BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " RICHARD REDDING " NICKNAMED " CANNONBALL " WAS AN AMERICAN PITCHER, OUTFIELDER AND MANAGER IN BASEBALL'S NEGRO LEAGUES, REGARDED AS PERHAPS THE FASTEST PITCHER IN THE HISTORY OF BLACK BASEBALL : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

                        BLACK               SOCIAL              HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Richard Redding (April 14, 1890 – October 31, 1948), nicknamed "Cannonball", was an American pitcher, outfielder and manager in baseball's Negro leagues, regarded as perhaps the fastest pitcher in the history of black baseball (which makes the origin of his nickname no mystery). In his career, he played for the Philadelphia Giants, New York Lincoln Giants,^[1]Lincoln Stars, Indianapolis ABC's, Chicago American Giants, Brooklyn Royal Giants, and Bacharach Giants.^[3]

Biography

Born in Atlanta, Georgia in the era of racial segregation, he was functionally illiterate and was not allowed to play in the Major Leagues because of his race. Against all levels of competition he threw seven no-hitters in one year and approximately thirty in his career. Quiet and clean-cut off the field, he was as intimidating as anyone on it. He had a limited pitching repertoire, but his main pitch, his fastball, was feared by batters all over the league. It was likely faster than Bob Feller's and was far more accurate than Steve Dalkowski's. Redding gained an extra advantage by throwing "brushback" pitches inside, similar to that of today's stars like Pedro Martínez.

The 1912 Lincoln Giants

His career began in 1911 with the Philadelphia Giants. That year, at the age of twenty, he won seventeen consecutive games. Early in his career he was at his best, and in 1914, playing for the New York Lincoln Giants, he was 12-3 against official competition and 31-9 in barnstorming. He served in World War I in 1918, and was a player-manager from 1919 to 1922. His playing career was essentially over by the mid-1920s, but he managed the Brooklyn Royal Giants from 1927 to 1932.

Ten years after retiring in 1938, he suffered a sudden bout of mental illness in 1948 and died in a mental hospital in Islip, New York later that year at age 58. He was considered by many^[who?] to be as good as or better than rival Smokey Joe Williams, and certainly comparable with Walter Johnson of the major leagues. Unlike Williams or Johnson, he is not currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame, which is considered by many to be a major oversight. He is also known for using, possibly even before Satchel Paige, the hesitation pitch.

His career average is known to be 81-62. Hall of Famer Buck Leonard once said about Redding: "was a nice fellow, easy going. He never argued, never cursed, never smoked as I recall; I never saw him take a drink."

Career statistics

Comprehensive statistics for some Negro league and Cuban League seasons

• Negro league and Cuban League statistics and player information from Seamheads.com

Negro leagues

• Negro league baseball statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Negro leagues)

Pre-league play in the United States

The following statistics, compiled from box scores by John Holway, provide an incomplete record of games played against other major black teams. Because black teams of that era played most of their games against white semi-pro or professional teams, the available statistics represent a very small sample.

Year	Team	W	L	Pct	RA
1911	Lincoln Giants	5	1	.833	5.35
1912	Lincoln Giants	2	2	.500	—
1913	Lincoln Giants	0	0	—	—
1914	Lincoln Giants	4	4	.500	—
1915	Lincoln Stars	6	2	.750	2.55
1916	Lincoln Giants	4	1	.800	5.59
1917	Chicago American Giants	14	5	.737	1.57
1918	Brooklyn Royal Giants	2	0	1.000	—
1919	Bacharach Giants/Brooklyn	3	5	.375	1.67
Total	9 seasons	40	20	.667	—

Source: Holway, pp. 84, 90, 94, 99, 105–06, 113, 116, 126, 130–31.

Cuban League

Year	Team	W	L	Pct	G	CG	IP	H	BB	SO	RA
1912w	Fe	4	8	.333	14	8	—	—	—	—	—
1913w	Fe p	7	2	.778*	21	9	—	—	—	—	—
1914/15	Fe	2	6	.250	10	—	70	36	29	28	4.63
1920/21	Bacharach Giants	2	6*	.250	10	6	—	—	—	—	—
1922/23	Habana	3	1	.750	7	3	—	—	—	—	—
Total	5 seasons	18	23	.439	62	—	—	—	—	—	—
w – winter; * – led league; p = pennant.