By Ted Knorr | Harrisburg, PA | October 13, 2026
Before beginning today’s essay, I want to take a little time to thank readers of this twice-monthly column. I’ve been told it is one of the most read features in The Truth Seekers Journal. For your time and loyalty, I thank you and let you know that I very much appreciate your readership. Further, I’d be remiss if I didn’t take the time to remind you that this column exists for only one purpose and that is to answer your questions on Negro League baseball history. Your questions are the lifeblood of Shadow Ball—they shape where we go next. So, your participation is important. Send questions, comments, or Significa answers to Shadowball@truthseekersjournal.comor to Shadow Ball, 3904 N Druid Hills Rd, Ste 179, Decatur, GA 30033. As much as I appreciate your taking the time to read the column, I’d like it even more if you exchanged your thoughts, questions, areas of interest.
Now, not being a writer I have few original thoughts … this is why I need reader questions so I have something to write about … on occasion, thankfully, serendipity steps in … such was the case on October 9th when Kevin Jognson did what he does every day … marking the birth or death anniversary of a Negro Leaguer in a Facebook post. October 9, 2026, turned out to be the 131st birthday of Saint Louis Star outfielder Branch Russell. I knew he was a member of one of the best outfields in Negro League history The Stars outfield, 1925-29, included left fielder Frog Redus, Hall of Fame centerfielder Cool Papa Bell and Branch Russell in right.
No right fielder played more games in rightfield than Branch Russell (under the Seamheads Data Base Negro Leagues filter). Russell hit .308 over his career with an OPS+ of 117 (meaning he was 17% better hitter than average). He was an average fielder with a better than average arm.
After retiring from baseball, Russell worked as a supervisor in the Saint Louis Parks and Recreation for 17 years with a focus on youth baseball. The late James A. Riley provides that nugget in his Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. For Russell’s life before baseball, we get some clues in the Seamheads statistical database where it reveals Russell’s burial in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and from the fact that he doesn’t break into the Major Leagues until age 26.
Neither proves anything but they do direct a search to military experience. To fill in those blanks I turned to the writing of Ellen Knight writing in Daily Times Chronicle, Winchester, MA, 2018; Paul D. White in his Lost in Left Field, Substack, 2025; and Connie Nisinger who published a short bio with a gravesite picture in Find A Grave website. Based on those three sources Branch Russell had an 8-year career in the U.S. Army during which he ran track and played baseball for the famous 25th Infantry Wreckers. He also served during World War I along the Mexican border.
Branch Russell is a fitting example of what makes all of us among the last victims of the segregation of baseball prior to the integration of the game in April 1947.
Last Week’s Shadow Ball Significa Question of the Week
In 1937, Monte Irvin joined the Newark Eagles under an assumed name. What was it? In 1942, Larry Doby joined the Newark Eagles under an assumed name — what was it? Will Clark, Shadow Ball’s top trivia, provided Jimmy Nelson as Monte Irvin’s assumed name. No one provided Larry Doby’s assumed name which was Larry Walker.
This Week’s Shadow Ball Significa Questions of the Week
“What yet to be inducted Hall of Fame caliber Negro League shortstop was nicknamed “King Richard”?
Ted Knorr is a Negro League baseball historian, 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.
Beyond his research and organizing work, Ted is frequently invited to speak at sporting events, community programs, family gatherings, and educational forums, where he brings Negro League history to life. His deep knowledge of the players, teams, and cultural impact of Black baseball has made him a trusted voice for audiences who want to understand the legacy and significance of the Negro Leagues.
Send questions or Significa answers to shadowball@truthseekersjournal.com or Shadow Ball, 3904 N Druid Hills Rd, Ste 179, Decatur, GA 30033.
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