Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15,1947. The Dodgers signing Robinson heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball,which had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s.
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 relatively successful leagues beginning in 1920 that are sometimes termed "Negro Major Leagues".
Roy Campanella,nicknamed "Campy",was an American professional baseball player,primarily as a catcher. The Philadelphia native played in the Negro leagues and Mexican League for nine years before entering the minor leagues in 1946. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 1948 for the Brooklyn Dodgers,for whom he played until 1957. His playing career ended when he was paralyzed in an automobile crash in January of 1958. He is considered one of the greatest catchers in the history of the game.
Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin was an American left fielder and right fielder in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who played with the Newark Eagles,New York Giants (1949–1955) and Chicago Cubs (1956). He grew up in New Jersey and was a standout football player at Lincoln University. Irvin left Lincoln to spend several seasons in Negro league baseball. His career was interrupted by military service from 1943 to 1945.
Henry Curtis Thompson was an American player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball who played primarily as a third baseman. A left-handed batter,he played with the Dallas Green Monarchs (1941),Kansas City Monarchs,St. Louis Browns (1947) and New York Giants (1949–56).
John Henry Lloyd,nicknamed "Pop" and "El Cuchara",was an American baseball shortstop and manager in the Negro leagues. During his 27-year career,he played for many teams and had a .343 batting average. Lloyd is considered to be the greatest shortstop in Negro league history,and he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
William Julius "Judy" Johnson was an American professional third baseman and manager whose career in Negro league baseball spanned 17 seasons,from 1921 to 1937. Slight of build,Johnson never developed as a power threat but achieved his greatest success as a contact hitter and an intuitive defenseman. Johnson is regarded as one of the greatest third basemen of the Negro leagues. In 1975,he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame after being nominated by the Negro Leagues Committee.
Willie James Wells,nicknamed "the Devil",was an American baseball player. He was a shortstop who played from 1924 to 1948 for various teams in the Negro leagues and in Latin America.
Charles Wilber Rogan,also known as "Bullet Joe",was an American pitcher,outfielder,and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro baseball leagues from 1920 to 1938. Renowned as a two-way player who could both hit and pitch successfully,one statistical compilation shows Rogan winning more games than any other pitcher in Negro leagues history and ranking fourth highest in career batting average. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.
The color line,also known as the color barrier,in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Major League Baseball and its affiliated Minor Leagues until 1947. Racial segregation in professional baseball was sometimes called a gentlemen's agreement,meaning a tacit understanding,as there was no written policy at the highest level of organized baseball,the major leagues. A high minor league's vote in 1887 against allowing new contracts with black players within its league sent a powerful signal that eventually led to the disappearance of blacks from the sport's other minor leagues later that century,including the low minors. After the line was in virtually full effect in the early 20th century,many black baseball clubs were established,especially during the 1920s to 1940s when there were several Negro leagues. During this period,American Indians and native Hawaiians,including Prince Oana,were able to play in the Major Leagues. The color line was broken for good when Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for the 1946 season. In 1947,both Robinson in the National League and Larry Doby with the American League's Cleveland Indians appeared in games for their teams.
Theodore Roosevelt "Double Duty" Radcliffe was a professional baseball player in the Negro leagues. An accomplished two-way player,he played as a pitcher and a catcher,became a manager,and in his old age became a popular ambassador for the game. He is one of only a handful of professional baseball players who lived past their 100th birthdays,next to Red Hoff and fellow Negro leaguer Silas Simmons.
Elwood"Bingo" DeMoss was a baseball player and manager in the Negro leagues from 1905 to 1943.
Ulysses Franklin Grant was an American baseball player in the 19th century. Early in his career,he was a star player in the International League,shortly before race-based restrictions were imposed that banned African-American players from organized baseball. Grant then became a pioneer in the early Negro leagues,starring for several of the top African-American teams of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is widely considered to have been the greatest African-American player of the 19th century. In 2006,Grant was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Andrew Lewis Cooper,nicknamed "Lefty",was an American left-handed pitcher in baseball's Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. An alumnus of Paul Quinn College,Cooper played nine seasons for the Detroit Stars and ten seasons for the Kansas City Monarchs,and briefly played for the Chicago American Giants. The Texan was 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm) tall and weighed 220 pounds.
Joseph Black was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro league and Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers,Cincinnati Redlegs,and Washington Senators who became the first black pitcher to win a World Series game,in 1952.
Arthur Lee Wilson was an American professional baseball player. He was an all-star for the Birmingham Black Barons of Negro league baseball before playing part of one season in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants in 1951. He was born in Springville,Alabama. Wilson is recognized as the last player in the Negro leagues to hit .400,having batted .435 in 1948,albeit in only 28 games played that season.
William Hipple Galloway,nicknamed "Hippo",was an American-Canadian professional baseball player. Born in Buffalo,New York,Galloway grew up in Dunnville,Ontario,and is considered "the first black Canadian to play organized baseball."
