Forgotten Heroes: John Beckwith

Transcription

1 Forgotten Heroes: John Beckwith Center for Negro League Baseball Research Copyright 2014 Dr. Layton Revel and Luis Munoz

2 All Nations Baseball Club (1918) Chicago, Illinois (Stanley H. Beckwith - fifth from left) Baltimore Black Sox (1925) Eastern Colored League (Jud Wilson back row third from right and John Beckwith - kneeling second from right)

3 John Beckwith was born on January 10, 1900 in Louisville, Kentucky to Jacob and Daisy Beckwith. The Beckwith family (mother, John and his siblings) moved to Chicago when he was young. John learned to play baseball on the sandlots of Chicago following in the footsteps of his older brother Stanley H. who was an outstanding ball player and played for various high level teams in the Chicago area. John Beckwith was an extremely large and powerful man for his day. He stood approximately 6 feet 3 inches tall and and weighed 230 pounds during his playing days. According to players who played with and against him, John was 230 pounds of solid home run hitting muscle. Beckwith batted from the right side of the plate and threw right handed. He was one of the great power hitters of Negro League baseball history. During the 1920 s and early 1930 s, John Beckwith is considered by many as the best hitter in Negro League baseball. Beckwith could hit for both power and average. He posted a career batting average of.352 in Negro League games and a career batting average of.369 in games against all levels of competition. Prior to Josh Gibson, he was the most feared power hitter in the Negro Leagues. John was a big man who reportedly used a 38 inch bat that weighed 42 ounces. His homeruns were legendary in the 1920 s and early 1930 s. Beckwith was a pull hitter who consistently overcame opponents fielding shifts to deliver a base hit. In the field he was primarily a third baseman, shortstop and catcher but had the versatility to play several other positions including pitcher during his baseball career which lasted from 1916 to During the latter part of his career and when he retired as an active player, Beckwith managed the Baltimore Black Sox, Harrisburg Giants, Newark Browns, Brooklyn Royal Giants, New York Stars, Beckwith s Stars and several other teams. Harrisburg Giants Beckwith is reported to have had a fiery temper or as his good friend Al Cleffie Fennar who played with and against him in the Negro Leagues once said in an interview: Beck was a touchy ball player. He could be very head strong and hard for managers to handle. If someone got in Beckwith s face, he didn t back down. Once in a game while he was playing for the New York Lincoln Giants, Bill Holland who was pitching for the Giants threw down his glove and berated John for an error he had just made costing his team the game. Beckwith s response was to walk over to Holland and punch him in the face knocking him out. However, Fennar also said of his friend that if you left him alone, you wouldn t have any problems. Turkey Stearnes (Negro League great and member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame) shared similar views about Beckwith in an interview that he did with John Holway (Negro League researcher). When asked about his experiences with Beckwith, Stearnes said the following: John Beckwith was one of my favorite ballplayers. He d fight in a minute, but if you didn t bother him, he didn t bother you. I never had any trouble with him and I played on the club right beside him. 1

4 Over the course of his professional baseball career ( ), John was quick to move from one ball club to another, especially if he felt he was underappreciated or not being paid top dollar. Whether it was for financial reasons or if Beckwith just felt he wasn t being treated fairly, he changed teams at least twenty-six (26) times during the regular season. Because of his ability to hit the ball especially for power and run production, Beckwith s services were always in demand. No matter where he played, Beckwith was always a fan favorite and a big draw at the gate. Early Baseball Career John grew up playing baseball on the sandlots of Chicago. He was greatly influenced by his older brother Stanley H. who played professional baseball for the Chicago Giants ( ) and E.A. and E.H. Backlin s All Nations baseball club (team based in Chicago) in As a teenager, John thought he wanted a career as a professional boxer. It is rumored that he changed his mind after a sparring session with Sam Boston Tar Baby Langford. Langford was a vicious fighter who won 200 professional fights during his career and was voted the # 2 greatest puncher of all time by Ring Magazine. Evidently a good beating by Langford and encouragement by his brother (Stanley) got John to play professional baseball instead of taking up a career as a professional boxer. According to some Negro League researchers, John played his first game as a professional ball player on July 02, 1916 for the Montgomery Grey Sox during their Northern tour. Other researchers credit his brother Stanley as playing for the Grey Sox. In 1917 John Beckwith started the season with the Havana Stars (traveling team based out of Chicago) before he joined the Chicago Giants as they barnstormed through the Great Lakes and Midwest. John also played for Jewell s ABC s and the Indianapolis ABC s during the 1917 season. Havana Stars vs Indiana Harbor The Lake Country Times Hammond, Indiana Research by Gary Ashwill has revealed that John worked at the Illinois State Reformatory in He also continued to play baseball in the Chicago area while he was working at the State Reformatory. John played several games in 1918 with his brother Stanley H. for the All Nations team that was based in Chicago. The All Nations club only played a limited number of games during the season because their bookings were limited to the weekends and holidays. In 1919 John played with the Chicago Giants in 1919 as they played an independent schedule. Beckwith also played for Rube Foster s Chicago American Giants during Chicago Giants vs Hammond Baseball Club (1917) 2

5 Negro League Career Black baseball changed dramatically in 1920 when Rube Foster formed the Negro National League. Rube Foster s league brought black baseball to the forefront in America. The Negro National League also brought organization to black baseball and significantly raised its stature in the baseball community. The following teams and the league standings for the 1920 Negro National League season were as follows: Negro National League (1920) Chicago American Giants Detroit Stars Kansas City Monarchs Indianapolis ABC s Cuban Stars St. Louis Giants Dayton Marcos Chicago Giants During the inaugural season of the Negro National League in 1920, Beckwith played for the Chicago Giants. The Chicago Giants were owned by Charles Joe Green who had played for the Leland Giants during his playing days. As the season progressed it became apparent that the Giants lacked both the hitting and pitching to compete with the other Negro National League squads. The pitching staff struggled so much that John was even called on to pitch one game. The poor performance of the Giants was in spite of Beckwith s play. He finished the season as the second leading hitter on the team with a.286 batting average behind third baseman William Green (.314). In the twenty-six league games for which box scores have been recovered, Beckwith Reno Evening Gazette Reno, Nevada had 25 runs batted in which was extremely productive. At the end of the season the Chicago Giants made a barnstorming tour to Utah, Idaho, Montana and several other western states. Chicago Giants (1920) (John Beckwith - back row fourth from right) 3

6 Chicago Giants vs Indianapolis ABC s Negro National League The Indianapolis Sunday Star Beckwith rejoined the Chicago Giants for the 1921 Negro National League season as their starting shortstop. It was during the 1921 season that Beckwith really came into his own as a hitter. As the team s starting shortstop, Beckwith led his team in hitting with a.378 batting average and in slugging with a.547 slugging percentage. His.378 batting average placed him in third place behind Oscar Charleston and Negro National League batting champion Charles Blackwell (.448) for the league batting title. John was also very productive in driving in runs with 41 RBI s in the 38 league games he played. Even with Beckwith in their line-up, the Chicago Giants still finished in last place in the Negro National League standings. The Giants record, however, did improve from 4-24 (.143) in 1920 to (.238) in Before the start of the 1922 Negro National League season, Beckwith was signed by Rube Foster to play for his Chicago American Giants. Under the leadership of Rube Foster, Chicago had won the Negro National League titles in 1920 and During the off season, John had gone from the worst team in the league to the best. Led by the hitting of Cristobel Torriente (.393) and Beckwith (.361), the Chicago American Giants Chicago Giants finished the season with a record and won Alton Evening Telegraph their third straight Negro National League title The Chicago American Giants pitching staff was led by Dave Brown (16-7), Juan Padrone (14-11) and Huck Rile (10-4). In the fifty-nine (59) league games Beckwith played for the American Giants during the 1922 season, he compiled the following statistics: Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG After the conclusion of the regular 1922 season schedule, the Chicago American Giants met the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants in the Negro League World Series. The five game series was played in Chicago with game one being played on September 12 th and game five only four days later on September 16 th. Behind the strong pitching of Dave Brown and the timely hitting of Dave Malarcher, Leroy Grant and John Beckwith, the Chicago American Giants defeated the Bacharach Giants three games to two to win the Negro League World Series. Beckwith was back with the Chicago American Giants for the 1923 Negro National League season. John moved to third base for the 1923 season. Beckwith had a good season in He hit.304 with a.537 slugging percentage and drove in 77 runs in 72 games. He also finished among the league leaders in doubles (21), triples (9) and homeruns (8). The American Giants finished the season with a (.586) record which tied them with the Detroit Stars for second place in the league standings. The Kansas City Monarchs won the Negro National League title with a (.633) record. 4

