“When Moses Fleetwood Walker played, there were people in those crowds that owned slaves at one time. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Moses Fleetwood Walker: The Life and Legacy of the Last … Why then does the myth persist that Jackie Robinson was first? According to Zang’s research and citation of Sporting Life, Walker may have earned as much as $2,000 for a summer’s work while a major leaguer at a time when a laborer earned about $10 a week.17 He was no longer able to demand a salary in that range, but his skills were still sought after, and he was engaged to return to Waterbury for an entire season in the Eastern League. He caught it and came down to me. On this day, Walker was injured (a common occurrence among catchers in the days before catcher’s mitts were invented) and was told to take the day off by his manager Charlie Morton. Fleet enrolled at the University of Michigan for his third year of college-level study in the spring of 1882. He again was an employee of the post office and involved himself with the Knights of Pythias and later the Negro Masons. Walker’s major-league debut, a baseball milestone game, saw him return to Louisville, where because of his race he had been forbidden to play three summers before. In the end, “The objection of the Eclipse players, however, was too much and Walker was compelled to retire. Tony Mullane … than whom no pitcher ever had more speed, was pitching for Toledo and he did not like to be the battery partner of a Negro. On May 11, 1924, Moses Fleetwood Walker died and was buried in Steubenville, Ohio. When the Union Association slipped into oblivion, the overall talent pool available to the leagues increased, which lessened the need to explore manpower alternatives. Moses Fleetwood Walker played baseball in the late 19th century when the game was still in its early stages. Glad you like the image, according to his biography, it is a close-up from a team photo with the Toledo Blue Stockings in 1883. The author relied heavily on David Zang’s definitive biography of Moses Fleetwood, Fleet Walker’s Divided Heart. “Walker, the colored catcher of the Toledo Club … was a source of contention between the home club and … the Chicago Club. The local newspaper went onto say that during his warm-up, “He made several brilliant throws and fine catches while the game waited.”3 But some Eclipse players still objected to Walker’s playing and two, Johnnie Reccius and Fritz Pfeffer, left the field and went to the clubhouse in protest. The team practiced in the gymnasium daily during the winter and raised money for new uniforms and care of their grounds. What is a quote for Moses Fleetwood Walker? He continued to be attracted to and to play baseball. His parents were Moses W Walker and Caroline O’Harra who both were mixed race. Baseball historians, researchers, writers, the Mud Hens, yours truly, and John Thorn, major-league baseball’s official historian, all agree. Then in September 1898 Walker was arrested, convicted, and sentenced for mail robbery. The former law student’s life after professional baseball included his being a husband, a father, an entrepreneur, both a success and failure in business, an author, an inventor, an activist, a felon, a federal prisoner, and a killer of a man. Their times were very different and the results of their actions were very different. His biographer, David W. Zang, said of him, “Moses Fleetwood Walker was no ordinary man, and in the 1880s he was no ordinary baseball player.”1. Hall of Famer Cap Anson had a great career in the big leagues. Catching in the 1880s was a brutal proposition. Members included Fleet, his younger brother Weldy Wilberforce Walker and Burket – all future professional players. Already on the Nocks roster was Walker’s mate and pitcher at Oberlin, Harlan Burket. Walker’s 1884 season was no more of a success than his team’s. October 7, 1856 at Mount Pleasant, OH (USA). He ended a tumultuous decade, during which both his parents had died, with a year as a federal prisoner. Their experiences were often painful and very similar but separated by 63 years. Could it be because Walker played so long ago that what he did no longer seems relevant? Many believe that Jackie Robinson was the first professional African-American baseball player. When you look at the fact that slavery had only been abolished less than 20 years before Walker, America was still getting used to that idea. Also accompanying Fleet was 18-year-old Arabella “Bella” Taylor, who would become his first wife. He was reunited with and assisted by his brother Weldy. The contest was staged in Louisville, and not all Kentuckians and game participants appreciated having a black man playing with and against white men. Regardless of how you look at it, the brothers began a history that is largely forgotten today. Seventy-six years later the Oberlin Heisman Club financed the erection of a … Moses Fleetwood Walker was born in 1856 in Mount Pleasant, Ohio. There, for the first time, he played an extended period of professional baseball that was covered extensively by the local press. His views were hardly unique at the time, within baseball or the country at large, but his prominent position made him a major factor in segregating baseball. He was the third son of the six or seven children born to Moses W. Walker and Caroline O’Harra Walker, both of whom were of mixed race. Sadly, the next time the two teams met in 1884, Anson had it written into his contract that Walker (or any other African-Americans) would not be eligible to play in an exhibition with his team. In the fall of 1878 he enrolled in the classical and scientific course in the department of philosophy and arts, Class of 1882. Jackie Robinson, the best known of these black players became the third, much later. 