Sir Lurksalot photopack (Negro League players)

[Cusick]

Seamheads.com calls this player Thomas Ward. James Riley, in his 1995 encylopedia, called him C. Ward. Larry Lester and Dick Clark, in their SABR Negro Leagues Register, were consistent with Riley in calling him C. Ward. In either case, he was an outfielder who had a lengthy career in the Negro Leagues from 1923 through 1935. Various sources have him with the Memphis Red Sox, Chicago American Giants, Louisville Black Caps, Cincinnati Tigers, Birmingham Black Barons, Brooklyn Eagles, Indianapolis ABC's, Bacharach Giants, and Washington Potomacs over that period.

The photo shows him with the 1935 Brooklyn Eagles. It is from Phil Dixon's book, THE NEGRO BASEBALL LEAGUES: A PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY. Credit to Donald Conway for having a display of Negro League photos on exhibit at the Sandy Spring (MD) Slave Museum currently, as his copy of that Brooklyn Eagles team photo triggered my pursuit of this Ward image.

[Cusick]

A. J. Jackson was a pitcher with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1958. A photo of him was posted on page 159 of this thread, but it showed him as an older man in street clothes. This photo shows him with the Monarchs. It is from the collection of Donald Conway mentioned above.

[Cusick]

A photo of Walter "Buddy" Williams was posted on page 106 of this thread. In that posting, I indicated that Buddy pitched for the Newark Eagles from 1937 through 1940. I think that information was picked up from Brent Kelly's book, which included a chapter on Buddy. Interestingly, seamheads.com does not recognize him as having played for the Newark Eagles. James Riley's encyclopedia has him with the Newark Eagles briefly in 1939 only.

At any rate, we can now add a photo of him in a Negro Leagues cap, albeit the Kansas City Monarchs rather than the Newark Eagles. This photo was on display at the Sandy Spring Slave Museum, but not part of the Donald Conway collection.

[Cusick]

Koke Alexander was an outfielder with the Dayton Marcos during the 1918-20 period. The photo is from the agatetype.type.com website run by Gary Ashwill. It shows Koke in the uniform of the Colored Men's Improvement Association of Dayton.

[Cusick]

Third baseman Samuel "Eddie" DeWitt played in the Negro Leagues from 1919 through 1923. His teams included the Dayton Marcos, Indianapolis ABC's, Columbus Buckeyes, Toledo Tigers, and Memphis Red Sox. Like the photo of Koke Alexander above, DeWitt's photo comes from the agatetype.type.com website and shows him in the uniform of the Colored Men's Improvement Association of Dayton.

[Cusick]

Abe Atkins was a shortstop and third baseman for the Toledo Tigers in 1923. The photo was shot when he was managing the Pittsburgh Keystones. It was from the Pittsburgh Courier of February 13, 1956.

[Cusick]

John Albert Billingsley was a catcher with the Memphis Red Sox in 1950. He was born on Aug. 13, 1925 in Lexar, AR and died on May 17, 2015. He was buried in Union Grove, WI. The photo is from his on-line obituary.

[pholmer]

Is this a set of photos that can be downloaded?

[Cusick]

Originally Posted by pholmer

Is this a set of photos that can be downloaded?

No, it's not a set. It's posted one photo at a time.

[Cusick]

William "Kitty Cat" Mays was the father of Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays. A photo of Kitty Cat was posted on this thread on page 167 on this thread, where he was labelled by his other nickname, "Tat." That photo showed Kitty Cat in street clothes.

In Willie May's SABR BioProject biography, his father's nickname is given as Kitty Cat.

The images of Kitty Cat below, showing him in a Birmingham Black Barons uniform, are from a 1954 comic book by Famous Funnies called "The Amazing Willie Mays." Kitty Cat played for a semi-pro team in Birmingham, but not for the Black Barons.

[pholmer]

Thanks, Cusick. The original post mentioned a photo pack, so I didn't know.

[Cusick]

Alonzo "Lon" Goodwin was the manager of the Philadelphia Royal Giants, a team which he took on tour of Asia and the Hawaiian Islands in the late 1920's and early 1930's. He is shown here in the Royal Giants uniform in a photo from the homeplatedontmove.wordpress.com website. On the webpage with the photo is an article about Goodwin authored by Bill Staples, Jr.

[oddsox]

Cusick, thanks for your 6/28/2020 reply.
Since then, I've discovered the source of the photo that shows the young Eagles player as Don Newcombe. It's inside the 1946 Negro League Yearbook
(Jackie Robinson on cover).

