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Joe Durham
Outfielder Joe “Pop” Durham played parts of three major league seasons for the Baltimore Orioles (87 games in 1954 and 1957) and St. Louis Cardinals (six games in 1959). He also played 10 years in the minors with a total of five teams enduring the racism that came with playing on a traveling ballclub in the South. In 1954, Durham hit the first home run by an African American in modern Orioles’ history. After his playing career ended, he worked for the club for more than a half-century.
“No player has spent more years in the Orioles’ organization than Joe Durham,” reported the Baltimore Sun. “I’ve been on their payroll in some capacity since 1954,” Durham told an interviewer as his tenure with the team stretched into a sixth decade. As an octogenarian, he continued to make autograph appearances at Camden Yards. Late in his life, Durham discovered how much his struggles as a racial pioneer had inspired others. “I didn’t realize it until after I had finished playing,” he said. “You go back, get invitations to different places, and that’s what they talked about, the integration or infiltration of black players in baseball, especially in the South.” At the time of his passing in 2016, the Orioles honored him with a moment of silence before taking on the White Sox that evening at Camden Yards. “Joe lived, ate and dreamed baseball,” said Sallie, his wife of 58 years. “When we left the hospice center Wednesday night, my daughter put the Orioles game on TV for him. Joe couldn’t open his eyes, but the nurses said he could still hear.” - SABR
There was no facegen for him. Made this one.
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