15 Ocania Chalk, Pioneers of Black Sport (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1975), 8. He was initially an excellent student, but his grades suffered significantly as his proficiency at the game increased. Not to discount anything Robinson went through, but Walker suffered more. The Toledo Blade said of him, “Walker has played more games and has been of greater value behind the bat than any catcher in the league.”10 Sporting Life chimed in with “Toledo’s colored catcher is looming up as a great man behind the bat.”11 It also said that he and Hank O’Day formed one of the most remarkable batteries in the country.”12 Most often the press used an adjective referring to Walker’s color when describing him or his play. It was baseball that had taken him there, but other purposes were served as well. Among the business conducted by the Executive Committee of the Northwestern League during a meeting at Toledo’s Boody House Hotel on March 14, 1883 was the following: A motion was made by a representative from Peoria that no colored player be allowed in the league. 42 is a 2013 sports drama film that stars Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, and Nicole Beharie.. During that inaugural contest, Walker caught and struck a memorable grand slam. After 22 years of marriage, Ednah died in 1920. When the club appeared on the field for practice before the game, the managers and one of the players of the Eclipse Club objected to Walker playing on account of his color. Young Thomas joined his sister, Cleodolinda, who had been born in December of 1882. Contributing to his decline in academic interest may have been the loss of family discipline due to the departure of his father to another church post in 1878. New Castle, about 50 miles north of Pittsburgh, welcomed Walker as a member of the Neshannocks. In those days, it wasn't uncommon for black men (or women) to be attacked for no reason. The game was played with Walker and further incidence was avoided. Lin Weber, Ralph Elliott, ed. Further, it is exceedingly supportive of Walker and indicates that the Toledo management came to his defense and suggests that the city did as well. Whether they thought they were far superior or they still couldn't get used to the idea that slavery no longer existed, whites struggled with blacks being on the field. Asked by Wiki User. This attitude infuriated Morton, who responded by putting Walker into his lineup at centerfield. His baseball career ended when he was released on August 23 and became the last black man to play in the International League until Jackie Robinson joined Montreal in 1946. The Eclipse players initiated Walker into the hard realities of prejudice and bigotry that would become integral to the game, in part because of Fleet Walker’s own actions. 16 Toledo Evening Bee, September 18, 1884, 4. During 42 games of his big league career, Walker batted .263 with 40 hits, including two doubles and three triples. Another contributing factor was, no doubt, romance. The work is well-researched, well-documented, well-written and complete. But the first record of his play came following his father’s 1877 call to serve the Second Methodist Episcopal Church in Oberlin, Ohio. There were people in those crowds that were slaves at one time. Moses Fleetwood Walker was born in the eastern Ohio community of Mount Pleasant, Jefferson County, on October 7, 1856. Walker was put on trial, but was acquitted of murder, according to a newspaper article from the Cleveland Gazette. With Jay Walker, Steven Bodie, Derek York, Jason Pack. The locals were a crack club that would enter the American Association as a charter member the following year. Walker's short professional baseball career mirrors the experience of most of the great African American ballplayers before the Negro Leagues began in the early twentieth century. A native of Mount Pleasant, Ohio, and a star athlete at Oberlin College as well as the University of Michigan, Walker played for semi-professional and minor league baseball clubs before joining the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association (AA) for the 1884 season. Walker worked under an unbelievable handicap with his batterymate that was held in secret by the pair until revealed by Mullane decades later when the New York Age of January 11, 1919, reported: “Toledo once had a colored man who was declared by many to be the greatest catcher of the time and greater even than his contemporary, Buck Ewing. His wife, Arabella, died of cancer in 1895, and he married an Oberlin classmate, Ednah Mason, in 1898. One