I RODE THE CAN
Reginald R. Howard – Negro Leagues Baseball Player
Johnny B. Brand – Author
Introduction
My name is Reginald R. Howard, and I was a Negro League Baseball player in the 50s and 60s. It may seem strange to some that there are former Negro Leagues baseball players still alive. Surprisingly, there are over one hundred players still around and are keeping alive the memories of the once proud leagues. Most of the better known players have died, but there still remain lots of lesser known players who entered the leagues near the end of the black baseball era.
There is so much to discuss about the era of Negro Leagues baseball, from the men who played the game to the fans who paid their hard earned dollars to support their favorite team. My favorite team was the Chicago American Giants and their star player was Jimmie Crutchfield. Crutchfield was an all-star outfielder, with excellent batting skills, but what set him apart from other players was his speed. He was given the nickname, “Crutch in the Clutch,” by Josh Gibson. Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe once said Crutchfield and his teammates, Cool Papa Bell and Ted Page, covered the outfield like “the cool morning dew” covered the grass. The trio was considered the best outfielders in the Negro Leagues.
Black baseball from the late 19th century to the middle of the 20th century played a significant role in the development of the modern day major league baseball and racial equality in our country. It enhanced the lives of so many players and baseball employees. Not to mention it provided a relief from the social and economic stress of the day for the fans who loved the great game.
The integration of baseball did not occur in1947 as historians have said but actually took place on October 23, 1945 with the signing of Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers’ minor league team, the Montreal Royals. Jackie Robinson was the first black player to play in a modern day major league game as he started for the Dodgers at first base on April 15, 1947. This milestone for black baseball players soon led to the demise of Negro Leagues baseball. During that same year the Cleveland Indians signed Larry Doby, and Major League baseball continued to sign black players through the 50s at the expense of the Negro Leagues.
The rise and fall of Negro Leagues baseball and the integration of Major League Baseball is a microcosm of the experience of the Negro in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. My insight as I have tried to document in this book is based on my experiences “Riding The Can” and seeing and analyzing the development of baseball in this great country.
You may be asking yourself what does “Riding The Can” mean and why was it important for me to name the book, “I Rode The Can?” During the black baseball era teams would travel around various states in order to play their games and to seek out new competition. They would sometimes have to travel late at night and early in the mornings to reach their destinations. The players including the bus driver of course would be tired, especially after a long day of playing ball and traveling. Someone would place a large can next to the bus driver and a person would sit on the can and talk to the driver and help with directions. I would always volunteer to sit on the can as it was my way making sure the driver stay awake and alert. I learned a lot about my team and baseball in general by sitting next to the driver and engaging him in conversation. I could see what was going on as we traveled along the streets, highways and roads.
“I Rode The Can” is my account of the rise and fall of the Negro Leagues, and the way in which social and economic factors altered one of the few black owned institutions. The black baseball era was a thrilling ride, with wins and losses, with successes and failures. Black men made millions and some lost it all through bad deals, but mostly through the changing tide of the American society.
I hope you enjoy the ride as you cruise through the pages of “I Rode the Can.”
I RODE THE CAN
1
Uncle Mitch
I grew up in South Bend, Indiana in a primarily Hungarian and Polish neighborhood. My parents were one of many black business owners in the city. My parents owned and operated a cleaners, where my dad was the tailor. We were a family of modest means with strong family values. My dad was an honorable man and was a great influence on me, but the person whom I admired the most and influenced me in the area of baseball was my Uncle Mitch. Hubert E. Mitchell was his name; he was born March 14, 1899 in Pontitoc, Mississippi. My mom, Uncle Mitch and the rest of the Mitchell family moved from Madison, Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee in 1920.
Uncle Mitch was a professional baseball player who was considered an excellent outfielder with a good throwing arm. He had good running speed and was an average batter. He played baseball with the Memphis Red Sox. The Red Sox were part of the Negro National League. He soon landed a position with the Illinois Giants, a barnstorming team. Barnstorming teams toured the state and country, playing any group that had a team, including amateur, professional, black and even white teams. Some of the games were real and some were exhibition games where the teams would perform tricks and show off their talent. After two years of barnstorming, Uncle Mitch became despondent with playing ball and started looking for other employment that would improve his standard of living.
