Out of the Shadows: African American Baseball from the Cuban Giants to Jackie Robinson

241 Pages·2005·1.22 MB·English

by  William Kirwin

c
Out of the Shadows
African American Baseball
from the Cuban Giants
to Jackie Robinson
Edited and
with an introduction by
Bill Kirwin
{
University of Nebraska Press : Lincoln and London
1 ©2005bytheBoardofRegentsoftheUniversityof
2 Nebraska.Allrightsreserved.Manufacturedinthe
3 UnitedStatesofAmerica.SetinAdobeMiniontype
byBobReitz.BookdesignbyRichardEckersley.
4
PrintedbyEdwardsBrothers,Inc.(cid:1)(cid:1)
5
6 LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
7 Outoftheshadows:AfricanAmericanbaseballfrom
8 theCubanGiantstoJackieRobinson/[editedby]
BillKirwin. p. cm. Includesindex.
9
isbn-13:978-0-8032-7825-7(paperback:alkalinepaper)
10
isbn-10:0-8032-7825-x(paperback:alkalinepaper)
11
1.AfricanAmericanbaseballplayers—History.
12 2.Negroleagues—History.3.Discriminationin
13 sports—UnitedStates—History. I.Kirwin,Bill,1937– [-4], (4)
14 gv863.a1058 2005
15 796.357'64'08996073–dc22 2005004661
16
Lines: 19 to 56
17
———
18
286.40579pt PgVar
*
19
———
20
Normal Page
21
* PgEnds: PageBreak
22
23
24 [-4], (4)
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
BOB—UniversityofNebraskaPress/Pageiv/ /OutoftheShadows/BillKirwin
1
2
3
Contents
4
5
6 vii Introduction
7 JerryMalloy 1 TheBirthoftheCubanGiants:
8 TheOriginsofBlackProfessionalBaseball
9 LeeLowenfish 15 WhenAllHeavenRejoiced:Branch
10 RickeyandtheOriginsoftheBreakingof
11 theColorLinebyLeeLowenfish
12
AnthonyR.Pratkanis 31 TheYear“CoolPapa”BellLosttheBatting
13 &MarleneE.Turner Title:Mr.BranchRickeyandMr.Jackie [-5],(5)
14 Robinson’sPleaforAffirmativeAction
15
RobRuck 47 BaseballandCommunity:From
16
Pittsburgh’sHilltoSanPedro’sCanefields Lines: 56 to 98
17
JerryMalloy 61 TheStrangeCareerofSol.White,Black ———
18
Baseball’sFirstHistorian 0.21129pt PgVar
19
———
ScottRoper 81 “AnotherChinkinJimCrow?”Raceand
20
Normal Page
BaseballontheNorthernPlains,1900–1935
21
* PgEnds: PageBreak
22 JerryJayeWright 94 FromGiantstoMonarchs:The1890
23 SeasonoftheColoredMonarchsofYork,
24 Pennsylvania [-5],(5)
25 GuyWaterman 106 RacialPioneeringontheMound:
26 DonNewcombe’sSocialandPsychological
27 Ordeal
28 JeanHastingsArdell 116 Mamie“Peanut”Johnson:TheLastFemale
29 VoiceoftheNegroLeagues
30
GaiInghamBerlage 128 EffaManley,AMajorForceinNegro
31 Baseballinthe1930sand1940s
32
WilliamC.Kashatus 147 DickAllen,thePhillies,andRacism
33
AnthonyR.Pratkanis 194 NinePrinciplesofSuccessfulAffirmative
34
&MarleneE.Turner Action:Mr.BranchRickey,Mr.Jackie
35
Robinson,andtheIntegrationofBaseball
36
37 223 ListofContributors
38 225 SourceAcknowledgments
BOB—UniversityofNebraskaPress/Pagev/ /OutoftheShadows/BillKirwin
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
[-6], (6)
14
15
16
Lines: 98 to 99
17
———
18
0.0pt PgVar
19
———
20
Normal Page
21
PgEnds: TEX
22
23
24 [-6], (6)
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
BOB—UniversityofNebraskaPress/Pagevi/ /OutoftheShadows/BillKirwin
1
2
3
4 Introduction
5
6 No moment in baseball history is more important than the April day
7 in1947whenJackieRobinsonsteppedontoEbbetsField,endingaban
8 thathadextendedbackto1882prohibitingAfricanAmericansfromfully
9 participatingintheNationalPastime.“Cap”Anson’sdictum,in1882,of
10 “Getthatniggeroff thefield,”referringtothepresenceof blackplayer
11 Moses Fleetwood Walker on a Major League ground, merely reflected
12 the overwhelming social attitude of the day. But in 1947 baseball no [First Page]
13 longerfollowedcustom,butchangedit.BranchRickeyandJackieRobin-
[-7],(1)
14 son’sintegrationplanswentbeyondchallengingMajorLeaguebaseball’s
15 apartheidpolicies,theiractionssetinmotionandpreceded,byadecade,
16 theactionsofthecourtsandgovernmenttorectifytheinjusticeofseg-
Lines: 0 to 18
17 regationthroughoutsocietyingeneral.