of the first African-Americans to play Major League Baseball. Certificate(s) of Authenticity for Toledo photos. The club journeyed to Louisville, Kentucky, for an August 21 game against the Eclipse nine. Cronkite School at ASU [614] 285-7780. Walker then sold the Opera House and eventually landed in Cleveland, again with Weldy, and operated the Temple Theater for a few months. While an amazing athlete in many respects, he's most remembered for being the first black player to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball.While black players appeared in top-level professional baseball in the 1870s and 1880s, note and may have (very) … After his release Walker he returned with Ednah and the three children to Steubenville, where he and his brother Weldy operated the Union Hotel. He was preceded in death by two wives, the first of whom delivered him two sons and a daughter. But Anson’s bold statement, “won’t play never no more with the nigger in,”14 proved to be the case, as he never did play against Walker. The team, known as the Nocks, was billed as an amateur outfit but Walker and some others were paid. Fleet Walker remained in Syracuse and again joined the postal service as a railway clerk. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. That honor goes to Moses Fleetwood Walker, who made his professional debut on May 1, 1884 with the Toledo Blue Stockings. The game was delayed for over an hour as the two managers argued. His younger brother, Weldy, also was a baseball player and was the second black man to appear in a major-league game. It seems Anson’s racism ran only as deep as his wallet, as this argument convinced him to play the game. Then, on April 9, 1891, he became a killer when he fatally stabbed one of a small group of white men on the streets of Syracuse during an exchange of racial insults. A precursor of coming financial and legal issues occurred on a June trip to Toledo when the Stars’ gate receipts were attached to satisfy debts that Walker had left there. Racial pressure against both Walker and the club was constant. Their second child, Thomas, was born there in August. Besides being a good player he is intelligent and has many friends. Mr. Walker was the second African American to play major league baseball. 2 John Thorn, Baseball in the Garden of Eden (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011), 185. During this time, he and Weldy jointly edited a black-issues newspaper, The Equator, which explored the idea of black Americans emigrating to Africa. A man by the name of Moses Fleetwood Walker, a Michigan grad and catcher for the Toledo Blue Stockings, is actually the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. The early history of both parents is unclear but by 1870 the family had moved to Steubenville, also in Jefferson County, where Moses W. Walker worked as a cooper. Instead, he left school and answered the call to become a professional baseball player. Wiki User Answered 2012-02-25 14:44:48. no. Moses Fleetwood Walker, the First African-American player in organized pro baseball in 1884. The Western League (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2002). The Toledo Daily Blade’s lengthy account is not at all complimentary of either Anson or his team. The event happened on Aug. 10, 1883 when Anson's Chicago White Stockings had an exhibition game scheduled against Walker's Toledo team. He never again played in the major leagues but continued for five more seasons in nearly all-white high minor leagues. Contact SABR, 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, http://dev.sabr.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/WalkerFleet.jpg, /wp-content/uploads/2020/02/sabr_logo.png, an in-season exhibition game on August 10, 1883. Then in 1881, Oberlin College fielded its first varsity intercollegiate team. Cap Anson was not entirely responsible for baseball’s more than a half-century of segregation but he and Fleet Walker had a lot to do with forcing it. This is wrong, this is good, this is bad, this is hell yeah, this is hell no, but something's tearing at my heart. He hit a then-decent .251 but it was on defense that he shone and made his most significant contributions to Toledo’s pennant-winning season. Oberlin College admitted Walker for the fall 1878 semester. Moses Fleetwood Walker, the first black man to play for a major league baseball team. Generally, the only protective equipment employed by Walker was a mask. This included the catcher which was Walker's position. Bella and Fleet had made their home in Toledo and continued to do so after his release. Walker followed his former Newark manager to Syracuse, also of the International Association, for 1888. He played in just 18 games before his club folded as did the Western League just days later, on June 15. While most people don't know much about Walker, there are many fascinating things about him. Chalk, Ocania, Pioneers of Black Sport (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1975). However, nowhere was this more evident than on a trip to Louisville. McBane, Richard, A Fine-Lot of Ball-Tossers: The Remarkable Akrons of 1881 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2005). Late in the year Fleet took a job as a postal clerk in Toledo but by spring was back in baseball. It is interesting to note that his brother, Welday Walker, became the second African-American to play professional baseball. In spite of that mediocre performance, he landed a job with defending champion Newark of the highly regarded International Association for 1887. Both Walker and Robinson met and withstood the assault of racial bigotry. 