After playing a barnstorming game against the Studebaker team of South Bend, Indiana he received a unique offer of a job at the Studebaker Automobile Plant. Additionally, the offer included a position on the Studebaker baseball team. Uncle Mitch could not pass up this offer and so he worked at the plant and played baseball from 1927 to 1928. He capitalized on his experiences and connections while working at the plant as he became a manager of a semi-pro baseball team called the South Bend Giants, and thus began my exposure to the great game of baseball. My brother, Carlton and I would spend a lot of our weekends with Uncle Mitch and his baseball team. I learned a lot by watching and being around my uncle as he had a tremendous amount of knowledge about baseball and managing people. He taught us the game of baseball and he did it with patience and kindness. He was a very good manager and his players loved him.
Uncle Mitch was a hard worker as he worked at the plant and managed the team at the same time. This would have been an insurmountable task for most people, but for Uncle Mitch, it was not enough of a challenge as he opened a business called, Mitchell’s Amusement Center. It was located at 530 South Chapin Street. The center had six pool tables, a numbers or policy wheel, called Rex and other gambling games which made the center a forerunner to the modern day casino. Yes, Uncle Mitch was a man before his time.
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2
My “Field of Dreams”
Chapin Street in South Bend, Indiana was my “Field of Dreams.” It was the place where I could go to see and interact with what I perceived to be a concentration of some of the greatest baseball players to have ever lived. Many of the great Negro Leagues players stayed at the Hodges Hotel, which was located at 411 South Chapin Street. They would sit and gather around the lobby area of the hotel and talk about their lives and the game of baseball. When they got tire of the hotel, they would go down to Mitchell’s Amusement Center to play pool and other games. Uncle Mitch knew the players and most of the front office staff, so he made sure everyone had an enjoyable time at the center. Of course I practically lived at the center as I did not want to miss seeing the players.
Because of Uncle Mitch’s experience in the leagues as a player, he was always discussing league matters with players, coaches, bus drivers and front office people. Many of these discussions took place right smack dab in Mitchell’s Amusement Center, and I was right there by my uncle’s side absorbing every word that was spoken.
Uncle Mitch allowed me to be the ball boy for the teams that would be coming to South Bend to play against the Studebaker team. This opportunity gave me the license to hang around the players on and off the field and during their leisure time. Some of the teams that came to town would allow me to travel with them as they went to cities and towns throughout the Midwest. After games the teams would always come back to South Bend as it was a place where they used as a home base for rest and relaxation as they got ready for the next trip out of town. Fortunately for me South Bend was considered a hub for black teams in the surrounding states and so it was their home away from home. I made sure I got to know the decision makers on the teams so I could ask to travel with them.
At a very young age I got the opportunity to see many of the great players like: Josh Gibson, who was sometimes called the black Babe Ruth, Reece “Goose” Tatum, who played professional basketball and baseball and James Thomas “Cool Papa” Bell. It was quite an education for me to hear the players talk; it gave me inspiration and hope that one day I could be like them, and play in the league. Back then the hope of most black kids was to play in the Negro Leagues. Because of segregation, it was the league where you would find all the best black baseball players. Players like Satchel Paige, Joseph Black and Orestes “Minnie” Minoso played and established their prowess in the Negro Leagues years before they were allowed to play in the major leagues with white ball players.
After high school I worked with my parents at the cleaners and I continued to play baseball. My dream to play in the Negro Leagues was always in the back of my mind, so, I decided to move out to Los Angeles to play ball year round. This move would give me the opportunity to improve my skills by allowing me to compete with some of the best amateur and professional players in the country. It would also give me an opportunity to network with some of the movers and shakers of the league as many of them hung out at South Park in Los Angeles. South Park was a municipal park located at 51st Street and Avalon Boulevard; the park served as a pre-training camp for amateur and professional baseball players. It had a lighted baseball diamond, basketball courts and other recreational facilities for children and adults.