———
18 TheroadtoRobinson’sappearanceatEbbetsFieldonApril15,1947,
0.0pt PgVar
19 wasalong,oftencrooked,anddarkone.Partiallyhiddenandignoredby
———
20 thegeneralpopulation,blackbaseballemergedasaparallelversionofthe
Normal Page
21 NationalPastimesubsistingonthemarginsofsociety.Blackballdiffered
PgEnds: TEX
22 fromMajorLeagueballinmanydifferentways.Thegameasplayedby
23 AfricanAmericanplayersreliedonspeedandofferedentertainmentas
24 a bonus. Rather than the static dependence that Major League base- [-7],(1)
25 ball placed on power hitting, Negro baseball utilized speed, bunting,
26 andhit-and-runtactics.AttemptstoorganizevariousNegroleaguesmet
27 withlimitedsuccess.Andrew“Rube”FosterorganizedtheNationalNe-
28 groLeague(nnl)in1919.In1923,theEasternColoredLeague(ecl)was
29 formed, resulting in the playing of the first Colored World Series in
30 1924.TheKansasCityMonarchsofthennldefeatedtheeclrepresen-
31 tativeHillsdaleClubofPhiladelphiafivegamestofourwithonetie.But
32 schedulingwaserratic,financesweak,whitenewspapersignoredgame
33 results,andteamswererequiredtocontinuallybarnstorm,resultingin
34 fanapathy.1
35 With the onset of the Depression, the lifeblood of black teams de-
36 pended more and more on owners scheduling barnstorming games
37 againstlocalwhitenines.Blackteamsfoundmoneyandasortofonce-a-
38 yearracialacceptanceiftheycameintoatown,playedthelocalteam,won
BOB—UniversityofNebraskaPress/Pagevii/ /OutoftheShadows/BillKirwin
viii Introduction
1 orlostgraciously,andthenlefttownwithapromisetocomebackand
2 entertainonceagainthenextyear.Thisannualdiversionmightafford
3 somewhitestheopportunitytoseeblacksfortheonlytimeinayear;for
4 othersitwasararechancetoseeblackmencompetewithwhites.But
5 the barnstorming exercise was severely constrained. Negro teams were
6 allowed to play and interact in a very proscriptivefashion for the two
7 hoursorsothatittooktoplaythegamewiththelocalteam.Noscrappy
8 JohnMcGrawhyperaggressiveplaywouldbeallowed,justanapparent
9 laidback“we-are-here-to-have-fun”sortof game.Afterthegamethey
10 werebackontheroad.Theywerenotusuallyallowedtostayoreatin
11 local hotels; rather they were consigned to sleep in a bus or a ghetto
12 flophouse.Themoney,however,wasgood,fortheownersbothof the
13 Negroteamandthelocalteam.Theattendancefortheannualgamewas
[-8], (2)
14 oftenthehighestoftheyear.
15 ✶
16 Parallel with serious Negro ball were the black clown teams, such as
Lines: 18 to 24
17 theZuluCannibalGiants,theIndianapolisClowns,ortheFloridaCol-
———
18 oredHoboes.Whitefanswouldcomeoutandwatchagamefeaturing
0.0pt PgVar
19 theEthiopianClownsandtheSatchelPaigeAll-Starsonenightandbe
———
20 obliviousofagamefeaturingtheHomesteadGraysortheCubanGiants
Normal Page
21 the next. Clown ball conveniently fit the stereotype that much of the
PgEnds: TEX
22 white population had about Negro ball and about African Americans
23 in general. As clowns or entertainers they were welcomed; as serious
24 competitorstheyweretostayintheirplace.Entertainmentsuperseded [-8], (2)
25 winning.Barnstorming,inthefinalanalysis,significantlycontributedto
26 thenotionthatbaseballasplayedbyblackscouldnot,indeedshouldnot,
27 betakenseriously.Itwasaruse,aminstrelshowthateveryonecouldgo
28 alongwith,becauseitwas,firstandforemost,entertainment.
