Pitcher Juan Antonio Marichal, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco (California) Giants from 1960 to 1973, was first Dominican-born baseball player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Marichal, nicknamed “The Dominican Dandy,” was born on October 20, 1937 in … Read MoreJuan Antonio Marichal (1937- )
Ernest “Ernie” Banks was the first African American baseball player for the Chicago (Illinois) Cubs and the first African American manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Banks earned the nickname “Mr. Cub” while playing shortstop and first base from 1953-1971 for the team. Ernest Banks … Read MoreErnest “Ernie” Banks (1931-2015)
Curt Flood, an American Major League Baseball player best known for his challenge of the “reserve clause,” was born January 18, 1938 in Houston, Texas and was raised in Oakland, California. Flood began playing baseball as a youth. Showing great promise he signed a contract … Read MoreCurtis Charles Flood (1938-1997)
Moses Fleetwood Walker, often called Fleet, was the first African American to play major league baseball in the nineteenth century. Born October 7, 1857, in Mount Pleasant, Ohio, Walker was the fifth of six children born to parents Dr. Moses W. Walker, a physician, and … Read MoreMoses Fleetwood Walker (1857-1924)
John Ritchey integrated the Pacific Coast League, the AAA-level minor baseball league on the West Coast, when he played as a San Diego Padre in 1948. The second-generation baseball player was born in 1923, in San Diego, California and was the youngest of nine children. … Read MoreJohn Franklin Ritchey (1923-2003)
James Thomas Bell was born May 17, 1903, in Starkville, Mississippi. Playing baseball as a 19 year-old rookie Bell earned the nickname “Cool Papa” after proving to his older teammates that he was not intimidated by playing professionally in front of large crowds. Signing with … Read MoreJames [“Cool Papa”] Bell (1903-1991)