Most of the players at the camp had contracts to play with a team come spring, but I did not. I was content however, to continue to improve upon my skills and play as much baseball as possible. My chance to play in the Negro Leagues came in the fall of 1955 while playing baseball and hanging out at South Park. I ran into a fellow by the name of Buster Haywood. Buster was an all-star catcher in the Negro Leagues and later managed three times in the East-West All-Star games. He was a former manager of the Indianapolis Clowns during the Hank Aaron era. Buster had long being retired and was simply hanging out with the players and talking baseball when I stumble upon him. He asked if I had a contract, “I said no,” “I’m just waiting for some team to give me a chance.” Buster said this may be your lucky day, let me talk to a few people and see what I can do to get you a job. After a few weeks he helped me secure a contract with the Indianapolis Clowns.
My dreams had finally come true as I played for the Clowns for the 1956 and 1957 seasons. I played in the infield as a right-hander. I was considered a scrappy player with slick fielding skills. But most of all I loved playing baseball and I loved the excitement and cheering of the fans.
I RODE THE CAN
3
The Numbers Game
The lottery operates in nearly every state in the United States, and has grown in popularity with the rise of each major jackpot. Most Americans whether rich or poor have played some form of the lottery. Some play their favorite numbers in the Power Ball or the Mega Millions when there is a large jackpot, others play more regularly by playing a daily scratch off game. Regardless of the type of lottery game, this type of gambling has become an acceptable form of gambling in America.
The numbers game has been played primarily by men and women in poor neighborhoods since the early 1800s. The game was popular in poor Negro, Cuban and Italian communities. The Cubans called the game, bolita (little ball); the game was known as the Italian Lottery in Italian neighborhoods, and in the Negro community it was simply called, policy. Although an illegal game and conducted underground, the profits and winnings were viable means for creating legitimate businesses and supplementing the finances of other enterprises for business owners. The money was also helpful in creating financial resources in poor neighborhoods where money and finances was difficult to acquire from banks by the poor and uneducated population.
In the early 1900s policy was owned and controlled by blacks living in the Midwest and northern cities. It was accepted by many because it provided jobs and financial resources for blacks. The policy owners or barons not only ran their policy businesses, but they also served as bankers for the community as they loan money to individuals for personal use and for business ventures like, barber shops, beauty salons, bars, barbeque pits and billiard halls. There were other businesses that benefited under the policy environment, but those mentioned here is what I call the “Bees” of the black community.
The numbers or policy rackets as it was often called consisted of policy shops, parlors and even houses where gamblers would go to place their bets or submit their 3 numbers. Men would also come to your home to secure your numbers. The numbers had to be any three digit number between 000 and 999. The winning number would be drawn in a lottery on a future date.
In many neighborhoods, policy drawings took place twice a day, six days a week. The first daily drawing was at 11:30 AM, with the winning number being available at 12:00 PM, and the second daily drawing was at 7:30 PM, with the winning number being available at 8:00 PM. There was a bonus drawing which took place on Friday and Saturday nights at 11:30 PM, with the winning number being available at midnight.
As blacks moved to the northern cities as a result of the Great Migration, which began in 1910 and the Second Industrial Revolution, which ended in 1914, they became increasingly interested in the game of policy. After working in the fields in the South earning very little pay, they were able to secured better paying jobs in the North while working in warehouses, stockyards and factories. This new level of financial success allowed them to have more disposable income for recreational activities such as movies, policy and baseball. Not to mention, some had more lofty goals of investing in business.
Black women due to their likelihood of having a higher level of education than black men were able to secure positions in policy operations as bookkeepers so to speak as they kept the records of those who played and paid their monies. Some black women who lived in the South were known to travel from the South on Fridays, make a few hundred dollars over the weekend and head back home to take care of their families on Sunday evenings. Few black women however, attain the level of success as the Policy Queen, Madam Stephanie St. Clair. She ran a successful policy racket in Harlem, racking up 25 to 50 million dollars a year over a period of time. In an effort to clean up her life and avoid being beaten up or killed, Madam St. Clair turned her business over to her associate, Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson. Madam St. Clair went on to champion and advocate for the rights of the poor.
