Ted Knorr

Dear Shadow Ball: Any thoughts on why Jackie Robinson was first to break the major league’s color barrier and not Satchel Paige. Paige was a pitcher while Robinson was a 1st baseman. – David Nivens, parts unknown

Dear David, Great question! Thank you so much for breaking the ice in both categories. You were the first to answer my question and the first to pose a question to me. Hopefully, moving forward, folks will follow your lead.

Now, this question could take a book to answer, and, in fact, books have been written about the broader subject: Was Jack Robinson the best choice to integrate the game, and, if not, who else would have been a better choice? In the interest of column space, I am going to limit my answer to your parameters, why Jack Robinson and not Satchel Paige. Both of whom played for the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945.

 Let us look first at Satchel Paige: he was one of the best pitchers in Negro League history and, arguably, in all of baseball history. He also, even at this stage of his career, was the most marketable name in the Negro Leagues. Satchel Paige ranks 1st in career Negro League strikeouts, 1st in ERA+, 2nd in shutouts, and 3rd in wins. This is the entire case for Paige, and it very well could have been enough had the game integrated earlier. However, by the time Branch Rickey invited Jack Robinson to a meeting in Brooklyn in August 1945, Satchel Paige was, at least, 38 years old. More importantly, Paige was coming off a less-than-stellar 1945 season in which he achieved a 4-4 record with a 4.05 E.R.A. He was the fourth-best pitcher on the Monarchs that year, and among pitchers with as many innings pitched as he did, only two hurlers had a worse ERA.

 As for Jack Robinson, at 26, while he was a tad old for a prospect, he was on the cusp of his prime if he were to have one. The biggest question facing Robinson at the start of the ’45 season was in what sport his prime was to be in. He had not played much baseball at any level since leaving UCLA in 1941. Based on his athleticism, the Kansas City Monarchs, of the Negro National League, invited him for a tryout in the Spring of 1945. He not only made the team, but he was arguably the best player in the 1945 Negro American League! No one who batted as often or more than he did topped him in batting average, on base%, slugging, OPS, OPS+ … he led the league in 2Bs, HRs, extra base hits, was 2nd in steals, and 3rd in RBIs.

 … and then there were the intangibles – intelligent, articulate, non-smoker, non-drinker, graduated high school, junior college, and had studied at UCLA, was a wartime 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army with an honorable discharge. While both he and Paige had competed in integrated competition, Robinson had a long history of integrated scenarios in Pasadena, UCLA, and the service.

 Thus, given the choice between Paige & Robinson, I strongly agree with Rickey’s decision. Jack Robinson was the right person for this assignment.

 Last week’s Shadow Ball Significa question: What was the name of Atlanta’s most prolific franchise (in terms of years in the league) in the Negro Leagues?      

Since no one provided the correct answer last week, I would like to keep that question active until it is answered. This column depends on interaction. So, please try again.

Ted Knorr is a Negro League baseball historian, a longtime member of the Society for American Baseball Research’s Negro League Committee, and founder of the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference and several local Negro League Commemorative Nights in central Pennsylvania. You can send questions for Knorr on Negro League topics, as well as your answers to the week’s Significa question to shadowball@truthseekersjournal.com or Shadow Ball, 3904 N Druid Hills Rd, Ste 179, Decatur, GA 30033

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Dear Shadow Ball: How many players have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, based on their play in the Negro Leagues? – Curious Curt, International Falls, MN

Dear Curious Curt: Thanks for that question … there are 28 players, listed below with position and year inducted), inducted into the Hall of Fame based on their performance in the Negro Leagues.

Satchel Paige, P, 1971             Ray Dandridge, 3b, 1987                   Andy Cooper, p, 2006

Josh Gibson, c, 1972               Leon Day, 1995                                  Pete Hill, of, 2006

Buck Leonard, 1b, 1972         Willie Foster. P, 1996                          Biz Mackey, c, 2006

Monte Irvin, OF, 1973            Willie Wells, ss, 1997                          Jose Mendez, p, 2006

Cool Papa Bell, OF, 1974       Bullet Joe Rogan, p, 1998                   Louis Santop, c, 2006

Judy Johnson, 3b, 1975          Mule Suttles, 1b, 2006                        Smokey Joe Williams, p, 1999

Oscar Charleston, OF, 1976    Turkey Stearnes, of, 2000                   Ben Taylor, ib, 2006

Martin Dihigo, 2b, 1977         John Henry Lloyd, ss, 1977                Cristobal Torriente, of, 2006

John Henry Lloyd, ss, 1977    Hilton Smith, p, 2001                         Jud Wilson, 3b, 2006

Ray Brown, p, 2006

The real question, for me at least, is “are 28 Negro League player inductees sufficient to accurately  tell the story of Negro League baseball in the first half of the twentieth century?” To answer that we need to add some context.

CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND

1. On December 16, 2020, Major League Baseball announced that it was correcting a longtime oversight in the game’s history by officially recognizing seven specific Negro Leagues operating between 1920-1948  as  “Major Leagues”.
2. Since April 15, 1947 (the day Major League Baseball integrated)  42% of all Hall of Fame players debuting have been players of color (i.e., would have been Negro Leaguers prior to that date)l
3. In his 1994 baseball documentary, Ken Burns states that Black baseball stars defeated White Major League stars at least 309(70%)  times in 438 games … this, of course, is “oral history” but all 7 compilations of games between “so called” Negro League and “so called” Major League teams give the Negro Leaguers the edge with an average winning percentage of 58%.
4. Many Major League baseball players had been effusive in their assessment and praise of Negro League players prior to the integration of the game including Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, John McGraw, Joe  DiMaggio, Dizzy Dean, Bob Feller, Charlie Gehringer, Rogers Hornsby, and Leo Durocher.
5. (This would be interesting but not probative but for the above four bullets) Between 1920-1948 the slash lines for both the two Major Leagues and the seven Negro Leagues are virtually identical. A slash line includes batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. The seven Negro Leagues slash line was  .272, .335, .376 while the two Major Leagues (AL & NL) was  .276, .340, .389.
6. It must be noted that – while there are 28 players in the Hall for play in the Negro Leagues – there are 125 players in the Hall who earned induction for play in the Major Leagues during baseball’s segregated era prior to 1947.

Given the above bullet points I hope it is obvious to all of us that the current ratio of Major League Hall of Famers prior to 1947 to Negro League Hall of Famers from that same period does not match the record, opinion and honors captured in the above bullets. Clearly, 28 does not do a good job of educating the public. How many Negro Leaguers should there be inducted in Cooperstown? I will close by sharing my opinion and will defend it later in this series if reader interest warrants. In my opinion there should be somewhere between 60 to 80 Negro League players inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Last week’s Shadowball Significa Question

“Who was the first 20^th century player to break the color barrier and get into the major leagues, two bonus questions, what year, what team? A third bonus question, how long did he play in the majors? David Nivens, parts unknown, provided the following: When I was kid, my baseball coach told me that Jackie Robinson was the first black player to enter the Major Leagues in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He played 10 years in the Major Leagues. Thank you, David I very much appreciated your participation, and your including your father’s assistance; my dad provided me that same information when I was a kid.

The Shadowball Significa Question of the Week

What was the name of Atlanta’s most prolific franchise (in terms of years in the league) in the Negro Leagues?

Ted Knorr is a Negro Leagues history expert and longtime SABR member, known for his trivia wins and founding the Jerry Malloy Conference and Commemorative Nights. You can send questions to shadowball@truthseekersjournal.com or Shadow Ball, 3904 N Druid Hills Rd, Ste 179, Decatur, GA 30033

Please consider supporting open, independent journalism – no contribution is too small!

Dear Shadow Ball: I am 63 years old and Black. I have only heard snippets about the Negro Leagues during my lifetime. I now have an interest in educating myself about the leagues. How do you suggest that I start — I imagine reading your column is one place and I will read your column and engage, but I want to really dig in deep. 

Secondly, are any of the players still alive? Ready to Dig in Deep – Ansonville, NC

Dear Ready to Dig in Deep: Thanks very much for that question and your imagination is in keeping with my expectations and intent for this column. I hope that questions like yours and future inquiries submitted  by others allow me to “really dig in deep” and permit me to educate readers about the rich history of the Negro Leagues. I expect from time to time I may recommend books, articles or websites that further serve to provide that education about the other half of Major League baseball.

With regard to your second question, some background is necessary. On December 16, 2020, Major League Baseball declared seven specific Negro Leagues and time spans as Major Leagues. I will limit my answer to  those leagues. They are as follows:

Negro National League I    1920-1931

Eastern Colored League    1923-1928

American Negro League    1929

East-West League               1932

Negro Southern League    1932

Negro National League II   1933-1948

Negro American League    1937-1948

Sadly, at the time of that 2020 announcement, only three players survived. Since then, Willie Mays has passed on leaving only Reverend William Greason, 101, who pitched for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948 and Ronald Teasley, 98, who played outfield for the 1948 New York Cubans still alive. So only two – Greason & Teasley remain from those Negro Leagues designated as a Major League. Just to be clear, the Negro American League continued on, no longer recognized as major, until 1961. A couple dozen or more of those players are still with us and continue to share rich stories with us.

The Shadowball Significa Question of the Week

“Who was the first 20^th century player to break the color barrier and get into the major leagues, two bonus questions, what year, what team? A third bonus question, how long did he play in the majors?

Ted Knorr is a Negro Leagues history expert and longtime SABR member, known for his trivia wins and founding the Jerry Malloy Conference and Commemorative Nights. You can send questions to shadowball@truthseekersjournal.com or Shadow Ball, 3904 N Druid Hills Rd, Ste 179, Decatur, GA 30033

Please consider supporting open, independent journalism – no contribution is too small!