Jonathan "Clyde" Parris
passed away on July 9, 2016. Clyde played in the Negro Leagues from 1946 - 1949 and then spent several years in the minors (mostly in the Dodgers farm system). Virtually everyone who ever played with or against him agrees Clyde should have gotten a shot in the major leagues. He was a great line drive hitter, they say, who rarely ever struck out. In 1956, he won the batting title in the International League with an average of .321. Most of his teammates thought Clyde would get a cup of coffee that year. But, by then, Clyde was 34. Being black and 34, Clyde had two strikes against him. And the Dodgers had an All-Star at third in Randy Jackson. Strike 3.
Cusick has posted two solid images of Clyde
here.
Attached are two more images--both from the Montreal Royals--that have appeared in various places, including Baseball-Birthdays and Baseball Happenings. My rather lousy records indicate that I found them on eBay.
According to Clyde, himself, in a 2007 interview, he was originally signed by the Baltimore Elite Giants (note: the quote does not appear in
the original article, but is quoted in
the story of his passing--both written by the interviewer, Nicholas Diunte). The write up of his passing states that his stay in Baltimore was brief as he was released to make room for Willie Mays (other sources say he played
with Mays on the Elites).
In any case, in colorizing Clyde, I put him in a Baltimore Elite Giants uni. Reason being I had a better exemplar of the Baltimore uni than I did of the New York Black Yankees. Anyway, FWIW, here's Clyde.