Some of the more popular policy rackets were run by black men in cities like New York, Cleveland, Pittsburg, Detroit, and of course Chicago. During the 1920s thru 1940s the game of policy created more wealthy blacks than any other business enterprise. One of the most noted areas in the country for black enterprises and businesses was in Chicago South Side, most notably Bronzeville. Bronzeville is a neighborhood in the Douglas community, once known as the “Black Metropolis;” known for having the largest amount of black-owned businesses in the country. You had as you have with any community legitimate businesses operating alongside illegal and underground businesses, like policy operations.
Before his imprisonment in 1931, Al Capone, a notorious gangster and leader of the Chicago Outfit, better known as the Chicago Mafia took notice of black’s dominance in the policy racket in the Chicago South Side area. Al Capone, not wanting to interrupt the progress decided to arrange a meeting with the top policy barons or bosses and selected business owners in the community. He told them, I don’t want to interfere with your policy operations in return you give me the names of the top funeral home directors in your area. Of course Capone had a number of illegal operations, but he wanted to arrange for the directors to transport his alcohol as they traveled throughout the city conducting funeral business. During the days of Prohibition, which began in the early 1920s, Capone controlled the supply and transportation of alcohol to various businesses from Canada to Florida. The arrangement with the black funeral home directors helped to improve and protect the smooth operation of Capone’s bootlegging business in the city of Chicago. After years of investigation by the FBI, Capone was jailed and sentenced for tax evasion charges in October of 1931.
You really can’t have a discussion on policy without talking about its influence on Negro Leagues baseball. Many of the Negro Leagues team owners were policy kings or czars with one foot in baseball and the other in organized crime. One such king was Alex Pompez, a Cuban immigrant who owned the New York Cubans and the Cuban Stars. He purchased the teams with money he earned while running a numbers racket in Harlem in the 20s. On several occasions Pompez was known to have borrowed money from the noted gangster and numbers man, Dutch Schultz. Schultz died in October of 1935 of gunshot wounds from a murder for hire operation. Pompez went on to have a successful career in baseball, including being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on February 27, 2006.
William “Gus” Greenleaf was another influential owner who ran a few illegal operations such as a numbers racket, and he sold alcohol during the Prohibition era. Greenleaf purchased the Legendary Crawford Grill in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburg in 1933. He raised the status of the restaurant and nightclub by booking major jazz artists like, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Although Greenleaf was a respected business leader and did many philanthropic deeds in the community, he is better known for his work in the development of Negro Leagues baseball. He was owner and player for the Pittsburg Crawfords, named after Crawford Grill. He was owner of Gus Greenleaf Field, one of a number of league ballparks owned by black men. Gus is also responsible for the introduction and popularity of the Negro Leagues East-West All-Star Game.
Greenleaf’s wealth allowed him to sign some of the greatest players of all times, players like, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Cool “Papa” Bell. Gus Greenleaf retired from baseball in
1946, and died July 7, 1952. Prior to his death, he worked with Branch Rickey to bring about integration in the Major Leagues.
I RODE THE CAN
4
Black Migration and Integration
The first and second Great Migration took place between 1910 and 1970, and marked the movement of over 6 million black people from the southern states to the Midwest, western and northern states. This movement was fueled by the reduction of the need of manual labor in the South because of the modernization and automation of farm equipment. Additionally there was a great need for workers in the North, so much that labor was being recruited not only from the South, but from areas outside of the United States. Finally, the other areas of the country offered the Negros the opportunities to earn a higher wage by working in factories, warehouses, shipyards and roads, not to mention the Negro could leave behind the restraints of the Jim Crows laws of the South.
