| Pete Willett | |
|---|---|
| Infielder | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Negro league baseball debut | |
| 1923, for the Buffalo Colored Giants | |
| Last appearance | |
| 1928, for the Cleveland Tigers | |
| Teams | |
|
James R. "Pete" Willett [1] was an American athlete who played baseball as an infielder in the Negro leagues and basketball. He played baseball with several teams from 1923 to 1928. [2]
Willett attended Central High School in Cleveland,Ohio,and also played football,basketball and ran track for Wilberforce University in 1922 to 1924. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
In 1923,Willett played baseball with the Buffalo Colored Giants, [8] and also played with the Lincoln Giants of the Eastern Colored League. [9] He spent time with the independent Dayton Marcos in 1924,before playing with the Cleveland Browns. [2] In June 1925,he was acquired by the Homestead Grays to fill in for injured players. [10] In September 1925,he played with the Pullman Colored Giants of Buffalo. [11] In 1926,he saw time with the Brown's Stars of Youngstown,Ohio, [12] and the Cleveland Elites. [13] Willett later played in 25 recorded games with the Cleveland Tigers of the Negro National League in 1928. [14] He also appeared with the Cleveland Oaks and Cleveland Pyramids in 1928. [15] [16]
Outside of baseball,he captained and coached the Benjee Drugs basketball team in 1925 and 1926. [1] [7] Willett also played with the Cleveland Elks in 1926 and 1927, [17] [18] and the Loendi Big Five in 1927 and 1928. [19]
On February 10,1927,Willett dislocated his knee and two other Elks players were seriously injured after their car went into a ditch and overturned multiple times near London,Ohio. [20]
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