Negro Leagues' Stars Finally Shine At BHOF

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Cooperstown, New York - July, 2006

July marks another milestone in baseball history as the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum inducts 17 African-American representatives from the Negro leagues into the Cooperstown landmark. And for the first time, a woman, Effa Manley, an owner of the Newark, New Jersey Eagles will be enshrined among the men.

Co-owner and business manager of the Newark Eagles from 1936 to 1948, Manley was noted for running one of the most professional organizations in the Negro leagues. Using her position with Newark to crusade for civil rights, Manley made the Eagles a social force off the field and a baseball force on it, as the club was usually a top-division team and won the Negro League World Series in 1946. With the sale of Monte Irvin to the New York Giants, Manley established the precedent that major league clubs should respect the contracts of the Negro leagues.

The 16 other inductees include:

Effa Manley

Ace pitcher Ray Brown anchored the rotation of the Homestead Grays during its Negro National League dynasty years, when the club won eight pennants between 1937 and 1945. The durable right-hander combined a variety of pitches to set up his magnificent curve ball, which he was noted for using in any situation. An all-around athlete, the switch-hitting Brown also played the outfield and pinch hit when he was not on the mound. In 1938, the Pittsburgh Courier named Brown along with "Cool Papa" Bell, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard and Satchel Paige as the five players the Pirates should sign in order to guarantee a pennant. Brown was named to two East-West All-Star teams during his 19-year career, and threw a one-hitter in the 1944 Negro League World Series.

Pitcher José Méndez was likely the first internationally-known Cuban baseball star. The dark-complexioned Méndez, nicknamed "Black Diamond," was noted for his blazing fastball and sharp curve. John McGraw and Pop Lloyd raved about Méndez's skill on the mound. The author of a 10-inning perfect game as a member of the Cuban Stars in 1909, his career spanned from 1908 to 1926. As a player-manager with the Kansas City Monarchs, he led the Negro National League team to three consecutive pennants, from 1923 to 1925.

Dubbed "Home Run" by Josh Gibson, Willard Brown regularly posted batting averages well above .300, helping the Kansas City Monarchs win six pennants between 1937 and 1946. The slugging outfielder played in eight East-West All-Star games, lost two years to Army service during World War II, and had a brief stint with the St. Louis Browns in 1947. A star in the Puerto Rico Winter League in the 1940s and 1950s, Brown captured a pair of Triple Crowns, topped the .400-mark twice and earned the nickname "Ese Hombre" ("The Man"). He finished his career with five seasons in the minor leagues, bashing 35 home runs in the Texas League in 1954.

Willard Brown

A 6'2" Texan, Andy Cooper is often ranked second only to Bill Foster among Negro league left-handed pitchers. Utilizing a wide array of pitches, sharp control and sly changes of speed, he established his reputation with the Detroit Stars from 1920 to 1927. Cooper then joined the Kansas City Monarchs, who traded five players to get him. A consistent winner, notching twice as many games as he lost with both the Stars and the Monarchs, Cooper helped pitch Kansas City to the Negro National League pennant in 1929. He managed the Monarchs to three other league titles between 1937 and 1940, and in in the twilight of his lengthy career, the southpaw pitched 17 innings in a 1937 playoff game against the Chicago American Giants.

"Biz Mackey was the master of defense of all catchers." So said Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella of the man who mentored him during his teenage years on the Baltimore Elite Giants. In a 1954 poll conducted by the Pittsburgh Courier, Mackey was voted the top Negro league catcher, ahead of Josh Gibson. Mackey's career stretched from 1918 through 1947, nearly half that time as a player-manager. His glory years were in Philadelphia, where he led the Hilldales to a Colored World Series championship in 1925 and also excelled for the Stars. A line-drive hitter and five-time All-Star, Mackey was always a team leader, whether behind the plate or as a manager with Baltimore and Newark.

Mule Suttles

A hard-hitting first baseman and outfielder whose career spanned both World War I and II, George "Mule" Suttles was one of the most feared sluggers in Negro league history. Suttles starred on a number of prominent teams, including the Birmingham Black Barons, St. Louis Stars, Chicago American Giants and Newark Eagles. He played in five East-West all-star contests, garnering seven hits. One of his most celebrated moments came in the bottom of the 11th inning of the 1935 East-West contest, when he smashed a game-winning three-run blast off fellow Hall of Famer Martín Dihigo.

A left-handed power hitter who excelled in both his native Cuba as well as the Negro leagues, Cristóbal Torriente starred as a center fielder for the Chicago American Giants from 1918 to 1925, leading the club to three consecutive Negro National League titles (1920 to 1922). The notorious bad-ball hitter excelled in the field as well, teaming in Chicago with Jelly Gardner and Dave Malarcher to form one of the best defensive outfields in history. Perhaps Torriente's greatest acclaim came in Cuba during the winter of 1920, when, as a member of the Almendares club, he outplayed Babe Ruth, barnstorming with the New York Giants, in a nine-game series.

Satchel Paige named Jud "Boojum" Wilson as one of the two toughest hitters he ever faced, and Josh Gibson considered Wilson the game's best hitter. "They all looked the same to me," said Wilson of Negro leagues and white major league hurlers. A squat, lefty hitter who could play anywhere in the infield, Wilson was known for his potent bat as a line drive hitter to every corner of the ballpark. His temper and ferocity on the field, also defined his career. After starring with the Baltimore Black Sox for most of the 1920s, Wilson moved to the Homestead Grays, where he captained the formidable 1931 squad. After seven years with the Philadelphia Stars, Wilson returned to the Grays, helping the powerful club to numerous championships in the early 1940s.

