A Snapshot of Baseball Pioneer Frank Grant

African American players were not welcome in professional baseball prior to the beginning of the 20^th Century due to racial prejudice and discrimination.  However, the “invisible color line” that would keep them out of Major League baseball for nearly half the upcoming 20^th Century was not completely drawn prior to 1890.   Despite the adverse racial attitudes against them, there were eight known African-American players on white teams at the highest levels of organized professional baseball during the 1880’s; John W. “Bud” Fowler, Moses Fleetwood Walker, Weldy Walker, Robert Higgins, Richard Johnson, George Stovey, Sol White, and  Ulysses F. (Frank) Grant.

Frank Grant

Born on August 1, 1865 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Frank Grant was not only the best of those eight but also one of the best baseball players of that era.  At 5’7” and 155 pounds, he was more than just a singles hitter with speed.  He stroked  doubles, triples, and even home runs during baseball’s “dead ball” era when the ball did not carry far when hit due to its soft center core.  An acrobatic fielder with a strong throwing, Grant played mostly second base but when needed also handled third and shortstop.

 

In 2006 Grant, along with fifteen others from the Negro League baseball era, were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  The following is an excerpt of my profile of Frank Grant from my book “Last Train to Cooperstown:  The 2006 Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees from the Negro League Baseball Era”:

 

“In the early years of professional baseball the attitude towards

black and Hispanic players was grounded in racial prejudice. Both

the National League formed in 1876, and the American League

formed in 1901, would not allow them the opportunity to play

baseball. The “color line” was drawn, but there were cracks in it

that allowed Frank Grant and a few other blacks to play on white

professional teams.

 

Grant began his professional career playing for Meriden,

Connecticut in the Eastern League at a time when the game was

still evolving. Batting averages were high as the batter had four

strikes and a walk counted as a hit. Teams were built on speed, not

power. The Meriden team broke up in July of 1886 and that’s when

Grant joined the Buffalo Bisons who were in the International

Association, one of the top minor leagues. In his first at bat Grant

hit a triple. He hit .340 for the remaining 45 games and a national

sports magazine called him the best all‐around player to wear a

Bison uniform.

The next year Grant helped lead Buffalo to a second place finish.

Not only was he the team’s leading hitter at .366, but he also hit

with power. Although only 5’7”, 155 lbs., he was the league’s leading

slugger hitting 11 home runs, 27 doubles, 11 triples, and he stole 40

bases. Grant hit for the cycle (home run, triple, double, & single) in

one game and stole home twice in two others. An acrobatic fielder

with a strong throwing arm, he also played shortstop or third base

when needed.

 

In spite of his success on the playing field, Grant had trouble due

to the color of his skin. Fans shouted racially insulting comments

from the grandstands at him, including the Bison fateful who never

believed the claim he was from Spain. Grant was a target for

opposing pitchers when he batted as they constantly hit him.

Opposing base runners tried to hurt him on putout plays at second

base. Instead of the previously customary head first slide, they

started sliding feet first to cut Grant’s legs with the metal spikes on

their baseball shoes. When he began wearing wooden leg castings

for protection, the white players sharpened their spikes in order to

split the wood when their feet hit his legs.”

 

To read more about Frank Grant and the Negro League baseball era Last Train to Cooperstown