7 After the 1923 season, Oscar Charleston and John Beckwith joined the Detroit Stars for an exhibition series against the St. Louis Browns of the American League. Behind the hitting of Charleston (who went 6 for 12 with 3 homeruns), Beckwith (who when the Stars were down 6-0 hit a two run homerun that sparked Detroit to a 7-6 come from behind victory) and Turkey Stearnes (who went 6 for 13), the Stars beat the Browns two out of three games. Beckwith then joined Rube Foster s Chicago American Giants to play a three game series versus the Detroit Tigers. Chicago split the series with one win, one loss and one tie. The Eastern Colored League (ECL) was formed in 1923 by Ed Bolden who owned the Hilldale baseball club. Before the 1923 season, the ECL owners raided the Negro National League for several of its top stars. Several of the players who jumped to the Eastern Colored League were: Biz Mackey, George Scales, Clint Thomas and Frank Warfield. The Eastern Colored League included the following teams in their first season: Hilldale, Cuban Stars, Brooklyn Royal Giants, Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, New York Lincoln Giants and Baltimore Black Sox. Baltimore finished in last place in the ECL during its inaugural season and was determined to improve their position in the league standings. Prior to the 1924 season the owner of the Black Sox decided to revamp his entire roster. Baltimore s first move was to hire Negro League legend Pete Hill as the team s manager. Baltimore then signed the following stars: Harry Blackman, Bill Force, Crush Holloway, Bob McClure, Neal Pullen and Joe Strong to join Jud Wilson and the Black Sox team. John Beckwith started the 1924 season with the Cum Posey s Homestead Grays. When Beckwith joined the team he was named the team s starting catcher and team captain. Posey s signing of Beckwith was major news in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Excerpts from Pittsburg Courier articles about Beckwith s short tenure with the Homestead Grays are as follows: The lure of the East, New York and the big time, had no particular appeal for this earnest hard working diamond star or if it did, he remained true to his promise and signed a contract. His buddy, Judy Gans (Lincoln Giants manager), attempted to persuade him to go East, but his reply, typical of him, was to the effect that he had signed up with the Grays and intended to come here. (Pittsburg Courier, ) Colorful to the extreme, Beckwith is the kind of player who will make a decided impression with fans throughout the tri-state district, and his name in the lineup will be an immense drawing power. He will do the receiving for the Grays. Realizing this fact and also realizing that tempting offers from various Eastern magnates were being flaunted almost daily in the face of the former Foster star, Posey went to Chicago two weeks ago, and upon his return brought back the bats which are Beckwith s greatest hobby. Where ever those bats go, there goes Beckwith also, and when he appeared Saturday, one of Posey s biggest causes for worry had been removed. (Pittsburg Courier, ) The climax of the entire affair occurred Saturday, said one of the players, talking for himself. It was in the crucial eighth inning. Bellevue at the time was leading 3-1. Posey, on the first base coaching line, sent a pinch-hitter up. Beckwith waved him back. Eventually our club lost, 3-2. That started the fireworks. Posey is as reasonable as anyone, if you get the results. But when you go against his better judgment, and lose games, that is a different thing. (Pittsburg Courier, ) Beckwith was unable to fit our organization, Posey said, and we felt that we had to either let him go or ruin the morale of our club. (Pittsburg Courier, ) 5

8 Financial disagreements and arguments over how players would be used in games between Posey and John ended up with him being released by the Grays only after about six weeks with the club. The Baltimore Black Sox of the Eastern Colored League did not hesitate signing Beckwith. As soon as news was made public of Beckwith s release, Charles Spedden (owner of the Baltimore Black Sox) got on a train to Pittsburgh to sign Beckwith, but Beckwith had already gone back to his home in Chicago. Spedden continued this journey to Chicago and signed Beckwith on the spot. The Pittsburg Courier reported Beckwith s signing with Baltimore in the following article on June 28, Beckwith is one of the most valuable players in organized baseball. Still a young man, he will give the Black Sox just that punch without which they cannot hope to rise above third place. His acquisition has made Baltimore one of the strongest clubs in the East, and the league race (Eastern Colored League) from now on promises to take on all the glitter of real fireworks. (Pittsburg Courier, ) The Baltimore Afro-American reported the following story on July 4, 1924 about Beckwith s signing by the Black Sox. In the acquisition of Beckwith, formerly of the Homestead Grays (Pittsburg), the Black Sox have one of the greatest performers in the Eastern League. Manager Posey himself admits that Beckwith is a star but due to personal reasons the two agreed to disagree and parted. The fans with one accord always give Beckwith the glad hand, and proving beyond a doubt his worth to the Sox. (Baltimore Afro-American, ) Evidently, Cum Posey had second thoughts about releasing John because he is reported to have spent a week in Baltimore trying to convince Beckwith to come back to the Grays. With his signing, the Black Sox filled a hole at shortstop and added a big bat to their starting line-up. Upon his arrival in Baltimore, Beckwith was named the team captain of the Black Sox. Beckwith responded to the confidence that Baltimore had placed in him and along with Jud Wilson they led the Black Sox from a last place finish in 1923 to second place in The Black Sox had a record of (.612) for the 1924 Eastern Colored League (ECL) season. All the new players that Baltimore had added to their roster in the off season produced during the 1924 season. Baltimore had six players in their starting line-up who hit over.300 for the 1924 ECL season: Beckwith (.386), Jud Wilson (.381), Harry Blackman (.344), Julio Rojo (.328), Neal Pullen (.316) and Crush Holloway (.306). The new pitchers that the Black Sox added to their starting rotation also delivered on the mound: Bob McClure (15-4), Bill Force (10-8) and Joe Strong (9-5). Beckwith had an excellent season with Baltimore in He led the Eastern Colored League in both hitting with a.386 batting average and in slugging with a.659 slugging percentage. John also tied Oscar Charleston for the Eastern Colored League homerun title with each hitting nine homeruns. His complete statistics for Eastern Colored League games for the 1924 season are: Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG It has been reported that Beckwith hit 40 homeruns and compiled a batting average of.452 when non-league and league game statistics were combined for the 1924 season. The Baltimore Black Sox played a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League after the 1924 Eastern Colored League season. Each team won one game. John Beckwith was the hitting star of the series with three hits that included two homeruns. 6

9 Baltimore Black Sox (1925) (Jud Wilson standing third from right and John Beckwith kneeling second from right) During the winter of 1924 George Rossiter, co-owner of the Baltimore Black Sox, met with John Beckwith in Chicago and signed Beckwith as the player-manager for the 1925 season. Pete Hill who had managed the team during the 1924 season remained with the club as the business manager. When asked by the media about the Black Sox prospects for the upcoming Eastern Colored League season, Rossiter was quoted in the Afro American as saying the following: I believe the Sox will be one of the best clubs in the East and will be a pennant winning team. Afro American Afro American (1925) Baltimore boasted a strong hitting lineup for the 1925 season that included: Jud Wilson (.419), John Beckwith (.407), Oscar Heavy Johnson (.352), Harry Jeffries (.287) and Crush Holloway (.286). Forty-two year old Pete also filled in occasionally and hit.353 for the season. Joe Strong (10-9) and Bob McClure (9-4) were Baltimore s top two pitchers and pitched well most of the season. However the rest of the pitching staff failed to deliver when they were called upon in key games. George Britt (3-3), Wayne Carr (2-3), Bill Force (1-3), Jim Jefferies (0-2) and W.P. Evans (0-4) made up the rest of the Black Sox s pitching staff. 7

10 Beckwith started the season on a hitting streak and continued his dominance over league pitching. He finished the 1925 season with a.407 batting average in fourth place for the league batting title. Jud Wilson (Baltimore Black Sox) won the batting title with a.419 batting average, Oscar Charleston (Harrisburg Giants) came in second with a.416 average and Bernardo Baro (Cuban Stars) was third with a.412 average. John led the Eastern Colored League in homeruns with 24 total homeruns (16 of which were hit in league games) and in slugging with a.762 slugging percentage. His statistics for Eastern Colored League games for the 1925 season are: Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG When both league and non-league games are taken into consideration, John Holway (Negro League researcher) reports the following statistics for John Beckwith for the 1925 season: Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG According to records that appeared in the Afro American on , Beckwith had a season batting average of.419 for the season. Crush Holloway, Jud Wilson, Oscar Heavy Johnson and John Beckwith Stars of the Eastern Colored League (1925) In late July of the 1925 season, Beckwith became involved in an altercation with an umpire by the name of Sewell after a game and was accused of assaulting him. According to witnesses, Beckwith got off the team bus and struck Sewell for his one sided decisions during a game Sewell had umpired. Beckwith was fined $ 100 and suspended by Ed Bolden, President of the Eastern Colored League. Shortly after his suspension, Beckwith asked team owner Charles Spedden for his unconditional release. It had been a tumultuous season for John Beckwith. He had numerous problems all season with his players, opposing players, fans and anyone else whom he thought had gotten in his way. Several of his own players told the media that Beckwith was too temperamental to handle a group of men. Spedden did not grant Beckwith his release. Instead, during the first week of August Beckwith was relieved of duty by Spedden as the team s manager and Pete Hill was named manager for the rest of the Black Sox s season. Beckwith remained with Baltimore and continued to play on a daily basis. 8