29 BarnstormingalsoweakenedattemptsbythevariousNegroteamsto
30 beregardedbyboththewhiteandblackpopulationsasseriouscompe-
31 tition.TheDepressionofthe1930spavedthewayfortheownershipof
32 mostNegroprofessionalclubsbynumbersbankers.Itwasdifficultfor
33 theaveragefan,whiteorblack,totakeagameseriouslythatappearedto
34 concernitselfprimarilywithentertainmentandhadsuchdubiousown-
35 ership.SeriousownerslikeCumberland“Cum”PoseyoftheHomestead
36 Grays might fret that clown ball in effect was ridiculing black players’
37 serious attempts at competitive play. But the reality was that, for the
38 majority of white fans at least,the only role for blacks on the playing
BOB—UniversityofNebraskaPress/Pageviii/ /OutoftheShadows/BillKirwin
Introduction ix
1 fieldwasthatofaclown.Explodingcigars,oversizeequipment,midgets,
2 female players, phantom routines, and disappearing-ball acts were all
3 partof thecircusatmospherethatwhiteaudiencesexpectedof ablack
4 barnstormingclub.
5 Itwasperhapsbecauseof thisclowningperceptionmostwhitefans
6 had about Negro baseball that Branch Rickey would come to choose
7 JackieRobinson.ManyseriousblackplayerslikeBuckLeonardbelieved
8 that Robinson was not, by a long stretch, the best choice to integrate
9 baseball.Leonardclaimedthat“wehadawholelotbetterballplayersthan
10 Jackie,but Jackie was chosen ’cause he had played with white boys.”2
11 UndoubtedlyRickeytookthatintoconsideration,butitseemsevident
12 thathealsowasimpressedbyRobinson’sreligiousbackground,hisnon-
13 drinking,noncarousing,independence,andaloofness.Robinsonwasnot
[-9],(3)
14 one of the guys on the Kansas City Monarchs – he was very much his
15 ownman.IfBaseball’s“GreatExperiment,”asJulesTygielcalledit,wasto
16 succeed,Rickeyreasonedthatrecruitingtheplayerwiththemostability
Lines: 24 to 30
17 wasnotasimportantasrecruitingastrong-willedindividualwhowould
———
18 beabletowithstandtheimmensestrainthatwassurelytobecomepart
0.0pt PgVar
19 ofhislife.
———
20 ✶
Normal Page
21 When I founded nine in 1992 one of my principle motivations was to
PgEnds: TEX
22 offeranopportunitytoexplorethehistoricalandsocialimplicationsof
23 blackbaseballanditsimpactonthegameandgreatersocietyingeneral.
24 WhenIwasabatboyforthelocaltownteamIrememberbeingfascinated [-9],(3)
25 bytheannualvisitofablackbarnstormingclub.Iespeciallyremember
26 someplayercommentsabouthowgoodsomeofthebarnstormerswere,
27 especiallythoseplayerswhodidlittleclowningorgrandstanding.Com-
28 mentslike“thatJigger-boocanhit,”or“ifyouwalkthatshineit’sasgood
29 as giving him a double”continue to resonate in my mind,more than
30 ahalf-centuryafterthefact.Ormyfathersayingtome“Let’sgoseethe
31 blacksplay”whentheDodgerswereinBoston.(Ofcoursehedidnotcall
32 them“blacks”!)Asoffensiveasthesetermsaretoourearsnow,itisworth
33 notingthat,withintheobviousracistcontent,therewasadmirationof
34 the skills of black players. This recognition of baseball skills served as
35 a societal first step out of the subhuman quagmire in which African
36 Americanswereimmersed.AndthatwasthegeniusofRickey’splan.He
37 knewthat,giventheopportunitytoseriouslycompete,thegoodblack
38 playercouldholdhisownonanintegrateddiamond.Healsohadthe
BOB—UniversityofNebraskaPress/Pageix/ /OutoftheShadows/BillKirwin