Negro and Pre-Negro League Hall of Fame Capsules

2012-03-16 23:56:57

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By The Associated Press

Capsule biographies of the the people elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday by a special committee on the Negro Leagues and the pre-Negro League.

Information comes from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum:

Negro league players with Pittsburgh ties

Ray Brown
Born: Feb. 23, 1908, in Alger, Ohio.
Died: Feb. 8, 1965, in Dayton, Ohio.
Batted: right.
Threw: right.
Career: A starting pitcher from 1931-1945, pitching exclusively for the Homestead Grays starting in 1932 and helping the team win eight Negro National League pennants in nine years from 1937-1945. Ranks second in career winning percentage (.704), fifth in wins (105) and ninth in shutouts (13). Had a 3.20 career ERA.

Biz Mackey
Born: July 27, 1897, in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Died: Sept. 22, 1965, in Los Angeles, Calif.
Batted: both.
Threw: right.
Career: Caught 24 seasons between 1920-47, primarily with the Hilldale Giants, Philadelphia Stars, Newark Eagles, Indianapolis ABCs and Baltimore/Washington Elite Giants. Also made brief appearances with the Baltimore Black Sox and Homestead Grays. Had .329 career average, batting .418 with Indianapolis in 1922 and .413 with Hilldale in 1923 and .426 with Hilldale in 1930. Sixth in career RBIs with 412 and seventh in total bases with 1,389. Managed the Newark Eagles in 1946 when they won the Negro League World Series.

Jud Wilson
Born: Feb. 28, 1894, in Remington, Va.
Died: June 24, 1963, in Washington, D.C.
Batted: Left.
Threw: right.
Career: Played from 1922-1945 with the Baltimore Black Sox (nine years), Homestead Grays (seven years), Pittsburgh Crawfords and Philadelphia Stars (eight years). Started as a third baseman, then moved to first. Had .351 career batting average, among the top five in Negro Leagues history, .421 on-base percentage and .507 slugging percentage. Hit .300 or higher 16 times, including his first 14 seasons, and hit .400 or higher four times.

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Pre-Negro league players with Pittsburgh ties

Frank Grant
Born: Aug. 1, 1865, in Pittsfield, Mass.
Died: May 27, 1937, in New York.
Career: Starting in 1886, Grant played six consecutive seasons in organized baseball. Primarily a second baseman, he began with Meriden (Conn.) of the Eastern League, then joined the International League's Buffalo Bisons, where he stayed until 1888. In 1889 and 1891 he played for all-Black teams in the minor leagues, and in 1890 he starred for the Harrisburg Ponies of the Pennsylvania State League and the Atlantic Association (Double-A). He the IL in 1887 with 11 homers and 49 extra-base hits.

Pete Hill
Born: Oct. 12, 1880, in Pittsburgh.
Died: Nov. 26, 1951, in Buffalo, N.Y.
Career: A top power hitter, his playing career began in 1899 with the Pittsburgh Keystones and extended through 1926. He played with many of the top pre-1920 teams, including the Leland Giants and Chicago American Giants. Hill managed near the end of his career with the Milwaukee Bears.

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Negro league executives with Pittsburgh ties

Cum Posey
Born: June 20, 1890, in Homestand, Pa.
Died: March 28, 1946, in Pittsburgh.
Career: He was principal owner of the Homestead Grays during a baseball career from 1911-46 in which he was a player, manager, owner and club official. He played for the semipro Grays in 1911 and took control of the team in 1920. Accused of raiding other teams, he had 11 of 18 Negro Leagues Hall of Famers prior to this election playing for him.

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Negro league players

Willard Brown
Born: June 26, 1915, in Shreveport, La.
Died: Aug. 4, 1996, in Houston.
Batted: right.
Threw: right.
Career: Played 15 seasons in the Negro Leagues, five seasons in the minors, and 10 seasons in Puerto Rico. In the Negro Leagues, had a .351 career batting average, an on-base average of .374, and a .576 slugging average. Played on five pennant-winning teams (1937, 1939-1942, 1946 Kansas City Monarchs) and one world championship team (1942 Kansas City Monarchs). Brown was the only member of the new Hall class who played in the majors. An outfielder, he hit .179 with one home run in 21 games for the St. Louis Browns in 1947.

Andy Cooper
Born: April 24, 1898, in Waco, Texas.
Died: June 3, 1941, in Waco, Texas.
Batted: right.
Threw: left.
Career: Pitched 19 of 22 seasons in the Negro Leagues, including nine years with the Detroit Stars and 10 with the Monarchs. Had more than 10 wins seven times, had a 116-57 career record and was the Negro National League career saves leader with 29.

