BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
Bud Fowler.
Bud Fowler
1885 Keokuk, Iowa baseball team featuring Bud Fowler.jpg
Bud Fowler, the first professional black baseball player with one of his teams, the Keokuk, Iowa team of the Western League
Born John W. Fowler
March 16, 1858
Fort Plain, New York
Died February 26, 1913 (aged 54)
Frankfort, New York
Nationality American
Ethnicity African American
Years active 1877–1895
Known for Professional baseball player
Home town Cooperstown, New York
John W. "Bud" Fowler (March 16, 1858 – February 26, 1913) was an African-American baseball player, field manager, and club organizer. He is the earliest known African-American player in organized professional baseball; that is, the major leagues and affiliated minor leagues. He played more seasons and more games in organized baseball than any African American until Jackie Robinson played his 11th season in 1956.
Contents
1 Early life and education
2 Baseball career
2.1 Keokuk
3 Final playing days
4 Death
5 Legacy and honors
Early life and education
In 1858 Fowler was "born 'John W. Jackson,' the son of a fugitive hop-picker and barber" (Riley 1994, 294) in 1858. His father had escaped from slavery and reached New York. In 1859, his family moved from Fort Plain, New York, to Cooperstown. Growing up as a child there, he learned baseball. Why he selected the name Bud Fowler is unknown. According to biographer L. Robert Davids, he was nicknamed "Bud" because he called the other players by that name.
Baseball career
Fowler first played for an all-white professional team based out of New Castle, Pennsylvania in 1872, when he was 14 years old.[1] He is documented as playing for another professional team early in 1878, when he was 20.[2] On April 24, 1878, he pitched a game for the Picked Nine, who defeated the Boston Red Caps, champions of the National League in 1877.[3] He pitched some more for the Chelsea team, then finished that season with the Worcester club. Largely supporting himself as a barber, Fowler continued to play for baseball teams in New England and Canada for the next four years.
He moved into the Midwest. In 1883, Fowler played for a team in Niles, Ohio; in 1884, he played for Stillwater, Minnesota, in the Northwestern League; Keokuk Indians in Iowa, 1885 and, in 1888, he played for a team in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Keokuk
Keokuk, Iowa had not had a professional baseball team since 1875. However, in 1885, local businessman R. W. "Nick" Curtis was the chief force behind starting a new team and hired Bud Fowler for it. Johnny Peters, the manager of the then-disbanded Stillwater, Minnesotateam, helped Fowler get connected with the new team in Keokuk.
Fowler became the most popular player on the Keokuk team. The local newspaper, the Keokuk Gate City and Constitution, said of him, "a good ball player, a hard worker, a genius on the ball field, intelligent, gentlemanly in his conduct and deserving of the good opinion entertained for him by base ball admirers here."
He also commented to the local newspaper on issues with the "reserve clause," the contractual mechanism that allowed teams to hold on to players for their entire career. Fowler stated, "...when a ball player signs a league contract they can do anything with him under its provisions but hang him."[4]
Final playing days
The Western League folded that season due to financial reasons, leaving Keokuk without a league. Fowler was released and moved to play with a team in Pueblo, Colorado. In 1886 he played for a team in Topeka, Kansas. That team won the pennant behind Fowler's .309 average. He also led the league in triples. Eventually, Fowler moved to Binghamton, New York and played on a team there. Racial tensions arose and his teammates refused to continue playing with him.
In 1895, he and Home Run Johnson formed the Page Fence Giants in Adrian, Michigan.[5] From 1894-1904, Fowler played and/or managed the Page Fence Giants,[6] Cuban Giants, the Smoky City Giants, the All-American Black Tourists, and the Kansas City Stars.
Death
Fowler died in Frankfort, New York, on February 26, 1913. In his last years, he suffered from illness and poverty which was covered by national media. His grave was unmarked.
Legacy and honors
In 1987 the Society for American Baseball Research placed a memorial on his grave to memorialize and honor his successes as the first professional African-American baseball player.[4]
According to baseball historian James A. Riley, Fowler played 10 seasons of organized baseball, "a record [for an African American player] until broken by Jackie Robinson in his last season with the Brooklyn Dodgers."[7]
Cooperstown, N.Y. declared April 20, 2013 as "Bud Fowler Day," dedicating a plaque and presenting an exhibit in his honor at Doubleday Field (it was prepared by The Cooperstown Graduate Program). The street leading to the Field has been named "Fowler Way." [8]
He is referred to in Marilynne Robinson's novel Gilead.
