For me, it is interesting to realize that the man who broke baseball’s “color barrier” was not even the first at his college to break that same barrier… nor was he the best on the UCLA Bruins’ ball club. When…
When HBCUs Dominated NAIA Baseball – Part 2
College baseball season is so close at hand that I can almost hear the ping of aluminum… or if I listen close enough, the crack of a wooden bat. Though it seems far from baseball weather as I look at…
Harry Ward of Wilberforce University – A Star for All Seasons
Today, legends are born and perpetuated much easier than ever before. In a world before the internet and even further back to a time without television, heroes were created with the recording of their exploits by newspaper writers and radio broadcasters. The…
Pete Barnes of Southern University – Baseball and Football All-American
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…
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…
Links to Stats for HBCU Ballplayers Taken in the 2009 MLB Draft
So, how are this year’s crop of HBCU pro baseball rookies doing? Below are links to stats for those first year MLB draft choices from HBCU schools… CJ Beatty North Carolina A&T Hiram Burgos Bethune Cookman Andrew Moss Lincoln (Mo.) Myrio Richard Prairie…
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…
2009 HBCU Freshmen All-Americans
Congratulations to the following ballplayers representing HBCU schools who were recently named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans: Eduardo Gonzalez, Alcorn St. — Named Freshman of The Year in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and a second team league pick, he hit .419…