Mule Suttles
Born: March 31, 1900, in Blocton, Ala.
Died: July 9, 1966, in Newark, N.J.
Career: A first baseman/outfielder who had a .327 career average for the Newark Eagles, Chicago American Giants, Birmingham Black Barons and other teams. Played in 1921 and from 1923-44, hitting .300 or higher 13 times. Managed the Newark Eagles at the end of his playing career.

Cristobal Torriente
Born: Nov. 16, 1893, in Cienfuegos, Cuba.
Died: April 11, 1938, in New York. Batted left.
Threw: left.
Career: An outfielder who spent 17 seasons in black baseball with the Cuban Stars (West), All Nations, Chicago American Giants, Detroit Stars, Kansas City Monarchs, and the Cleveland Cubs. Had .339 career average in the Negro Leagues, including a .432 average in 1920. Hit .300 or higher eight times and 11th among Negro Leaguers career RBIs with 309.

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Pre-Negro Leagues Players

Jose Mendez
Born: March 19, 1887, in Cardenas, Matanzas, Cuba.
Died: Oct. 31, 1928, in Havana.
Career: Played from 1908-26 and managed the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro National League from 1920-26. A right-handed pitcher, he barnstormed with the Cuban Stars in 1909 and twice had 11-game winning streaks, while reportedly compiling a 44-2 record against all levels of competition. In Cuban winter competition in November 1908, he had 25-inning scoreless streak against the Cincinnati Reds, including a one-hit shutout (a ninth-inning single by Miller Huggins). Was 76-28 from 1908-20 in Cuban competition and in 1939 was elected to the inaugural class in the Cuban Hall of Fame.

Louis Santop
Born: Jan. 17, 1890, in Tyler, Texas.
Died: Jan. 22, 1942, in Philadelphia.
Career: A 6-foot-4 power hitter who played from 1909-26, was the starting catcher for the Philadelphia Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, Brooklyn Royal Giants and Hilldale Daisies. In 1917 in a three-game series against a major league all-star team, Santop had six hits off Chief Bender and Bullet Joe Bush. Had .324 Negro Leagues batting average at the end of his career.

Ben Taylor
Born: July 1, 1888, in Anderson, S.C.
Died: Jan. 24, 1953, in Baltimore.
Career: A pitcher who converted to first base, he played from 1908-1929. He spent nine years with the Indianapolis ABCs starting in 1914, interrupted when he served in 1919 as manager of the New York Bacharach Giants. Known as "Old Reliable" for sure hands and clutch hitting. Was a manager, coach and umpire through the early 1940s.

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Negro League Executives

Effa Manley
Born: March 27, 1897, in Philadelphia.
Died: April 16, 1981, in Los Angeles.
Career: Co-owned the Newark Eagles with her husband, Abe, handling scheduling, travel, payroll, promotions and contracts from 1936-1947. Active in the civil rights movement, she used the team to promote an Anti-Lynching Day at Ruppert Stadium In Newark, N.J. The Eagles, whose players included Hall of Famers Monte Irvin and Larry Doby, won the Negro Leagues World Series in 1946. She co-authored a book in 1973 on black baseball.

Alex Pompez
Born: May 14, 1890, in Key West, Fla.
Died: March 14, 1974, in New York.
Career: Was an owner and league executive from 1916-50, then became a scout and director of international scouting for the New York and San Francisco Giants. He signed the Negro National League's first Puerto Rican, Dominican, Venezuelan, and Panamanian players. The roster of talent he introduced to the Negro and major leagues included future Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda, Martin Dihigo, Juan Marichal, and Willie McCovey.

J.L. Wilkinson
Born: May 14, 1878, in Algona, Iowa.
Died: Aug. 21, 1964, in Kansas City, Mo.
Career: Wilkinson, who was white, was principal owner of the Kansas City Monarchs from 1920-48, who won the Negro National League in 1923, 1924, 1926 and 1929, and the Negro American League from 1937-42 and in 1946. The Monarchs won the Negro World Series in 1924 and 1942. Among his players were Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, Elston Howard, Cool Papa Bell, Bill Foster, Satchel Paige, Bullet Rogan, Hilton Smith, Turkey Stearnes and Willie Wells.

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Pre Negro Leagues Executive

Sol White
Born: June 12, 1868, in Bellaire, Ohio.
Died: Aug. 26, 1955, in Central Islip, N.Y.
Career: An infielder who played from 1887 until the early 1900s, he was with all-black teams in the official minor leagues from 1889-1891, batting .324 or higher each season. He co-founded the Philadelphia Giants in 1902 and co-owned, managed and played for his team for eight years. He wrote "Sol White's History of Colored Baseball," published in 1907, the first history of black baseball. He managed through 1926 and also wrote about baseball for newspapers that included the Cleveland Advocate, the Amsterdam News, the New York Age and the Pittsburgh Courier.

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