With the flow of blacks from the South to mostly the North came music, culture and black baseball players. Andrew“Rube” Foster was one such player who found success in Chicago with the Chicago Union Giants. He was born September 17, 1879 in Calvert, Texas. He began his baseball career in 1897 with the Waco Yellow Jackets. Rube played with the Yellow Jackets for a few years and was considered a very good pitcher. In 1902 he signed with the Chicago Union Giants, one of the best teams in Negro Leagues baseball. Rube played for several teams from 1902 to 1917, including the Chicago American Giants. He also played and managed the Leland Giants and the Chicago American Giants from 1907 to 1926.
Rube was highly regarded as the best black baseball pitcher in the early 1900s and was considered a very good manager and executive, but his greatest contribution to black baseball came when he founded the first successful black baseball league, the Negro National League in February of 1920. The league initially consisted of 21 teams from primarily midwestern cities, however, later included teams from Memphis, Tennessee and Birmingham, Alabama.
Rube Foster died December 09, 1930, but his contribution to baseball did not go unnoticed as he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. The United States Postal Service recognized Rube Foster as an important figure in Negro Leagues baseball by depicting his image on a .44 cent postage stamp on July 17, 2010.
As blacks continued to migrate and move into new neighborhoods, they brought with them culture, music and a spirit to succeed. Because of segregation and other societal barriers, blacks initially moved to neighborhood where other blacks lived. As time went along and a new level of independence evolved, they were able to assimilate into other neighborhoods. In spite of the fact that freedom of movement was limited, integration became inevitable. Voluntary integration was first seen in the entertainment industry as both blacks and whites socialized together at nightclubs like, Crawford Grill in Pittsburg and Café Society in Greenwich Village in New York City, which allowed the races to mingle in the same room and did not relegate the blacks to the backroom or basement as most clubs did prior to the 50s.
Although Jackie Robinson is noted for being the first black baseball player in modern day to play in a Major League game, Moses Fleetwood “Fleet” Walker played in the Major League for the Toledo Blue Stockings during the 1884 season. He and a few other black players were allowed to play on white teams in the 1800s until the Major League implemented a color barrier which lasted until 1947.
The integration of baseball was a bitter sweet moment for some Negros because it meant the demise of the Negro Leagues baseball. As the Major League signed the better known black athletes from the Negro Leagues, over time this diminished the Negro League’s talent base. Not to mention, the fan base followed their favorite players to the Major League.
I RODE THE CAN
5
The South’s Role in Negro Leagues Baseball
The Negro Leagues had teams in 27 cities from Atlanta to New York, including teams in the Midwest. However, only a hand-full of teams were located in the South. Most of the southern teams were part of the Negro Southern League. The league was formed in 1920 and lasted until the 1940s. The league was established by Thomas T. Wilson, a black man, who also owned the Nashville Elite Giants. The league included teams located in the following cities: Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, Montgomery, New Orleans, and Nashville.
The Negro Southern League served as a minor league for most of its existence. It was however, responsible for grooming hundreds of Negro players who later played in the black major leagues. Most of the Negro Leagues’ players came from the South, and they moved about the country with the general shift in the population and landed opportunities to play baseball in the Negro Baseball Leagues. In spite of the movement of blacks from the South there still remained plenty of black players who played in the Negro Southern League and in the Negro American League which we will talk about next.
Thomas Wilson was an important figure in Negro Leagues Baseball as the owner of the Nashville Elite Giants from 1921 to 1934, and he also served as president of the second Negro National League from 1936 to 1946. He along with others was instrumental in forming the East-West All Star game in 1933. Thomas Wilson leveraged his importance to the league by building the Tom Wilson baseball park in 1929. The park was located in the heart of Trimble Bottom, a black neighborhood in Nashville. This was an important achievement as only a few black teams in the nation owned its own ball park. As you might imagine, his players with a hint of pride might have coined the phrase, “This is our house.”
The Negro American League was established in 1937, and remained in existence until the 1962 season. Some of the teams in the league had being a part of the Negro Southern League. The Negro Southern League as mentioned before ended in 1940, and so some of the teams moved over to the Negro American League. The new league had 18 teams over the years with these 5 teams residing in the South: Atlanta Black Crackers, Birmingham Black Barons, Houston Eagles, Jacksonville Red Caps and Memphis Red Sox.