Frank Grant

Often regarded as the greatest black ballplayer of the 19th century, Ulysses Franklin "Frank" Grant starred for six years in integrated minor leagues before racism relegated him to touring black teams for the rest of his 20-year career. Grant played all positions but excelled at second base, where his speed, range and acrobatic plays impressed all observers. Despite standing only 5'71⁄2", Grant was a solid hitter with good power, batting over .300 every year in the minors, including three seasons with Buffalo of the International League. He anchored the all-black Cuban Giants of the 1890s, before finishing his career in 1903.

A standout centerfielder with a rifle arm, J. Preston "Pete" Hill was one of the greatest line-drive hitters of his era. From the turn of the century to the early 1920s, Hill was a giant among Giants, starring with legendary clubs such as the Cuban X Giants, Philadelphia Giants, Leland Giants and Chicago American Giants. Playing alongside baseball greats Rube Foster, Pop Lloyd and Bruce Petway, Hill captained the legendary Leland Giants of 1910, credited with a record of 123 wins with just 6 losses. For eight seasons with the Chicago American Giants, Hill tormented opposing moundsmen by fouling off pitch after pitch. Hill wound down his stellar career as player-manager for the Detroit Stars during their early days in the newly-formed Negro National League.

A powerful left-handed slugger with a keen batting eye, Louis Santop was the starting catcher for some of black baseball's greatest teams. The tall Texan began his pro career in 1909, and by 1912 was starring with the famed New York Lincoln Giants, catching two of the era's top fireballers: "Cannonball" Dick Redding and "Smokey Joe" Williams. From 1915 to 1918, "Top" gained fame clubbing prodigious home runs for the Brooklyn Royal Giants, before signing with the great Hilldale Club of Philadelphia. A top drawing card who earned top-dollar, Santop was the starting catcher for Hilldale when they won three straight Eastern Colored League pennants from 1923 to 1925.

Louis Santop

The son of Cuban immigrants, Alejandro Pompez owned the Cuban Stars of the Eastern Colored League, and later the New York Cubans of the Negro National League. Following the demise of the Negro leagues, Pompez was hired as a scout for the New York and San Francisco Giants, where for 25 years he worked to open the door for Caribbean players to enter the major leagues. He helped sign future stars such as Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal and the Alou brothers. His expertise on African-American baseball history was confirmed in 1971 when he was asked to serve on the Hall of Fame's Committee on Negro Leagues.

Ben Taylor came from a baseball family. He and his older brothers (C.I., Jim and John) were all part of the black baseball experience of the early 20th century. A top-flight defensive first baseman, most notably for the Indianapolis ABCs, his ability to dig balls out of the dirt was legendary. Taylor was also a productive lefty-swinging, line-drive hitter who regularly batted over .300. His leadership skills were such that he eventually became a well-regarded player-manager. Renowned for his teaching abilities, Taylor was instrumental in the development of Hall of Famer Buck Leonard.

First as a player and then later as manager and team owner, Cumberland "Cum" Posey was for 35 years the driving force behind the Homestead Grays, one of the most successful teams in Negro league history. His business acumen and organizational skills made the Grays a perennial powerhouse and money-making machine. He also had a keen eye for picking and developing talent, with more than 10 Negro league Hall of Famers playing for Posey's Homestead squad. During his tenure at the helm, Homestead split its "home" games between Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., regularly drawing 25,000 to 30,000 fans to contests at Forbes Field and Griffith Stadium. Posey's team won eight of nine Negro National League pennants from 1937 to 1945, including three world titles.

"J.L." Wilkinson

A native Iowan, James Leslie "J.L." Wilkinson was the innovative creator and owner of the Kansas City Monarchs, the longest running franchise in Negro National League history. He was arguably the man most responsible for saving black baseball during the Great Depression. His teams won an unprecedented 17 league pennants and also two Colored World Series. The only white owner upon the founding of the league in 1920, Wilkinson is credited with developing the first successful lighting system for night games, an apparatus which traveled with the team during its cross-country barnstorming trips. His Monarchs supplied the white major leagues with more players, including Jackie Robinson, than any other black ballclub. Prior to the Monarchs, he owned one of the first all-girls barnstorming teams, as well as the multi-ethnic All-Nations squad.

Solomon White is one of the early pioneers of black baseball, participating in the game as a player, manager and historian. His distinguished playing career included five seasons with teams in integrated minor leagues, where he compiled a .356 batting average. During the 1890s, White was a member of the top independent black teams, and in 1902, he helped found the powerhouse Philadelphia Giants, a team for which he served as player-manager through the 1909 season. In 1907 he authored Sol White's Official Base Ball Guide, the earliest-known work on the topic, and a critical piece of African-American baseball history.

This specially-elected class of 2006 will join 18 Hall of Famers from the Negro leagues already enshrined in Cooperstown: Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Ray Dandridge, Leon Day, Martin Dihigo, Bill Foster, Rube Foster, Josh Gibson, Monte Irvin, Judy Johnson, Buck Leonard, Pop Lloyd, Satchel Paige, Joe Rogan, Hilton Smith, Turkey Stearnes, Willie Wells and Smokey Joe Williams.

Book Tip: National Geographic, in conjunction with the Baseball Hall of Fame, published Shades of Glory in February. Using material from the research study used to select this year’s inductees, the book traces the dramatic history of African-Americans and baseball from the Civil War to the present. This definitive, detailed, richly illustrated book covers the game as it developed on the field and provides a look at how baseball played an important role within the black community, particularly during the days of segregation.