Andrew "Rube" Foster was an American baseball player,manager,and executive in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
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".
James Thomas "Cool Papa" Bell was an American center fielder in Negro league baseball from 1922 to 1946. He is considered to have been one of the fastest men ever to play the game. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. He ranked 66th on a list of the greatest baseball players published by The Sporting News in 1999.
Joshua Gibson was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. Baseball historians consider Gibson among the best power hitters and catchers in baseball history. In 1972,he became the second Negro league player to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
William Hendrick Foster was an American left-handed pitcher in baseball's Negro leagues in the 1920s and 1930s,and had a career record of 143–69. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. Foster was the much-younger half-brother of Rube Foster,a Negro league player,pioneer,and fellow Hall of Famer.
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.
Wilmer Leon Fields was an American baseball player who was a household name in the Negro leagues and other baseball circuits between the 1940s and 1950s.
Ernest Judson Wilson,nicknamed "Boojum",was an American third baseman,first baseman,and manager in Negro league baseball. He played for the Baltimore Black Sox,the Homestead Grays,and the Philadelphia Stars between 1922 and 1945. Wilson was known for possessing a unique physique,a quick temper,and outstanding hitting skills. One of the Negro leagues' most powerful hitters,his career batting average of .351 ranks him among the top five players.
The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur,and players are not paid,so as to maintain their college eligibility. Graduated senior pitchers are also eligible to play in the Northwoods League. Each team may have four of these players at a time.
The La Crosse Loggers are a La Crosse,Wisconsin based baseball team playing in the Northwoods League,a collegiate summer baseball league. Since the team's inaugural season in 2003,they have played at Copeland Park. The ballpark is nicknamed "the Lumberyard."
Cumberland Willis "Cum" Posey Jr. was an American baseball player,manager,and team owner in the Negro leagues,as well as a professional basketball player and team owner.
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.
The Harrisburg Giants were a U.S. professional Negro league baseball team based in Harrisburg,Pennsylvania. Originally formed in April 1890 by Colonel William "C.W." Strothers as an amateur team,they became semi-professional by 1894. They joined the Eastern Colored League (ECL) for the 1924 season with Hall of Fame center fielder Oscar Charleston as playing manager. The Giants became known primarily for their hitting;along with Charleston,outfielder/first baseman Heavy Johnson,winner of the batting triple crown for the 1923 Kansas City Monarchs,was signed away from the rival Negro National League. Speedy outfielder Fats Jenkins,a well-known professional basketball player and member of the New York Rens,also played for Harrisburg throughout its tenure in the ECL.
William Miller "Big Bill" Gatewood was an American Negro league baseball pitcher and manager for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League,and in its first few seasons. He pitched for the Leland Giants,Chicago Giants,St. Paul Colored Gophers,Chicago American Giants,New York Lincoln Giants,Cuban X-Giants,Philadelphia Giants,Brooklyn Royal Giants,St. Louis Giants,Indianapolis ABCs,Detroit Stars,St. Louis Stars,Toledo Tigers,Milwaukee Bears,Memphis Red Sox,Atlantic City Bacharach Giants,and Birmingham Black Barons.
George "Chappie" Johnson Jr. was an American baseball catcher and field manager in the Negro leagues. He played for many successful teams from 1895 to 1920 and he crossed racial boundaries as a teacher and coach.
The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse Eagles are the athletic teams of the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. The Eagles athletic teams compete in at the NCAA Division III as a member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). Wisconsin–La Crosse's teams were known as the Indians from 1937 to 1989. The name was changed because of concerns of racial insensitivity regarding Native Americans;see Native American mascot controversy.
Richard Felix Wallace was an American baseball shortstop and manager in the Negro leagues. He played from 1903 to 1924 with several teams,including the Lincoln Giants and the St. Louis Giants. He was Captain of the St. Louis Giants in 1912. He managed from 1909 to 1921.
Archie Pate was an American baseball outfielder and pitcher in the Negro leagues.
The Memphis Red Sox were an American Negro league baseball team that was active from 1920 to 1959. Originally named the Barber College Baseball Club,the team was initially owned and operated by Arthur P. Martin,a local Memphis barber. In the late 1920s the Martin brothers,all three Memphis doctors and businessmen,purchased the Red Sox. J. B. Martin,W. S. Martin,and B. B. Martin,would retain control of the club till its dissolution in 1959. The Red Sox played as members,at various times,of the Negro Southern League,Negro National League,and Negro American League. The team was never a titan of the Negro leagues like wealthier teams in northern cities of the United States,but sound management lead to a continuous thirty-nine years of operation,a span that was exceeded by very few other teams. Following integration the team had five players that would eventually make the rosters of Major League Baseball teams and two players that were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Leamon Walter Johnson was an American baseball shortstop in the Negro leagues. He played from 1941 to 1950 with the Newark Eagles,New York Black Yankees,Birmingham Black Barons,St. Louis Stars,Harlem Globetrotters,Memphis Red Sox,Los Angeles White Sox,Detroit Senators and Cincinnati Crescents.