It must take quite an athlete to twice earn All-American status in two different sports… no matter at what level of college athletics he or she performs. Such was the case with former NFL linebacker, Peter Barnes of Southern University. Not…
Author: Jay Sokol
Jay Sokol is the founder of Black College Nines in 2009. Longtime researcher of college baseball and former general manager and lead recruiter of the Delaware (Ohio) Cows of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League – a summer collegiate wooden bat pro prospect developmental league. Previously Sokol served as the volunteer sports information director for baseball at Ohio Dominican College (now Ohio Dominican University) in the mid-1990s. He is a member of the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) and a founding member of the HBCU-Pro Sports Media Association (HBCU-PSMA).
Johnny Sample of Maryland State – Outspoken Star of the 1960s
Don’t look too hard in the paper or on the internet for this week’s score of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore football game. The team is off this weekend. They did not play last weekend either. As a matter of fact, its…
Charles Follis of the College of Wooster – Football and Baseball Integrator
With it being football season, I thought I’d feature some stories about former pigskin pros who also starred in baseball during their college years. And what better place to start than with the very first African-American to play for pay.…
When HBCUs Dominated NAIA Baseball – Part 1
I recently emailed the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) asking for year-end stats from 1957 through 1969. Back when I was a volunteer sports information director for baseball at (then) Ohio Dominican College, I had collected stats from 1970…
Bert Simmons of NC A&T – Negro League Star Passes Away
As much as possible, I like to keep this site dedicated to the historical aspect of HBCU baseball and to black pioneers of college ball. Since sometimes historical data on HBCU ballplayers from the mid-twentieth century and before is sketchy,…
Ralph Garr of Grambling – More than a “Face in the Crowd”
America’s baseball population was first introduced to a young Ralph Garr when he appeared in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” section of its June 26, 1967 issue. The national recognition capped a brilliant senior season at Grambling College in…
Condredge Holloway of Tennessee – Vols’ First Black Ballplayer
Condredge Holloway was known as the “Artful Dodger” in college at the University of Tennessee, but he’s one Dodger who chose a career in professional football instead of baseball. A man who has earned more than his share of…
Charles Thomas of Ohio Wesleyan University – Inspiration to Branch Rickey
The plight of Charles Thomas, Ohio Wesleyan University’s baseball and football star of the early 1900s is well documented. His story is known not only in the local Delaware, Ohio community, but nationally as well. Thomas, the lone black ballplayer…