11 In late August Beckwith had had enough and left the Baltimore Black Sox and returned to his home in Chicago. When he returned to Chicago, John s goal was to play for the Chicago American Giants. Beckwith s plan was to either get a release from Baltimore or have Rube Foster of the Chicago American Giants make a trade with the Black Sox for his contract. Rube Foster who owned the Chicago American Giants wanted to acquire Beckwith s services and is rumored to have offered Baltimore pitcher Juan Padrone and two other players for Beckwith s contract. Beckwith was in favor of the trade because he lived in Chicago and ran a pool hall there in the off season. John even appealed to the Negro National League Commissioner to let him play for the Chicago American Giants, but nothing could be worked out and Beckwith remained the property of Baltimore. Afro-American Baltimore finished the Eastern Colored League (ECL) season with a (.620) record in third place behind the Harrisburg Giants (37-19) and Hilldale (52-15). With all the problems and turmoil during the season, they ended the year with a very good record, but not the championship that the owners of the Black Sox had anticipated. 9

12 After returning home to Chicago, Beckwith played several games for Joe Green s Chicago Giants. Afro American Ironically, Beckwith rejoined the Baltimore Black Sox for their post season barnstorming tour after the 1925 regular season. The Kansas City Monarchs were one of the principal opponents in their tour. Beckwith goes to Cuba In November of 1925 John Beckwith was signed by San Jose of the Cuban Winter League. The Cuban Winter League which ran from 10/31/25 to 1/31/26 included only three teams (Almendares, Habana and San Jose). This was San Jose s inaugural season in the league. The team owners signed Joseito Rodriquez as the team s player/manager. Rodriquez recruited Beckwith and several other Negro League players to fill his starting line-up. Jesse Nip Winters (0-3) and Merven Red Ryan (1-2) were two of San Jose s top pitchers. Besides Beckwith, Rodriquez brought in the following Negro League stars: Pelayo Chacon (.143), Pablo Mesa (.338) and Alejandro Oms (.324). After playing in only two games Beckwith left Cuba and returned to Chicago to attend his mother s funeral. According to media reports, Cuban fans hated to see John go because even in his short time on the island they were in awe of his powerful clouts. Before John could return to Cuba, San Jose withdrew from the league. They were 3-16 at the time and suffered from poor attendance at the gate. San Jose withdrew from the league on December 22, Almendares won the Cuban Winter League title with a record of Afro American Beckwith faces being banned from Organized Baseball Before the start of the 1926 season it was reported in a story that appeared in the Afro American newspaper on March 3 rd that John Beckwith would be banned from organized baseball. The reason for the ban was reported that Beckwith had or was about to sign with Cumberland Posey of the Homestead Grays while his contract was still the property of the Baltimore Black Sox. The Grays were not a league team and played an independent schedule. Posey s position was that he did not belong to either league and was not bound by their rules. Fortunately for Negro League baseball nothing came of the rumor. Had John gone with the Grays it would have most likely caused a raiding war between league teams and independent teams especially the Homestead Grays. 10

13 During the off season between the end of the 1925 season and the start of the 1926 Eastern Colored League season, Beckwith and the owners of the Baltimore Black Sox resolved their differences and John was back with the Baltimore Black Sox before the start of the season. The Black Sox returned basically the same team as they had the season before. The 1926 Baltimore Black Sox featured the power hitting quartet of John Beckwith, Crush Holloway, Oscar Heavy Johnson and Jud Babe Ruth Wilson. Other key offensive players for Baltimore were Robert Clark, (C), Julio Rojo (C), Dick Seay (2B) and Ben Taylor (1B). The pitching staff for the Black Sox for the 1926 Eastern Colored League season included Laymon Yokely (6-8), Joe Strong (4-4), Bob McClure (4-14), Bill Mungin (3-3) and Bill Force (2-3). Besides playing first base, Ben Taylor also managed the Baltimore team. The Baltimore Black Sox played their home games at Maryland Park during the 1926 season. The Black Sox hitters started the season strong. After the first three weeks of the season had been completed the Black Sox were.323 as a team. They were led by the hitting of Jud Wilson (.426), John Beckwith (.426), Crush Holloway (.409) and Oscar Heavy Johnson (.389). Unfortunately they were only playing five hundred baseball. The reason for their mediocre record was that they were not getting any pitching. This was a trend that would last all season. Baltimore had rested their hopes on two young pitchers Chuck Bowers (only 17 years old) and Laymon Yokely (20 years old). Yokely would go on to an excellent Negro League career, but in 1926 he still did not have the experience to deal with the formidable Eastern Colored League hitters. On July 4 th of the 1926 season, the Baltimore Black Sox joined the Interstate League. The Interstate League was made up of three Eastern Colored League teams (Hilldale, Harrisburg Giants and Bacharach Giants) and three white teams (Allentown, Camden and Chester) at the time when Baltimore joined the league. The season was about half over when the Black Sox started league play. Hilldale (16-7) and Harrisburg (15-7) were the Interstate League leaders on July 4, The Baltimore Black Sox also played an Eastern Colored League schedule at the same time they were playing in the Interstate League. Jesse Mountain Hubbard, Raleigh Biz Mackey, John Beckwith, Herbert Rap Dixon and Clint Thomas Hilldale Giants (1926) 11

14 Afro American John Beckwith had an excellent season for the Black Sox in In the twenty-five (25) league games for which box scores have been found, he compiled the following offensive statistics. Team Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG Baltimore During the 1926 season, Beckwith was the leading hitter for the Black Sox. Baltimore also got excellent hitting from Oscar Heavy Johnson (.359) and Jud Wilson (.347). Even with three such outstanding hitters, the Baltimore Black Sox couldn t win games on a consistent basis. Pitching continued to be their nemesis all season. Beckwith Blasts Two Homeruns Afro American In an attempt to turn their season around, Baltimore Black Sox management felt that drastic measures were necessary. During the first week in July, Baltimore traded John Beckwith to the Harrisburg Giants for catcher/third baseman Mark Eggleston, right handed pitcher Daltie Cooper (5-1), left-handed pitcher Wilbur Pritchard (2-6) and an undisclosed amount of cash which was thought to have been significant. 12

15 In an interview with the Afro American newspaper, Ben Taylor (Manager of the Black Sox) felt they got the best end of the deal because they were sorely in need of pitching. The deal was one of the largest and most important trades in the Eastern Colored League during the year. The trade didn t help Baltimore. They gave up Beckwith, one of the best hitters in the East, and still finished the season in sixth place in the final Eastern Colored League standings with a record of (.383). The trade, however, worked out extremely well for Beckwith as he went from a mediocre team to a pennant contender in Harrisburg. Beckwith becomes a Giant The Harrisburg Giants already had a top level team before Beckwith was signed. Colonel William Strothers who owned the Giants had the highest paid black ball club in the country. The team already had one of the best outfields in the history of Negro League baseball. This legendary trio included: Oscar Charleston, Rap Dixon and Fats Jenkins. According to Negro League researchers Ted Knorr and Calobe Jackson, the Giants scored runs at a pace that was greater than the 1927 New York Yankees The hitting attack for the Giants was led by Herbert Rap Dixon (.349), John Beckwith (330), Clarence Fats Jenkins (.315), Walter Rev Cannady (.310), Bill Johnson (.302) and Oscar Charleston (.302). The heart of Harrisburg s pitching staff included: Charles Corbett (8-0), Ping Gardner (8-7), Cliff Carter (5-1) and Henry Gillespie (3-1). In 1926 they were making a run at the ECL title and acquired Beckwith to play third base and bolster their hitting attack. The duo of Charleston and Beckwith was comparative to Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees. The Harrisburg Giants finished the 1926 Eastern Colored League season in second place with a record of (.595). The Atlantic City Bacharach Giants won the pennant with a record of (.630) and played the Chicago American Giants in the Negro League World Afro American Series John Beckwith s complete statistics for the 1926 Eastern Colored League (ECL) season are: Team Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG Baltimore Harrisburg Total