555 N. Central Ave. #416 See Answer. Moses Fleetwood Walker played baseball in the late 19th century when the game was still in its early stages. International League of Professional Baseball Clubs, 2013 International League Record Book (Dublin, Ohio: International League of Professional Baseball Clubs, 2013). Many of the "rules" banning non-white players were created especially for him. Lucas County (Ohio) Probate Court Records, Birth Records, July 30, 1884. He was good enough to become the school's top diamond star—and good enough to pick up some cash in the summer of 1881, suiting up for the White Sewing Machine team. White, however, played and lived his life as a white man and faced none of the trials that Walker and Robinson did. The first African-American player in professional baseball was Moses Fleetwood Walker (thank you, The Dollop podcast). This is the third attempt by the government to have Walker's date of birth be a day of significance within the state. The Toledo club released Walker due to an injury three weeks before the trip to Richmond, and the threat became moot. Moses Fleetwood “Fleet” Walker, an African-American, made his major-league debut with Toledo on May 1, 1884, in an American Association game. For many (including Anson), having an African-American ballplayer on the same field was unfathomable. Walker was constantly subjected to abuse from fans, the press, players who did not want to take the field against him, and even his teammates. Moses Fleetwood Walker: The Life and Legacy of the Last Black Man to Play Major League Baseball Before Jackie Robinson - Kindle edition by Charles River Editors. Already greatly weakened by the loss of their starting catcher, the visitors suffered a double whammy when Walker’s replacement injured his hand in the first inning and refused to come out for the second. Walker was the subject of racism throughout his playing days. In vain, the Clevelands protested that he was their regular catcher, and that his withdrawal would weaken the nine. One was outfielder Curt Welch, who played both the 1883 and 1884 seasons as Walker’s teammate; the other was Toledo’s workhorse pitcher in 1884, Tony Mullane. The Louisville managers decided that he could not play, and the Clevelands were compelled to substitute West. The Toledo Baseball Guide of the Mud Hens 1883-1943 (Rossford, Ohio: Baseball Research Bureau, 1944). We hope you will listen to our words of warning, so that there will be no trouble: but if you do not, there certainly will be. But Robinson was not the first black man to play major-league baseball. There is good reason for their absence: Both had been released before the picture was taken. Shop for this square black and white Photos of The Moses Fleetwood Walker Mural in Hensville by utilizing the tabs and accordion below (mobile) or right (desktop, landscape tablet). Here he formed an effective all-black battery with George Stovey. Or could it be because the league in which he played has not survived? Could it be that Robinson played within the memory of still living Americans and so is favored by them? 1 David W. Zang, Fleet Walker’s Divided Heart: The Life of Baseball’s First Black Major Leaguer (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995), 34. On Anson’s demand, neither Walker nor Stovey played. Moses Fleetwood Walker of the 1884 Toledo team is, without question, the first to play major league baseball openly as a black man. Phone: 602.496.1460 Later in 1891 he returned to his roots in Steubenville. It's not to say he wouldn't have had the opportunity to play pro baseball had he not taken the route, but it definitely helped. Despite the retroactive application of genetic rules, I believe that if Mr. White said he was white, we should consider him white. The Ann Arbor squad made good on the promise by winning 10 of 13 games. The incident of August 10, 1883, in Toledo certainly brought the issue to the forefront and began an open, blatant, and successful effort to bar black players from Organized Baseball. Fleet was immediately installed as the team’s regular catcher. The team finished eighth in the ten-team circuit with Walker appearing in just 42 of the 104 games played. Anson was the team’s very capable leader, a Hall of Fame-bound player and an outspoken racial bigot. If you can help us improve this player’s biography, contact us. The Opera House played opera, live acts of many kinds, and motion pictures and was operated by Fleet and Ednah. The motion which would have expelled him was fought bitterly and finally laid on the table.8. That same day, the International League acted not to approve the contracts of additional black players. The 15 featured players below were selected after consultation with