Sam Lacy wrote the article about Negro League players who had signed contracts with major league organizations ("They're In..."), but Lacy admits he wasn't familiar with Newcombe, the new comer.

The photo of "Newcombe" was taken from a team photo and the young player was probably thought to be Newk because he appears to be quite a bit taller than the others. But that was because he was standing on an elevated step outside the dugout.

Check out the discussion here with photos here....
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1495...66799/?__cft__[0]=AZXhofhPeMoppcb9psM2b7oqLCfRvIkZCdfSq1sUwYsYVI8Hg ImgZ7sVxPA16SaPfJ1i_7Dsnt1X-y5z6XMx5yDirCFM9LYN2rzSLKoD5cuKIPKYk8aNwQRmvgMoZb2 hFkGeqQ96cmzJpbLPburBnlrR&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

So the question remains: who is the Eagles player labeled as Don Newcombe??

Any idea??

[Cusick]

Originally Posted by oddsox

Cusick, thanks for your 6/28/2020 reply.
Since then, I've discovered the source of the photo that shows the young Eagles player as Don Newcombe. It's inside the 1946 Negro League Yearbook
(Jackie Robinson on cover).

Sam Lacy wrote the article about Negro League players who had signed contracts with major league organizations ("They're In..."), but Lacy admits he wasn't familiar with Newcombe, the new comer.

The photo of "Newcombe" was taken from a team photo and the young player was probably thought to be Newk because he appears to be quite a bit taller than the others. But that was because he was standing on an elevated step outside the dugout.

Check out the discussion here with photos here....
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1495...66799/?__cft__[0]=AZXhofhPeMoppcb9psM2b7oqLCfRvIkZCdfSq1sUwYsYVI8Hg ImgZ7sVxPA16SaPfJ1i_7Dsnt1X-y5z6XMx5yDirCFM9LYN2rzSLKoD5cuKIPKYk8aNwQRmvgMoZb2 hFkGeqQ96cmzJpbLPburBnlrR&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

So the question remains: who is the Eagles player labeled as Don Newcombe??

Any idea??

No idea.

[Cusick]

Lacey Ellerbe was a utility player with the 1950 Baltimore Elite Giants. This photo of him is extracted from a group photo of a Negro League player reunion shown in the Washington Post on April 18, 1996. A second photo of him on the right has been added. That photo is from the Baltimore Sun of February 23, 1997.

[Cusick]

First baseman Jim West is shown here with the Philadelphia Stars. Previous photos of him have been posted on this thread showing him with the Baltimore Elite Giants. This photo was displayed on the Facebook page of Jay Gauthreaux.

[Cusick]

This Walter Johnson, like the Hall-of-Famer with the same name, was a pitcher. Walter was with the Homestead Grays in 1949. According to the book, Voices from the Negro Leagues, by Brent Kelley, Walter had a 6-2 record with the Grays that year. The photo is from that book.

[Cusick]

A photo of Hank Aaron in an Indianapolis Clowns uniform has been posted previously on this thread, but in light of his recent passing, I'm adding this baseball card of his.

[Cusick]

In the March, 2021, SABR Negro Leagues Committee Newsletter, this player is presented as pitcher Eugene "Goon" Golden, who hurled for the Cleveland Buckeyes in 1950 and 1951. A photo of Clyde Golden was posted on page 92 of this thread, showing him in a Houston Eagles uniform. According to James Riley's BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE MAJOR LEAGUES, Clyde Golden pitched for the 1950 Cleveland Buckeyes. Furthermore, the two photos bear a resemblance to each other, though the skin tone in this one appears lighter than in the earlier one. That could be a matter of lighting.

I have exchanged emails with Larry Lester, Chairman of SABR's Negro Leagues Committee, on this topic. Larry, who co-authored THE NEGRO LEAGUES BOOK which agreed with James Riley that Clyde Golden pitched for the Cleveland Buckeyes, has had a change of heart. Larry now concludes that Eugene Golden is a different fellow who pitched for the Buckeyes and Clyde Golden did not. Clyde Golden is alive and well, and living in Jacksonville, Florida. Eugene Golden passed away recently, which is why his photo and obit appeared in the SABR Negro Leagues Committee newsletter.

[Cusick]

This is an improved photo of Eddie "Eagle" Durant with the Mohawk Giants. He was an outfielder. The photo is from the website www.timesunion.com.