16 In October of 1926, John Beckwith and Oscar Charleston joined the Hilldale club to play a six game exhibition series versus Earle Mack s All Stars. Earle Mack s team included Major League pitchers: Lefty Grove, Jack Quinn, Fred Heimich and Rube Walberg. The series was played in Wilmington (DE), Hilldale Park (Philadelphia) and Bloomsburg (PA). John was the hero of game one when he hit a two run homerun in the eighth inning to give Hilldale a 3-2 victory over the Major Leaguers. Hilldale dominated the Major League All Stars and won the series five games to one. Beckwith and Charleston led the way in hitting for Hilldale. Phil Cockrell and Jesse Nip Winters dominated the Major League hitters and each won two games for Hilldale. In 1926 post season play, John Beckwith also played for the Homestead Grays as they took on the American League All Stars. Beckwith played for the Grays in a game in Youngstown (OH) with 6,000 fans in attendance. John went 2 for 4 in the game. Hilldale vs Earle Mack s All Stars Beckwith hits the game winning Homerun Afro American Before the start of the 1927 Eastern Colored League (ECL) season, Colonel Strothers (owner of the Harrisburg Giants) replaced Oscar Charleston as the team s manager with John Beckwith. The 1927 Harrisburg Giants team fielded a power packed line-up with six players hitting over.300 for the season: Rev Cannady (.385), Fats Jenkins (.366), Oscar Charleston (.357), Rap Dixon (.348), John Beckwith (.340) and Oscar Heavy Johnson (.308). Beckwith s final statistics for his 1927 Eastern Colored League (ECL) season are: Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG Clifford Carter (10-2 record in ECL games) was the ace of the Giants pitching staff. According to research by John Holway, Carter had a won loss record of 18-9 when league games and nonleague are added together. Other members of Harrisburg s starting rotation during the season included: Daltie Cooper, Ping Gardner, Sam Cooper, Bill Mungrin, Charles Corbett and Charles Craig. The Harrisburg Giants played their home games at Island Park during the 1927 season. 14

17 Harrisburg Giants (1926) (Walter Rev Cannady, John Beckwith and Clifford Carter) The 1927 Eastern Colored League (ECL) ended in controversy when Harrisburg claimed the second half of the season s title. The Giants based their claim on a forfeit win and demanded that the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants play them in a play-off series for the league title. Atlantic City refused to play Harrisburg and Eastern Colored League officials threw out the disputed win from the league standings. This gave the Bacharach Giants the ECL title and sent them to the Negro League World Series. Overall, the Harrisburg Giants had a very good season in Unfortunately, they fell just short of the Eastern Colored League championship, finishing in second place for the second straight year to the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (54-25). Harrisburg finished the season with a league won-loss record of (.562). The final standings for the 1927 Eastern Colored League season were as follows: Eastern Colored League (1927) Games Record Pct. Atlantic City Bacharach Giants Harrisburg Giants Cuban Stars (East) Baltimore Black Sox Hilldale New York Lincoln Giants Brooklyn Royal Giants Controversy, trouble and turmoil had haunted John Beckwith as the manager of the Harrisburg Giants all season. After a five game losing streak to Hilldale near the end of the season and losing out on their claim for the second half league title, Beckwith was done as the team s manager. 15

18 Beckwith finished the 1927 season with the Homestead Grays. Newspaper articles from 1927 report that Beckwith hit 72 homeruns for the season. The Grays played an independent schedule in the East and were not a member of the Eastern Colored League. After their regular season schedule had concluded, the Grays played a four game series against the American League All Stars. The Major League squad included: Harry Heilmann, Jimmie Dykes, Heine Manusch, Wally Schang and Rube Walberg. The exhibition series was played in Pittsburgh (PA) and each team won two games. In November of 1927 John Beckwith, Oscar Charleston and Jud Wilson joined the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants to play a two game exhibition series against Earle Mack s All Stars. The first game was played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia and the second game was played in Newark. Beckwith also played for Ben Taylor s Baltimore Black Sox in an exhibition game against Mervin Jacobson s White All Stars in late November. The white Major Leaguers featured the hitting of Hack Wilson and the pitching of St. Louis Cardinals starter Bill Sherdel. Beckwith went 4 for 4 in the game with a double and two homeruns off of Sherdel.The Black Sox won the game by a score of Homestead Grays (1928) (Beckwith back row fourth from left) Prior to the start of the 1928 season, Cumberland Posey (owner of the Homestead Grays) signed John Beckwith to strengthen an already solid Grays starting line-up. In 1928 Homestead was led by the hitting of Dennis Graham (.392), Walter Cannady (.336), Martin Dihigo (.333), Jap Washington (.323), John Beckwith (.320), Vic Harris (.292) and Floyd Jelly Gardner (.284). With their outstanding hitting line-up, the Homestead Grays averaged scoring 7.34 runs per game during the 1928 season. The Grays also had a very strong starting pitching rotation in 1928 that included Smokey Joe Williams, Sam Streeter, Martin Dihigo and Webster McDonald. Research by Scott Simkus and Gary Ashwill has identified that the Homestead Grays scheduled 171 games during their 1928 season. The Grays played their home games at Forbes Field which was also the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. After briefly playing in the Eastern Colored League, Homestead played an independent schedule for the rest of the season. Unlike most teams that 16

19 played an independent baseball schedule, the Homestead Grays played the vast majority (over 90 %) of their games less than two hours from their home base of Pittsburgh. Ashwill and Simkus have found newspaper records for 150 of the 171 games that the Homestead Grays scheduled for the 1928 season. The Homestead Grays posted a won-loss record of (.813) for these 150 games. A breakdown of their won-loss record is as follows: 12-8 (.600) record for games against Eastern Colored League and other top black clubs, (.800) record against white minor league teams, 5-3 (.625) record against Major League All Star teams and an (.863) record against semi-pro competition. Cum Posey got his money s worth out of signing Beckwith. John had an excellent season for the Homestead Grays in Some of his highlights for the season are as follows: The Morning Herald Uniontown, PA On June 2 nd in a doubleheader played in Uniontown (PA) against the Havana Red Sox, Beckwith hit five (5) homeruns, a single, two base on balls and made a long fly out in his nine (9) at bats. On June 6 th, The Newcastle News reported that Beckwith had already hit his 24 th homerun of the season. On July 12 th, the Zanesville Signal reported that John had already hit 34 homeruns in the 77 games he played up to that point in the season. On August 21 st the Warren Tribune reported that Beckwith already had 45 homeruns for the season. Hit three (3) homeruns off Rube Walberg in a post season game against the Major League All Stars. This is the only documented occasion when a Negro League player hit three homeruns off a Major League pitcher in one exhibition game. On April 17, 1929 The Charleston Gazette reported that Beckwith had hit 64 homeruns during the 1928 season. The Charleston newspaper article also reported that 10 of Beckwith s homeruns during the 1928 season had cleared the left field fence at Forbes Field in Pittsburg which was considered an amazing feat. When the 1928 Eastern Colored League season was over Beckwith was recruited to play for the Baltimore Black Sox in their four game exhibition series against the Major League All Stars. The white squad was loaded with Major League stars that included: Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Max Bishop and Ed Rommell. Beckwith was the hero of game two when he hit a home run to win the game for the Black Sox. When the series had concluded, each team had won two games. Beckwith was back with Homestead for their American Negro League season in According to Negro League researcher John Holway when statistics from both league and non league games were combined, Beckwith batted.443 and hit 15 homeruns for the 1929 season. One of the highlights of Beckwith s 1929 season came when the Homestead Grays played the Charleroi Governors on April 28 th. Beckwith hit three homeruns while going four for five as the Grays beat the Governors by a score of in a real slugfest. Homestead Grays vs Charleroi Governors Beckwith Blasts Three Homeruns The Charleroi Mail

20 In twenty-five official games in the 1929 American Negro League season that he played for the Homestead Grays, John compiled the following statistics: Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG Beckwith joined the New York Lincoln Giants toward the end of the 1929 American Negro League season and helped them win the American Negro League title with a record of (.679). The New York Lincoln Giants were managed by Pop Lloyd and were already loaded with talent before John joined them. The Lincoln Giants had nine players who hit over.300 for the season: Chino Smith (.464), John Beckwith (.438), George Scales (.387), Pop Lloyd (.362), Orville Riggins (.331), Elbert Melton (.329), Namon Washington(.323), Julio Rojo (.315) and Charles Spearman (.309). Lincoln Giants vs Hilldale Beckwith Blasts Ruthian Homerun The Chester Times Chester, Pa Beckwith was back with the Baltimore Black Sox after the 1929 regular Negro League season concluded. They played a series against the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. The Orioles had bolstered their line-up with several members (Ed Rommel, Howard Ehmke, etc.) of the Philadelphia Athletics who had just come from the World Series. During the series with the Black Sox the Orioles were billed as the All Stars or Major League All Stars. The Black Sox were loaded with Negro League talent. Their roster included: John Beckwith, Rap Dixon, Judy Johnson, Scrip Lee, Oliver Marcelle, Chino Smith, Jud Wilson and Laymon Yokely. Box scores for seven games have been found. Beckwith paced the Black Sox in the series with nine hits in twenty-three at bats for a.391 batting average and a.696 slugging percentage. The Black Sox dominated their white opponents, taking six games to one for the All Stars. New York Lincoln Giants (1930) (Beckwith - sixth from left) 18

