Sports Nut: The First Black Player in Major-League History

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Sports Nut The First Black Player in Major-League History Was it William Edward White? By Stefan Fatsis Posted Monday, Apr 22, 2013, at 07:43 PM ET On the April 15 edition of the Hang Up and Listen podcast, Stefan Fatsis told the story of a possible African-American baseball pioneer named William Edward White. The transcript of Fatsis' account is below, and you can listen to the story by clicking on the audio player beneath this paragraph. It is Jackie Robinson Day, and that means a flurry of stories about African-American baseball pioneers. The New York Times has one this morning, about Bud Fowler, who, when he suited up for the Lynn Live Oaks of the minor-league International Association in 1878, might have been the first black professional ballplayer. Fowler is the subject of an upcoming biography, a paper will be presented about him at the Society for American Baseball Research's annual conference in Cooperstown this weekend, and he's having a street named for him in Cooperstown because he grew up near there.  Fowler played 10 season of professional ball, all of it in the minors. Other blacks—most notably Frank Grant and Sol White—played in minor and semi-pro leagues in the 1880s before baseball imposed its gentlemen's agreement racial barrier. The other name you might know is Moses Fleetwood Walker, who played 42 games for the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association in 1884. He's usually credited as the first African-American to play in the majors. But every Jackie Robinson Day, I think of William Edward White, who was in all likelihood actually the first African-American major leaguer. White attended ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Slatest PM: Police Wonder if Tamerlan Killed His Ex-Roommate A History of Violence Unanswered Questions About Watergate	Advertisement
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