Belated Happy Birthday Willard Brown!

Willard Brown, born 6/26/15, is said to have fit the bill of what is called a “five tool” baseball player.  A superb fielding outfielder; Brown ran the bases with blazing speed, had a strong throwing arm, and could hit for a high average with home run power.  Many ascribed to him by the nickname “Home Run” Brown.  He played for the Kansas City Monarchs mostly throughout his Negro League career (1935 – 1950).  He served in the military (1944 – 1945) during World War II and briefly played Major League baseball in 1947 with the St. Louis Browns.  On August 13, 1947 Brown became the first African-American to hit a home run in the American League.

Willard Brown

In 2006, Willard Brown and fifteen other individuals from the Negro League baseball era were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  I profile the 2006 inductees in my book “Last Train to Cooperstown:  The 2006 Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees from the Negro League Baseball Era”.  The following is my book exert from my profile of Willard Brown:

“Brown had a tendency to appear bored during games. When

that happened it is said he would take a magazine with him to the

outfield to read between pitches. And sometimes he would walk

instead of running to his outfield position, holding up the start of an

inning. This gave an impression of Brown by some as having a

“prima donna” attitude.

 

But former teammate and manager Buck O’Neil said, “Willard

was so talented, he did not look as if he was hustling. Everything

looked so easy for him.” Brown’s extreme talent made it appear he

did things effortlessly. While most players ran around the bases, he

seemed to glide. The exhaustion of the game would be evident on

most players, but it appeared Brown hardly broke a sweat. O’Neil

felt that no matter what “Home Run” Brown did, people thought he

could do a little more because of his enormous talent.

But Negro League fans appreciated the play of Willard Brown.

They selected him to participate in six Negro League East‐West All

Star Games.  In ten All Star plate appearances Brown had five hits.

As an indication of Negro League baseball’s relative prosperity

after surviving the economic depression of the late 1920s and

1930s, the Negro League World Series was played in 1942. There

had not been one since 1927. The 1942 fall classic saw the two

most recognized Negro League franchises tangle, the Kansas City

Monarchs against the Homestead Grays. Willard Brown was one of

the series’ hitting stars as the Monarchs swept the Grays four

games to none. He batted .412 (7 hits in 17 at bats) with one double,

one triple, and of course one home run.”

Willard Brown

To read more about Willard Brown and the Negro League Baseball era Last Train to Cooperstown

A Snapshot of Negro League Baseball's Cum Posey

Cumberland “Cum” Willis Posey, born June 20, 1891 began his baseball career playing with a black team in his hometown of Homestead, Pennsylvania; the Homestead Grays in 1911.  After becoming the team’s owner in 1920, Posey had turned the Homestead Grays into one of the most renowned and successful Negro League Baseball franchises by the time he died in 1946.  From 1937 – 1945, the Grays finished first in the Negro National League eight times and played in four Negro League World Series, winning two:  1943 and 1944. 

In 2006, Cum Posey and fifteen other individuals from the Negro League baseball era were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  I profile the 2006 inductees in my book “Last Train to Cooperstown:  The 2006 Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees from the Negro League Baseball Era”.  The following is an   exert from my book with a preview of the chapter about Posey:

“As the country’s economic condition worsened, Posey struggled

to pay the salaries of his ballplayers in 1932. He also faced a major

challenge from the new black team in Pittsburgh started by Gus

Greenlee a night club/restaurant owner and numbers operator, the

Pittsburgh Crawfords. He used a tactic Posey himself employed to

steal players from other teams. Greenlee offered the Grays’ best

players more money than Posey could pay them. Josh Gibson, Oscar

Charleston, and three other players took Greenlee’s offer and

signed with the Crawfords. Other players for the Grays also left for

other teams.

 

Determined to not let his team die, Cum Posey formed a

business partnership in 1934 with Rufus “Sonnyman” Jackson,

Homestead’s main black numbers operator. Posey operated the

club while Jackson provided the financial backing. Many black

sportswriters thought partnering with whom some called “black

mobsters” hurt Negro League baseball’s image with the fans. But

Posey and the other black owners said financial backing from

those men did not influence the teams’ performance on the field.

The numbers bosses were just fans who loved the game. The truth

was that if it were not for their investment Negro professional

baseball may not have survived.

 

Jackson’s financial backing allowed Posey to step away from

being the field manager and devote all his time to rebuilding the

team. He brought on Buck Leonard in 1934 as the first step of

putting together what would be the most dominant Negro League

team in the late 1930s and 1940s. The next year the Grays joined

the Negro National League (NNL). Despite Posey’s rebuilding

efforts, the team could not finish ahead of the Pittsburgh Crawfords.

In 1937 Posey got Josh Gibson back in a trade with his crosstown

rival. Part of the trade, as rumored, included “Sonnyman” Jackson

paying off a gambling debt of the Crawfords’ owner. By getting back

Gibson, Posey had the final piece to add to Leonard and the other players he assembled to begin the Grays’ winning tradition.”

To read more about Cum Posey and the Negro League baseball era Last Train to Cooperstown

A Snapshot of Negro League Baseball's Sol White

King Solomon “Sol” White wrote about the plight of the late 19^th Century and early 20^th Century African-American professional baseball player, of which he himself experienced.  Born June 12, 1868 in Bellaire, Ohio, White played with teams in the minor league system of white professional baseball in the 1880s.  In the 1890s when the color line became solidified banning African-American and dark-skinned Hispanics, he then played with a number of the best Negro baseball teams and later the co-owner/manager of the Philadelphia Giants, one of the best black teams of the early 1900s.  His book written in 1907, “History of Colored Baseball”, gives a picture of obstacles he and other African-American professional baseball players faced as the game began its journey to become “the National Pastime”. 

 

In 2006, Sol White and fifteen other individuals from the Negro League baseball era were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  I profile the 2006 inductees in my book “Last Train to Cooperstown:  The 2006 Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees from the Negro League Baseball Era”.  The following is a book exert from my profile of Sol White:   

"With the door to Major League professional baseball closed for

African American players, Sol White continued his career in the

1890s with teams that were a part of Negro League baseball’s

early beginnings. They were African American teams that played

small town white semi‐pro teams, other black teams, and anyone

that wanted to play them. No official Negro League existed at that

time. He played for the Cuban Giants in 1893 –1894, the Page

Fence Giants in 1895, the Cuban X Giants in 1896 –1899, and the

Chicago Columbia Giants in 1900. All of which were top African

American professional teams of that period.

In 1902 White joined forces with white sportswriter H. Walter

Schlichter to start a new black team, the Philadelphia Giants. As co-

owner,team manager, and one of the team’ top players, White

built what some called one of the best black teams of the new

century’ first ten years. Some of the best black players of that time

such as Frank Grant, Pete Hill, Charlie Grant, Grant “Home Run”

Johnson, and Rube Foster played for the Giants at some point when

White headed the team. Unofficial records show the team won 134

games in 1905. They were challenged by the Cuban X Giants at the

end of the season to a best of two out of three series. White’s Giants

won the series and proclaimed themselves Negro baseball

champions."

Philadelphia Giants (Sol White five from left)

For more information on the Negro League baseball era Last Train to Cooperstown