21 There was no formal league in the East in 1930, but all the usual teams (New York Lincoln Giants, Homestead Grays, Baltimore Black Sox, Hilldale, Cuban Stars and Brooklyn Royal Giants) fielded squads for the 1930 season. Beckwith joined Chino Smith (.492), Clint Thomas (.437) and Pop Lloyd (.434) to lead the Lincoln Giants to the best record of all the teams that played in the East. With three other.400 hitters in the New York line-up, Beckwith was not to be outdone as he finished the season with a.452 batting average and a slugging percentage of.781. Beckwith s 1930 season was limited because he spent several weeks during the summer on the bench with a broken leg. He broke his leg sliding into second base in a game against East Orange (NJ). Depending on the reference source, Beckwith s statistics for the 1930 season vary greatly. Larry Lester and Dick Clark report the following statistics for the Beckwith s 1930 season: Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG The McMillan Baseball Encyclopedia which combines all games played reports the following statistics for Beckwith s 1930 season with the New York Lincoln Giants: Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG Both sources do agree on one thing and that is that Beckwith had an outstanding season in At the end of the 1930 season the New York Lincoln Giants met the Homestead Grays and agreed to play an eleven game championship series. While the Lincoln Giants had a powerful line-up, the Grays also had an amazing line-up that included: Oscar Charleston, Vic Harris, George Scales, Judy Johnson, Smoky Joe Williams and Josh Gibson. Over 10,000 fans were on hand at the doubleheader played in New York City to witness the Lincoln Giants beat the Grays 6-2 in the opening game and the Grays take the second game by a score of 3-2. The Homestead Grays closed out the series in ten games when they beat the Lincoln Giants 5-2 in the tenth game to give them the championship series 6 games to 4 victories for New York. A newspaper article that appeared in the November 22 nd issue of the Afro American reported that Beckwith was going to manage the New York Lincoln Giants for the 1931 season. However for some unknown reason, this did not take place and John started the 1931 season with the Baltimore Black Sox. John had a very good year with a.364 batting average,.736 slugging percentage, 11 homeruns and 30 RBIs in the 30 games he played for Baltimore. At the end of the season, he also played for the Hilldale club and the Newark Browns. After the regular 1931 season was over, Hilldale played Baltimore Black Sox vs Hilldale a team of Major League all-stars that included Chick The Chester Times Fullis, Bill Hennefield, Al Spoher and Freddy Heimach Chester, PA in a five game series that started on October 3 rd and ended on October 15 th. Besides Beckwith, the Hilldale squad was loaded with the following Negro League stars: Phil Cockrell, Rap Dixon, Martin Dihigo, Rev Canady, Fats Jenkins and Webster Mc Donald. The first game of the series was played in Philadelphia and ended in a 6-5 victory for the Hilldale club. Games one, three and five were played in Philadelphia and games two and four were played in Fairview, New Jersey. Hilldale won the series with three victories against two defeats. Beckwith paced Hilldale in hitting with five hits in ten plate appearances. 19

22 In 1932 Beckwith was the player-manager of the Newark Browns. The Browns were based in Newark (NJ) and played in Cum Posey s short lived East-West League. Newark struggled in league play and had a 3-14 record when the league folded in late June. After the East-West League folded, the Browns continued to play a barnstorming schedule for the rest of the season. Beckwith played for James Soldier Boy Semler s New York Black Yankees in 1933 and The Black Yankees played an independent schedule as Nat Strong (Negro League booking agent based in New York City) booked games for them throughout the Northeast. Even before adding Beckwith to the roster, the Black Yankees were a very strong team. New York s record for their 1932 barnstorming season was In 1933 the Black Yankees were supposed to join the National Association of Negro Baseball Clubs that was being organized by Gus Greenlee. The league that was to comprise the top black baseball clubs in the United States failed to materialize, so the Black Yankees continued to play an independent schedule for the 1933 baseball season. By all accounts, Beckwith had a very productive season at the plate in His batting average for the 1933 season is reported from.357 (Lester and Clark s research) to.391 (John Holway s research). John returned to the Negro National League at the end of the 1934 season when he joined the Newark Dodgers. In September of 1934, he played for the New York Black Yankees in their benefit game for the Charles Young American Legion Post. The game was played at Yankee Stadium before a sold out crowd of 20,000 fans (5,000 fans were denied admittance). One of the highlights of the 1934 season for John was when he joined the Black Yankees to play against Dizzy Dean and the Brooklyn Bushwicks in Hinchcliffe Stadium in Patterson, New Jersey. Dizzy Dean had just pitched in the World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals a few days before playing the Black Yankees. Beckwith had a good game going one for three against Dean. Black Yankees vs State Hospital Grays John Beckwith closed out his Negro League career in 1935 when he appeared in several games for the Homestead Grays of the Negro National League. Cum Posey, the owner of the Grays, signed Beckwith to compensate for his cross town rival the Pittsburg Crawfords having Josh Gibson on their roster. The supposed reason for John s short tenure with the Grays was another in a long history of financial disputes with the Grays owner. Posey had wanted Beckwith to catch for the Homestead Grays. The disagreement started when John showed up in full catching gear for a game and demanded that Posey reimburse him for the cost of the equipment. Story has it that Posey refused and that quickly ended their baseball relationship. Even though John would continue to be very active in baseball, he would never return to the Negro National League. 20

23 California Winter League Career After the 1927 Eastern Colored League season was over, Beckwith went to California to play winter league ball with the Philadelphia Royal Giants in Joe Pirrone s California Winter League. Most of the California Winter League games were played in White Sox Park in Los Angeles. The Royal Giants were owned by James P. White who had previously managed the Colored Giants in the California Winter League in White put together an all star team of players from the Negro Leagues to play for his Philadelphia Royal Giants team. Their starting line-up included: Player Negro League Team (1927) 1B Tank Carr Hilldale Daisies 2B Frank Warfield Hilldale Daisies SS Jake Stephens Hilldale Daisies 3B John Beckwith Harrisburg Giants C Biz Mackey Hilldale Daisies RF Jess Hubbard Atlantic City Bacharach Giants CF Clint Thomas Hilldale Daisies LF Rap Dixon Harrisburg Giants P Bill Holland New York Lincoln Giants The California Winter League for the winter league season also included the Cleveland Stars, Pirrone s All Stars and Orange County (Anaheim-Fullerton-Santa Anna). The roster for the Cleveland Stars was also made up of all Negro League players. The Cleveland Stars team included: Newt Allen, Andy Cooper, Frank Duncan, Crush Holloway, Harold Yellowhorse Morris, Dink Mothel, Turkey Stearnes and Willie Wells. Pirrrone s All Stars included Major League players: Fred Haney, Babe Herman, Bob Meusel, Emil Irish Meusel and Ping Bodie. Even with all this stiff competition, the Philadelphia Royal Giants won the league championship with a record of 19 wins, 11 losses and 2 ties. Jesse Mountain Hubbard of the Royal Giants won the league batting championship with a.442 batting average. The Royal Giants also had three other players who hit over.375 for the season. These players were: Biz Mackey (.385), Rap Dixon (.380) and Tank Carr (.377). Bill Holland was the league s best pitcher with 10 complete games and a 7-3 record in 11 starts. Holland also pitched four shutouts during the season. John Beckwith had a good winter league season, batting.310 with a.606 slugging percentage. John also had five homeruns which placed him in second place for the league lead. Turkey Stearns of the Cleveland Stars led the league with seven homeruns. Beckwith returned to California to play winter league ball for the season. There were three white teams (Pironne s All Stars, Shell Oil and the White Kings) and only one black team (Cleveland Giants) that played in the California Winter League for the season. The strongest white team and number one competitor for the Cleveland Giants was Pirrone s All Stars. Bob Meusel (.375), Irish Meusel (.270), Smead Jolley (.446), Eddie Pick (.338) and Fred Haney (.255) anchored the Pirrone s All Stars. The White Kings were led by Hall of Fame outfielder Earl Averill. The Cleveland Giants were loaded with talent and dominated league play. The Giants had eight players on their roster that batted over.300 for the season and three of these hit over.400. Cleveland s starting lineup and the player s batting average for the California Winter League season were: Player Batting Average Player Batting Average 1B Biz Mackey.459 RF Dink Mothel.280 2B Connie Day.261 CF Turkey Stearnes.372 SS Newt Allen.365 LF Rap Dixon.360 3B John Beckwith.485 P Chet Brewer - C Neal Pullen.368 P Bullet Joe Rogan