The Kansas Monarchs dominated the league by winning several pennants. The Memphis Red Sox won the championship in 1938. Not to be out done, the Birmingham Black Barons won the championship in 1943, 1944 and 1948. These were great teams with stars like Hall of Famers, Satchel Paige and Willie Mays who both played on the Black Barons teams at different times before moving on to other teams.
Today the city of Memphis is known for good music and barbeque. But there was a time when the city was known for good baseball. The Memphis Red Sox was organized in the 1920s and had a few owners over its history. But the most noted owners of the Red Sox were Dr. J. B. Martin and Dr. B. B. Martin. They were dentists who were part of a family of 4 brothers, all doctors. The other 2 brothers were medical doctors and business men and respected in the community. All the brothers were prominent black men, known throughout the country. As black men, they wield lots of financial and political power, especially J.B. Martin.
Dr. J. B. Martin was president of the local Republican Party, and along with brother Dr. B. B. Martin owned the Memphis Red Sox for most of the club’s history. Dr. J. B. Martin and Dr. B. B. Martin built Martin Park located on Crump Boulevard in Memphis. This new ball park gave the Martins creditability as a major player in the leagues and gave them leverage in scheduling games as only a few blacks owned ball parks.
Thomas T. Wilson and Dr. J. B. Martin were important figures in the success of Negro Leagues baseball in the South. Both went on to promote the game in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Thomas Martin moved his Nashville team to Baltimore, where the team was renamed the Baltimore Elite Giants. He led the team from 1938 to 1947. He was the driving force in forming the very popular East-West All-star game, and he was instrumental in creating the California Winter League. Thomas T. Wilson died of heart failure in 1947, but before his death he made great strides in promoting the success of Negro Leagues baseball.
Dr. J. B. Martin was an influential figure in the political and business world. Having owned a dentist practice, a hotel, and other business enterprises, he however, made his mark in the development of Negro Leagues baseball. Not only did he own the Memphis Red Sox and Martin baseball park, he was one of the most important figures in Negro Leagues baseball. He was known as one of the wealthy black men in the country. He went on to move to Chicago after a dispute with Edward Hull “Boss” Crump. Boss Crump was a very powerful politician in the Memphis area, who some say ran Dr. J. B. Martin out of town. Dr. Martin continued to promote the game of baseball by becoming co-owner of the Chicago American Giants and serving as president of the Negro American League.
I RODE THE CAN
6
America’s Game and Blacks Declining Role
The slogan, “Baseball, America’s Game,” is a fact that few could disagree with during most of baseball’s existence. Baseball has been a popular game since it was first recognized in Pittsfield, Massachusetts around 1791.
Blacks have played the game since its earliest existence as Moses Fleetwood Walker, considered by historians to be the first black man to play on a white team. Fleetwood played for the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association during the 1884 season. He is credited with being the first because he admitted he was a Negro as some light-skin Negro players went for white and may have played in the white leagues prior to Fleetwood’s entry. Fleetwood and a few dozen other black players were allowed to play on white teams until 1887 when it became prohibited due to complaints from some fans and players.
With the integration of the Major League came a gradual increase in the number of blacks on rosters from 1947 to the late 1990s. Throughout those years the percentage of Blacks on rosters went from 0 to nearly 19%. During those years some of the best athletes were household names, players like Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. These were players who garnered national recognition comparable to the great athletes of today in basketball and football. Today African Americans make up only 8% of Major League team rosters and there are less than 80 African American players on those same rosters.
What has happened? Where are the great black baseball players? It has been noted by baseball historians and aficionados that the decline of black participation began around the early 2000. There are no concrete answers as some believe the game is played at a speed that does not excite today’s modern athletes. Others believe college bound athletes are more likely to be attracted to basketball and football because of the potential full ride scholarships. Still others believe baseball management has gone out of their way to recruit Latin players at the expense of African American players.
TO BE CONTINUED