John Thorn, the Official Historian for MLB, and other Negro Leagues experts. This is why I pointed out there is some confusion. Here's a look at seven such things that you need to know about the majors' first black player. Join SABR's Future 50 Campaign in 2021 and help support the future of baseball research. His brother Weldy became the second to do so that same year, also in Toledo. It would be the first of many times throughout history an African-American would not be allowed to play against a team because of his color. However, none of it would have been possible had it not been for the contributions of Walker. It as a town in the eastern part of the state and was known as a sanctuary for runaway slaves. Twenty-year-old Fleet Walker enrolled in the preparatory program at Oberlin College that same year. One day he signaled me for a curve and I shot a fast ball at him. He was buried, in a grave unmarked until 1991, at Union Cemetery in Steubenville, Ohio. The season’s final game was a 9-2 win over the University of Michigan. The local press gave advance notice of Walker’s impending arrival with glowing reviews calling him “…one of the best catchers in the country” and “a gentleman in every sense of the word both on the ball field and off.”6 According to Zang, the New Castle papers, unlike those in every other city where Walker played professionally, never made reference to Fleet Walker’s color. … He said, ‘I’ll catch you without signals, but I won’t catch you if you are going to cross me when I give you signals.’ And all the rest of that season he caught me and caught anything I pitched without knowing what was coming.”15. Recent research has caused some, including Thorn, to suggest that still another man was the first black to play major-league baseball. It was normal in those days for professional teams to schedule exhibition games against semi-pro teams. Thorn has said of Walker, “He would be the last black player in the major leagues until 1947.”. Robinson did get a lot of press at the time when he began playing, so many people assume that he was the first. Note: Quotes in this article were taken from Walker's biography, unless otherwise noted. In 1904 Fleet became the manager of the Opera House in nearby Cadiz, Ohio. Walker met his future wives, both Oberlin students, during this time. Walker will be enshrined into the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame on October 5 and with final approval from Governor John Kasich, October 7 will forever be known as "Moses Fleetwood Walker Day" in the state of Ohio. Moses Fleetwood Walker, often called Fleet, was the first African American to play major league baseball in the nineteenth century. Fleet then latched on with the minor-league team in Waterbury, Connecticut, which played successively in three different leagues that year; he appeared in 39 games. Phoenix, AZ 85004 Toledo’s success of 1883 propelled the city’s team into the American Association for the following season. Madden, W.C., and Patrick J. Stewart. The beginning of the end of African-American participation in Organized Baseball may have begun when Cap Anson brought his Chicago White Stockings team to Toledo for an in-season exhibition game on August 10, 1883. Finally, Morton declared that if Anson forfeited the game, he would also forfeit the gate receipts. Walker, however, stayed the course and played in 42 games for the Toledos before being released late in the season because of injury. Zang, David W., Fleet Walker’s Divided Heart: The Life of Baseball’s First Black Major Leaguer (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995). Luckily for Robinson, teams couldn't refuse to play or else they forfeited the game. Prior to the Toledos’ visit to the Southern city of Richmond, Virginia, Toledo manager Charlie Morton received this letter written September 5, 1884: Dear Sir: We the undersigned, do hereby warn you not to put up Walker, the Negro catcher, the evenings that you play in Richmond, as we could mention the names of 75 determined men who have sworn to mob Walker if he comes to the ground in a suit. Sunday, April 15, 2007, was observed as Jackie Robinson Day across America as individual players and all of Robinson’s Dodgers honored Robinson by wearing his retired number 42. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported the following day that “players of the Eclipse Club objected to Walker playing on account of his color.”2 The Clevelands responded by holding Walker out of the starting lineup. That honor belongs to Moses Fleetwood Walker. From the latter group, Walker may have had the worst experience from at least two fellow players who were open segregationists. He never played for an all-black team. It is well known that the catcher of the Toledo club is a colored man. Walker was 27 years old when he broke into the big leagues on May 1, 1884, with the Toledo Blue Stockings. In fact, baseball gloves hadn't been invented yet and the players in the field played with bare hands. Moses Fleetwood “Fleet” Walker, an African-American, made his major-league debut with Toledo on May 1, 1884, in an American Association game.
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