24 Chet Brewer led the league in every pitching category: games (18), complete games (13), wins (14), innings pitched (146), strikeouts (73) and shutouts (3). Besides his great hitting (4 homeruns and.406 batting average), Bullet Joe Rogan also had an excellent season on the mound with a 9-1 record and 68 strikeouts (second in the league behind Brewer). Cleveland Giants vs Shell Oil California Winter League ( ) Beckwith goes 3 for 4 with Two Homeruns Even with all the great statistics of his Cleveland teammates, John Beckwith was the star and Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the California Winter League for the season. Beckwith led the league in homeruns with 14, led the league in slugging percentage with an amazing.991 slugging average, was second in the league in total base hits with 49 (just 2 behind teammate Biz Mackey, who had 51 hits) and was second in the league behind Earl Averill of the White Kings (.500) for the batting crown with a.485 batting average. It is important to note that Averill only had 54 plate appearances as compared to 101 for Beckwith. Chances are that if Averill had played as many games and had as many plate appearances as Beckwith, John might have won the league batting crown also. The Cleveland Giants easily won the California Winter League title with a record of 30 wins, 13 losses and 2 ties. John Beckwith played two seasons in the California Winter League and compiled the following statistics: Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG Beckwith finished his California Winter League career with the highest career batting average (.413) and slugging percentage (.831) in league history. The California Winter League gave John the opportunity to play against some of the top Major League and Minor League ball players of the day. During his California Winter League career with the Philadelphia Royal Giants and Cleveland Giants, John faced Major League pitchers in 18 games. In his 74 plate appearances against white Major League pitchers he collected 37 hits for a.500 batting average and a slugging percentage of.919. He also had eight homeruns against Major League pitching while playing in the California Winter League. With all of Beckwith s success in the California Winter League, it is a mystery as to why he never returned for another season. 22

25 Assessing Beckwith s Career Even though the statistical analysis of Negro League researchers may have come up with different numbers, all Negro League researchers agree that from 1921 to 1931 John Beckwith was one of the most if not the most devastating hitter in Negro League baseball. Batting averages for Beckwith differ between researchers because the number of box scores the different researchers analyzed is not the same and some researchers include non-league games in their totals while others only count league games. A comparison of Beckwith s batting average for the majority of his baseball career by six of the leading Negro League researchers is as follows: Year Larry Lester & Dick Clark Committee African American Baseball MacMilan Baseball Encyclopedia Baseball Reference John Holway James Riley / / / / / / / Total Notes for interpreting the chart: Where two batting averages are listed for one year on the chart this indicates Beckwith played for two teams or in the case of 1924 and 1930 for Riley he reports league average and then John s batting average against all levels of competition. It is important to note that Beckwith played professional baseball before 1921 and after 1931, but only a very limited number of box scores have been found for these periods. It would not be appropriate to make a value judgment on Beckwith s hitting during these periods without more complete box scores to come up with his real hitting numbers. Some of the facts that need to be given serious consideration when evaluating John Beckwith s baseball career are as follows: Over his Negro League career, Beckwith batted over.300 for eleven (11) straight years from 1921 through the 1931 season. During the years from 1921 through 1931, he only hit below.320 one time and hit over.360 seven (7) times. He hit over.400 for the entire Negro League season three times ( , and ) During his prime (1921 through the 1931 season) Beckwith had a league batting average of.366 (655 hits in 1788 official at bats). His batting average would undoubtedly be even higher if non-league games were counted. 23

26 Beckwith Dominated Major League Pitching Research up to the time this book was published has identified 37 games and 126 at bats that John Beckwith had against Major League All Star teams. Beckwith collected 48 hits in these 126 plate appearances for a.381 batting average. Thirteen (13) of his hits were homeruns. John averaged a homerun every 9.69 times at bats. Baltimore Black Sox vs Major League All Stars Baltimore Black Sox vs Major League All Stars Beckwith goes 3 for 5 w/ Homerun Afro American Homestead vs A.L. All Stars Beckwith goes 4 for 4 w/ 2 Homeruns and Double Beckwith goes 2 for 4 Afro American Afro American

27 He won a Negro League batting title in 1924, finished first in the East in batting when there was no formal league in 1930 and finished second on three different occasions. He finished second to Oscar Charleston twice and Chino Smith once. In 1930 while playing for the New York Lincoln Giants he reportedly hit.546 when both league and non-league games were combined for a total season batting average. A large percentage of Beckwith s career statistics are still missing. He played a significantly greater number of non-league games over his career than league games and the vast majority of these are not documented. Common sense would lead us to believe that he should have had a significantly higher batting average against this lower level of competition. He also played a significant number of ball games for independent teams. Box scores from most of these games may never be uncovered. So far 60 non-league games have been found. John hit.491 with 30 homeruns in these games. The Center for Negro League Baseball Research has documented Beckwith with 952 hits in 2,583 plate appearances. This calculates into a.369 career batting average. John Beckwith Baltimore Black Sox According to research conducted by John Holway for players with more than 2,000 at bats in the Negro Leagues, only Jud Wilson (.354) has a higher career batting average than John Beckwith. Holway credits Beckwith with 767 hits in 2176 at bats for a.352 career batting average. John Beckwith has a higher Negro League career batting average than all but one of the Negro League players that have been elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Jud Wilson.354 Turkey Stearnes.332 John Beckwith.352 Cool Pappa Bell.328 Josh Gibson.351 Willie Wells.328 Bullet Joe Rogan.348 Biz Mackey.322 Mule Suttles.341 Ben Taylor.321 Oscar Charleston.340 Martin Dihigo.299 Pop Lloyd.337 Judy Johnson.285 Cristobel Torriente.336 Buck Leonard.335 (Statistics are from the research of John Holway and represent Negro League players with more than 2,000 at bats.) Of the top fourteen players with more than 2,000 at bats in the Negro Leagues, only John Beckwith (.352) and Fats Jenkins (.337) have not been elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 25

28 Redland Field Home of the Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Schorling Park Home of the Chicago American Giants Chicago, Illinois 26

29 Without any doubt, Beckwith was one of the top hitters in Negro League baseball from the 1920 s through the early 1930 s. Even though Negro League researchers have different statistics, they all agree that Beckwith hit between.345 and.366 for his Negro League career. Leading Negro League researchers have revealed the following career hitting statistics for John Beckwith. Researcher Career At Bats Career Hits Career Batting Average Larry Lester and Dick Clark Committee on African- American Baseball John Holway MacMillan Baseball Encyclopedia Baseball Reference Center for Negro League BB Research In addition to his ability to hit for a high batting average, Beckwith also had devastating power that few players black or white could match. Ted Double Duty Radcliffe, who played against Beckwith and all of the other great Negro League players, is quoted as having said the following regarding Beckwith s power with the bat: Nobody hit the ball any farther than him (Beckwith) Josh Gibson or nobody else. It just wasn t Negro League players or the black press that praised Beckwith s hitting ability and homerun power. The great Babe Ruth who is considered by many as the greatest player of all time and the player other ball players are judged against played against Beckwith in exhibition games in the 1920 s. In a newspaper interview given to Al Moses (Associated Negro Press) in 1933, Ruth had the following to say about Beckwith s power at the plate: not only can Beckwith hit the ball harder than any Negro ball player, but any man in the world. Some examples of Beckwith s power at the plate are: He was the first player (black or white) to ever hit a homerun out of Redland Field (home of the Cincinnati Reds). He accomplished this feat on May 21, 1921 while playing for the Chicago Giants. Beckwith s homerun went out of the ball park and over the roof of the laundry behind the stadium. The Chicago Defender reported the history making event as follows: an enormous clout. It cleared the left field wall by three feet and just several feet east of the large clock. Beckwith was given a great ovation by the fans, who literally went frantic and showered money upon the 19 year old youth who was able to perform the feat that veterans of the big show have been unable to do. When he had counted his donations from the fans Beckwith found himself about $ 25 richer. In recognition of the honor bestowed upon him he attempted to loop one into the right field bleachers and missed doing so by only a few feet. (Chicago Defender, ) 27

30 Beckwith s Power at the Plate Beckwith Hits Homerun with One Hand Baltimore Afro American Beckwith Hits 64 Homeruns in 1928 The Charleston Gazette Charleston, West Virginia Beckwith Hits Three Homeruns off Major Leaguer Rube Walberg Indiana Evening Gazette Indiana, PA

