941-07-12

A catcher named Nose Walker is
generally considered the first colored
man to play organized baseball.
Walker was with Toledo Of the Ameri--
can Association around the 1S8O's and
his complete record, like so many
other colored players, is hidden from
sight. n
Veteran colored sportswriters all
possess a listing of major league play
ers whom they suspect of being col
ored Some of these names are mighty
big ones too, but the sepia sports
writer's have profted by the Leroy
Grant incident. You'll never see these
names in print, as regards race. How
MANY men have passed" will remain
mystery.
But it is not a mystery, but crime
that any race or creed is forced to
hide its identity because of prejudice.
1t is no longer joke.
Sports fans of America from Coast
to Coast are actually getting fed up
with the unwritten and unlawful bar
against loyal cOlored citizens who right
now stand ready to defend the nation.
The irony of the situation is not
pleasant.
RACE LEAGUE BALL
To those who apparently know so
little about colored baseball leagues |
recommend the brilliant history of
Rube Foster and Pop Goodwin, both
distinguished gentlemen from Texas.
These two colored pitchers combined
to win 90 ball games, losing only a,
and led the Waco Yellowjackets to
their league title in 1905. Can you find
any two hurlers today who can total
90 ball games? Foster and Goodwin
did.
AS if they were men of destiny, these
two Texans separated the following
year, Goodwin going to the West Coast
and Foster gradually moving East.
Both men originated ball clubs and
helped to build leagues. In 1908 we
find Goodwin's Los Angeles White Sox
reigning on the West Coast until 1916
when the team disbanled. For four
years straight these colored stars
failed to taste defeat, meeting all
comers. Among the players was the
dad of football hero Kenney Washing
ton of U.C.L.A.
In 1920 when the now famed Coast
Winter League was organized, Pop
Goodwin called his boys together again
and defeated a white major league out
fit for the first championship. Incl
IDENTIFY, colored teams have been doing
this trick ever since. Joe DiMaggio.
Larry French, Hollis Thurston, Buck
Newsom and host of other major
leaguers have seen action in the famed
Coast Winter League which is one of
the best testing grounds for any ball
player regardless of race. 1t was in
this Coast League that most present
day major league stars first got their
glimpse of that tremendous 6:5 tower
ing right handler Satchel Paige. They
saw Paige but they've yet to see his
fast ball. Legends have been told
about Paige and many amazing facts,
but someday you want to call Joe
DiMaggio of the Yanks aside and ask
him what he thinks of Mr.. Paige and
whether Leroy rated major league
try-out. Yep, just ask Joe.
Well, to get back to Pop Goodwin
on the Coast, in 1925 Pop changed the
name of his bashing ball club from
title of Los Angeles White Sox to the
Philadelphia Royal Giants. Just why
the change of title is not yet clear
although it might have been because
most of the West Coast dreaded to
play the White Sox. Among baseball
men it is sometimes considered good
strategy to change club name (also
names of players) and many are the
stories concerning both white and
colored which can be told regarding
this practice. The name "ringer" per-
haps is as much baseball as it is part
of horse-shoes. Maybe it is more so.
But Pop Goodwin didn't need any
ringers. His Royal Giants won the
1925 and 1926 championships of
Southern California. They cleaned up
the West Coast, and, with no more
fields to conquer, made tour of the
Orient in 1927, taking in Japan where
they were officially escorted to the Pal
ace of the Emperor. The Japanese
people love baseball and they were
amazed and fascinated with the skill
and power of these colOred boys and
the first cOlOred ball team to tour the
Orient where these Americans won As
out of 46 games and all of the 12
games played in Hawaii. This in it.
self should be a revelation to many
major league moguls who imagine their
recent international tours are some
thing new.
Colored professional ball teams have
travelled just as far and even further
than the major leaguers. They've
played better baseball.
Andrew "Rube" Foster, the Texan
who moved East, helped to organize
the National Association of Colored
Professional Clubs in 1920, although
there were scattered minor leagues
throughout the country. Fosters
dream was colored major league and
he went far in this direction. The
National League had powerful mines
in the Chicago American Giants, the
Kansas City Monarchs, the Indianapo-
lis A.B.C., st. Louis and Chicago
Giants, Hilldale, Columbus, the Cuban
Stars and the N. Y. Bacharach Giants.
1t has been said that the name
Giants" was a colored tribute to John
McGraw, for giving a colored boy a
chance. You see the name often in
Colored baseball.