31 Beckwith was also the first player to hit a ball out of Schorling Park (home of the Chicago American Giants) in Chicago. The homerun came in a game on July 4, 1920 when the Chicago American Giants beat the Detroit Stars by a score of 1-0. The Giants only score came in the fifth frame when Beckwith rammed one of Cooper s (Andy) deliveries over the left field fence, the first time in the history of the park for a homerun. (Not the first homerun, but the first one over the left field fence and completely out of the ball park.) (Chicago Defender, ) According to an article that appeared in the Baltimore Afro-American on January 11, 1924, Beckwith hit a homerun with one hand. The background to the event was that John had become annoyed with a remark made by a fellow teammate while they were in the dugout. Beckwith grabbed his bat in one hand and went to the plate to hit using only one arm. The rest is history; he hit the second pitch over the left field fence. Marshall Waters, bat boy for the 1927 Harrisburg Giants, reported that John Beckwith hit more homeruns than Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees in Unconfirmed newspaper articles report that in 1927 John hit as many as 72 homeruns, 64 homeruns in 1928 and 60 homeruns in 1929 when his numbers against non-league and league competition were combined. On June 2, 1928 John hit five (5) homeruns in a double header versus the Havana Red Sox. The doubleheader was played at Elks Park in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. In an exhibition game that was played in October of 1928 in Butler (PA) between the Homestead Grays and a Major League All Star team, Beckwith hit three homeruns off Philadelphia A s pitching ace Rube Walberg. Behind Beckwith s hitting, the Grays won the game by a score of In the hundreds of games played between Negro Leaguers and Major League players, this is believed to be the only time a Negro League player got three homeruns off a Major League pitcher in the same game. A newspaper article that appeared in The Warren Tribune on August 21, 1928 reported that Beckwith hit the longest homerun in the history of Forbes Field (Pittsburgh, PA). Beckwith sent the ball soaring over the eleventh section of the wall from the scoreboard, the ball traveling with much force and critics declare it the longest ball that has ever been made at Forbes Field. (The Warren Tribune, ) On August 11, 1928 the Afro American newspaper reported that John Beckwith hit the longest homerun ever hit at Forbes Field. 29

32 According to a newspaper article that appeared in The Charleston Gazette in 1929, Beckwith was credited with 64 homeruns for the 1928 season. Ten (10) of these homeruns were said to have been hit over the left field fence at Forbes Field. John Beckwith, the Babe Ruth of colored baseball, collected 64 homeruns last season, 10 of which were over the left field fence at Forbes Field in Pittsburg. (The Charleston Gazette, ) Forbes Field Pittsburgh, PA Laymon Yokely pitched in the Negro Leagues from 1926 to When he was asked about the longest homerun he had ever personally witnessed, he had the following to say: The longest homerun I ever saw. Beckwith hit it up in Newark Stadium. It went through the smoke and out of sight. Perhaps Beckwith s longest and hardest hit blast according to Hosely Scrip Lee, who pitched against him in the Eastern Colored League, came at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. Lee described Beckwith s homerun as going over the left field bleachers and hitting an advertising sign that was 40 feet above the fence and over 460 feet from home plate. 30

33 Baseball after the Negro Leagues In the early 1930 s John married his second wife Dorothy. They settled in Harlem, New York. This was an important factor in his career because from this time forward he never traveled far from the New York area with the exception of 1935 when he spent a short time in Pittsburgh playing for the Homestead Grays. When Beckwith decided to play primarily in the New York City area, his playing options were very limited. He basically had four teams to choose from. 1. New York Black Yankees who were controlled by James Semler and was reputed to be very cheap. 2. Newark Eagles who were owned and managed by Abe and Effa Manley. The Manleys also had the reputation for being cheap and were overly controlling. 3. New York Cubans who hired as many Latin players as possible because they did not have to pay them as much as American players. 4. Brooklyn Royal Giants who were a true co-op team that split the gate receipts with the players. The Royal Giants also had another advantage in that they were not a league team and therefore didn t travel as much as the other Negro League teams. When Beckwith s Negro National League playing days were over, he continued to be very active in baseball as a manager. Beckwith s name was always a draw for a baseball game whether he was playing or in the dugout as a manager. People always wanted to see the legendary John Beckwith. After his career as a player in the Negro Leagues ended, Beckwith signed as the player-manager for the Brooklyn Royal Giants. The Royal Giants were based in New York City and played an independent schedule all over the Northeast. Beckwith still had an outstanding baseball reputation and was a big draw for Brooklyn Royal Giants games. Even though John was in his mid to late 30 s he could still hit and continued to play for Brooklyn on a regular basis. In a newspaper story reported in the Wisconsin State Journal on July 26, 1938, it made the following reference: Last season (1937) he (Beckwith) hit consecutively in 12 different games to turn the tide from the home club and to score runs that eventually won out for his club. Beckwith s batting average for the past three seasons that he has been with the Royals has been over.350. He is known as the Babe Ruth of colored baseball. (Wisconsin State Journal, July 26, 1938) Brooklyn Royal Giants Broadside (c. late 1930 s - early 1940 s) 31

34 From 1936 to 1939 Beckwith was the player-manager of the Brooklyn Royal Giants. One of his star players with the Royal Giants during this period was future Negro League star Lyman Bostock. Former Negro League players like Chester Buck Buchanan, Zack Clayton, Willie Gisentaner, Otis Starks and Jesse Nip Winters also found a home with the Royal Giants. Brooklyn Royal Giants vs Stroudsburg Middletown Time Herald Middletown, New York In 1940 John left the Brooklyn Royal Giants and formed his own team called the Beckwith All Stars. They played primarily in the New York City area. The team was also billed on numerous occasions as the New York Stars. The main reason for him leaving the Royal Giants was that Bill Leuschner gained control of the team from Nat Strong in 1940 and Leuschner hired Dick Lundy to manage the club. Leuschner had a reputation for being very cheap and the Royal Giants change in financial policies didn t set well with John. Beckwith s team played under two different names (Beckwith s Stars and the New York Stars) but they were virtually the same team. Beckwith went to work for Emerson Radio as a security guard in the early 1940 s. He also coached the company s baseball team in a local industrial league. When Emerson Radio was not playing, Beckwith continued to coach and manage semipro teams in the New York City area. In the mid to late 1940 s Beckwith rejuvenated the Brooklyn Royal Giants name and booked games for the Royal Giants all around the New York City area. It is important to note that the Brooklyn Royal Giants team that Beckwith managed in the late 1940 s was not the same team that played in the Negro Leagues years before. Beckwith most likely used the team s name because the Royal Giants had name recognition in black baseball and would draw better crowds. John Beckwith s version of the Brooklyn Royal Giants was obviously fairly competitive based on an article that appeared in the New Jersey Afro-American on July 5, The East Orange Baseball club is set for a double diamond attraction this week end, beginning July 4 with the Brooklyn Royal Giants invading the East Orange Oval against the locals at 3 p.m. John Beckwith, Giants manager, is now playing his strongest team in recent years, with Chick Anderson and the two Spearman brothers, Chollie and Clyde, who are clouting the ball at a.400 clip. (New Jersey Afro-American, ) According to former Negro League player Lionel Evelyn (New York Cubans, New York Black Yankees and Indianapolis Clowns), Beckwith was his manager when he signed to play for the Royal Giants in Evelyn played for Beckwith in 1948 and 1949 and became a close personal friend. According to Lionel, Beckwith could still hit the ball when he was managing the Royal 32

35 Giants in 1948 and In an interview with Dr. Revel of the Center for Negro League Baseball Research, Lionel recounted one game that the Royal Giants were playing against a knuckle ball pitcher who was getting everybody out. A frustrated Beckwith inserted himself into the game and immediately hit a hard line drive for a base hit. Evelyn spoke highly of Beckwith as a friend and a manager. Lionel did share with Dr. Revel that when Beckwith did have a squabble with a player, it was always over money. Beckwith even got Evelyn a job at Emerson Radio so that he could play on their industrial league team. John Beckwith passed away on January 4, 1956 of cancer in Harlem, New York at the age of 56. John Beckwith s Death Notice 1956 Final Thoughts Several researchers have presented John Beckwith in a less than favorable light. They have referred to him as lazy, moody and hot-tempered with a severe drinking problem. It has also been written that it was not uncommon for John to play in an inebriated condition. While Beckwith may not have been the most disciplined or personable ball player of his day, interviews with players who played with him, against him and for him reveal that people who knew him did not share these same negative impressions. During the course of our research Al Cleffie Fennar, Lionel Evelyn, Ted Double Duty Radcliffe and Jim Robinson were all interviewed. Fennar played with and against Beckwith in the early 1930 s in the Negro Leagues. Evelyn and Robinson both played for Beckwith when he managed the Brooklyn Royal Giants and Emerson Radio s industrial league team in 1948 and John Holway interviewed Ted Double Duty Radcliffe and Turkey Stearns about Beckwith and both players revealed that they thought that the bad attitude reputation and alleged negative personality traits were exaggerated or as Double Duty Radcliffe put it, it was a bum rap. From these researchers perspectives, we feel that Beckwith has been unfairly slandered by various sources. He obviously had a unique personality but wasn t a malcontent according to people who knew him and played with, against and for him. Without any question, he was a no nonsense person who wouldn t stand idly by if someone was disrespecting him. He was obviously respected by team owners and players as his services were always in demand. Beckwith was frequently named the captain of his team and had a long career as a manager. When analyzing John Beckwith s career, the facts speak for themselves. He was a great ball player whose career has been sadly overlooked. 33

36 Chicago Giants (1920) Negro National League (John Beckwith - back row fourth from right) Homestead Grays (1928) Negro National League (Beckwith - back row fourth from right) 34

37 Regular Season: Playing Career Year Team League 1916 Montgomery Grey Sox Independent 1917 Havana Stars Independent 1917 Chicago Giants Independent 1917 Indianapolis ABC s Independent 1917 All Nations Independent 1917 Jewell s ABC s Independent 1918 All Nations Independent 1919 Hughley Playground Stars Independent 1919 Chicago Giants Independent 1919 Chicago American Giants Independent Chicago Giants Negro National League Chicago American Giants Negro National League 1924 Homestead Grays Independent Baltimore Black Sox Eastern Colored League 1925 Joe Green s Chicago Giants Independent 1926 Baltimore Black Sox Interstate Baseball League 1926 Hilldale Eastern Colored League Harrisburg Giants Eastern Colored League Homestead Grays Independent 1928 Homestead Grays Eastern Colored League 1929 Homestead Grays American Negro League 1929 New York Lincoln Giants American Negro League 1930 New York Lincoln Giants Independent 1931 Baltimore Black Sox Independent 1931 Hilldale Independent 1931 Newark Browns Independent 1932 Newark Browns East-West League 1932 Atlantic City Bacharach Giants Independent New York Black Yankees Independent 1934 Newark Dodgers Negro National League 1934 New York Black Yankees Negro National League 1935 Homestead Grays Negro National League 1936 Palmer House Indians Independent Brooklyn Royal Giants Independent Crescents of White Plains Independent (same team as Royal Giants) New York Stars Independent (same team as Beckwith s Stars) Beckwith s Stars Independent 1941 Puerto Ricans Independent Brooklyn Royal Giants Independent Chicago Giants (1917) 35

38 Playing Career Winter Leagues: Year Team League 1920 Chicago Giants Barnstorming Tour - Western States 1922 Chicago American Giants Negro League World Series vs Atlantic City Bacharach Giants 1922 Chicago American Giants Series vs Dickie Kerr s All Stars 1923 Homestead Grays Game vs Major League All Stars 1923 Detroit Stars Series vs St. Louis Browns 1923 Chicago American Giants Series vs Detroit Tigers 1924 Baltimore Black Sox Doubleheader vs Philadelphia A s 1924 Harrisburg Giants Exhibition Series 1925 Baltimore Black Sox Post Season Barnstorming Tour 1925 San Jose Cuban Winter League 1926 Hilldale Series vs Earle Mack s All Stars 1926 Homestead Grays Game vs American League All Stars 1926 Harrisburg Giants Exhibition Series 1927 Homestead Grays Series vs Major League All Stars 1927 Atlantic City Bacharach Giants Two Games vs Earle Mack s All Stars 1927 Baltimore Black Sox Game vs Mervin Jacobson s White All Stars Philadelphia Royal Giants California Winter League 1928 Baltimore Black Sox Series vs Major League All Stars 1928 Homestead Grays Game vs American League All Stars 1928 Baltimore Black Sox Game vs Fritz Maisel s All Stars Cleveland Giants California Winter League 1929 Baltimore Black Sox Series vs International League All Stars 1929 Baltimore Black Sox Fritz Maisel s Major League All Stars 1929 Hilldale Post Season Barnstorming 1930 New York Lincoln Giants Championship Series vs Homestead Grays 1930 New York Lincoln Giants Game vs Major League All Stars 1931 Baltimore Black Sox Games vs Big League and International Stars 1931 Hilldale Series vs Major League All Stars 1934 All Star Team New York Baseball Federation All Star Game 1934 New York Black Yankees Game vs Dizzy Dean & Bushwicks 1934 New York Black Yankees Charles Young Post American Legion Game Managerial Career Year Team League 1925 Baltimore Black Sox Eastern Colored League 1927 Harrisburg Giants Eastern Colored League 1932 Newark Browns East-West League Brooklyn Royal Giants Independent Crescents of White Plains Independent (same team as Royal Giants) Beckwith s Stars Independent New York Stars Independent Brooklyn Royal Giants Independent Emerson Radio Industrial League (New York) 36

39 Career Statistics Hitting (Negro League Games) Year Team Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG 1916 Montgomery Chicago Indianapolis Jewell s All Nations Chicago Giants Chicago Giants Chicago Giants Chicago Chicago Baltimore Harrisburg Baltimore Baltimore Harrisburg Hilldale Harrisburg Homestead Homestead New York 1930 New York Baltimore Hilldale Newark New York New York Newark Homestead Brooklyn Total Career Statistics Hitting (Negro League World Series Games) Year Team Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG 1922 Chicago Career Statistics Hitting (Non League Games) Year Team Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG 1917 Chicago Giants Baltimore Homestead Baltimore Chicago Giants Harrisburg Baltimore Harrisburg Homestead Homestead Homestead New York Baltimore New York Brooklyn Total

40 Box Scores

41 Career Statistics Hitting (Exhibition Games vs Major Leaguers) Year Team Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG 1922 Chicago Detroit Chicago Homestead Baltimore Hilldale Homestead Homestead Hilldale Baltimore Baltimore Homestead Baltimore Hilldale New York Total Career Statistics Hitting (California Winter League) Year Team Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG Philadelphia Cleveland Total Career Hitting Statistics (Totals) Games AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA SLG Negro Leagues Negro League World Series Non-League California Winter League Exhibition Games Total Batting and League Leader Hitting Titles Category Year League Number Batting 1924 Eastern Colored League East (No League).452 Slugging Percentage 1924 Eastern Colored League Eastern Colored League California Winter League East (No League).845 Base Hits 1930 East (No League) 96 Doubles 1923 Negro National League 21 Homeruns 1924 Eastern Colored League Eastern Colored League California Winter League East (No League) East (No League) 16 39

42 Newspaper Articles Zanesville Signal Zanesville, OH Altoona Mirror Altoona, PA The Warren Tribune Warren, Ohio The New Castle News New Castle, PA

43 Selected Career Highlights Compiled a career batting average of.352 and a slugging percentage of.580 in league games for his Negro League career. Compiled a career batting average of.369 when the statistics of both league and non league games are taken into consideration. (It is important to note that a large portion of the box scores from Beckwith s non league games have still not been uncovered. John s career batting average will most likely be even higher when more non league games box scores are found.) Compiled the highest career batting average (.413) and slugging percentage (.831) in California Winter League baseball history. Beckwith dominated Major League competition. In one hundred and twentysix (126) at bats against Major League pitchers, he collected forty-eight (48) hits for a.381 batting average. Thirteen (13) of these hits were homeruns for an average of one homerun for every 9.69 plate appearances. Led the Eastern Colored League in 1924 with a batting average of.386 and led East (No League) in 1930 with a batting average of.452. Hit over.400 for the entire Negro League season three times in his career ( , and ). Led the league in slugging percentage four different years: 1924 (.659), 1925 (.762), (.991) and 1930 (.781). Led the league in homeruns on five different occasions: 1924 (10), 1925 (24), (14), 1930 (19) and 1931 (16). Member of the Negro League World Champion Chicago American Giants in First player to hit a baseball out of Redland Field (home of Cincinnati Reds) and Schorling Park (home of Chicago American Giants). Member of two California Winter League championship teams: Philadelphia Royal Giants ( ) and Cleveland Giants ( ). Believed to be the only Negro League player to hit three (3) homeruns off a Major League pitcher. This feat was accomplished in Butler (Pennsylvania) in 1928 when John hit three (3) homeruns off Rube Walberg (Philadelphia Athletics) who was pitching for a Major League All Stars team against the Homestead Grays. Member of the American Negro League (ANL) champions New York Lincoln Giants team in Selected to the 1929 Afro American Negro League All Star Team. In 2006 was selected as one of the 39 finalists for consideration for induction in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Beckwith fell just short in the voting. In his prime John Beckwith was one of the greatest power hitters in Negro League baseball history. He was without question the greatest power hitter of his day. He was the standard other hitters were measured against. 41

44 Chicago American Giants (1919) Back row (left to right): Elwood Bingo De Moss, Leroy Grant, Dave Brown, Rube Foster, Oscar Charleston and Richard Whitworth. Middle row (left to right): Dave Malarcher, Bobby Williams, unknown and John Reese. Front row (left to right): Unknown, Jimmie Lyons, Bill Francis, unknown and John Beckwith. 42