Bud Fowler
1885 Keokuk, Iowa baseball team featuring Bud Fowler.jpg
Bud Fowler, the first professional black baseball player with one of his teams, the Keokuk, Iowa team of the Western League
Born John W. Fowler
March 16, 1858
Fort Plain, New York
Died February 26, 1913 (aged 54)
Frankfort, New York
Nationality American
Ethnicity African American
Years active 1877–1895
Known for Professional baseball player
Home town Cooperstown, New York
John W. "Bud" Fowler (March 16, 1858 – February 26, 1913) was an African-American baseball player, field manager, and club organizer. He is the earliest known African-American player in organized professional baseball; that is, the major leagues and affiliated minor leagues. He played more seasons and more games in organized baseball than any African American until Jackie Robinson played his 11th season in 1956.
Contents
1 Early life and education
2 Baseball career
2.1 Keokuk
3 Final playing days
4 Death
5 Legacy and honors
Early life and education
In 1858 Fowler was "born 'John W. Jackson,' the son of a fugitive hop-picker and barber" (Riley 1994, 294) in 1858. His father had escaped from slavery and reached New York. In 1859, his family moved from Fort Plain, New York, to Cooperstown. Growing up as a child there, he learned baseball. Why he selected the name Bud Fowler is unknown. According to biographer L. Robert Davids, he was nicknamed "Bud" because he called the other players by that name.
Baseball career
Fowler first played for an all-white professional team based out of New Castle, Pennsylvania in 1872, when he was 14 years old.[1] He is documented as playing for another professional team early in 1878, when he was 20.[2] On April 24, 1878, he pitched a game for the Picked Nine, who defeated the Boston Red Caps, champions of the National League in 1877.[3] He pitched some more for the Chelsea team, then finished that season with the Worcester club. Largely supporting himself as a barber, Fowler continued to play for baseball teams in New England and Canada for the next four years.
He moved into the Midwest. In 1883, Fowler played for a team in Niles, Ohio; in 1884, he played for Stillwater, Minnesota, in the Northwestern League; Keokuk Indians in Iowa, 1885 and, in 1888, he played for a team in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Keokuk
Keokuk, Iowa had not had a professional baseball team since 1875. However, in 1885, local businessman R. W. "Nick" Curtis was the chief force behind starting a new team and hired Bud Fowler for it. Johnny Peters, the manager of the then-disbanded Stillwater, Minnesotateam, helped Fowler get connected with the new team in Keokuk.
Fowler became the most popular player on the Keokuk team. The local newspaper, the Keokuk Gate City and Constitution, said of him, "a good ball player, a hard worker, a genius on the ball field, intelligent, gentlemanly in his conduct and deserving of the good opinion entertained for him by base ball admirers here."
He also commented to the local newspaper on issues with the "reserve clause," the contractual mechanism that allowed teams to hold on to players for their entire career. Fowler stated, "...when a ball player signs a league contract they can do anything with him under its provisions but hang him."[4]
Final playing days
The Western League folded that season due to financial reasons, leaving Keokuk without a league. Fowler was released and moved to play with a team in Pueblo, Colorado. In 1886 he played for a team in Topeka, Kansas. That team won the pennant behind Fowler's .309 average. He also led the league in triples. Eventually, Fowler moved to Binghamton, New York and played on a team there. Racial tensions arose and his teammates refused to continue playing with him.
In 1895, he and Home Run Johnson formed the Page Fence Giants in Adrian, Michigan.[5] From 1894-1904, Fowler played and/or managed the Page Fence Giants,[6] Cuban Giants, the Smoky City Giants, the All-American Black Tourists, and the Kansas City Stars.
Death
Fowler died in Frankfort, New York, on February 26, 1913. In his last years, he suffered from illness and poverty which was covered by national media. His grave was unmarked.
Legacy and honors
In 1987 the Society for American Baseball Research placed a memorial on his grave to memorialize and honor his successes as the first professional African-American baseball player.[4]
According to baseball historian James A. Riley, Fowler played 10 seasons of organized baseball, "a record [for an African American player] until broken by Jackie Robinson in his last season with the Brooklyn Dodgers."[7]
Cooperstown, N.Y. declared April 20, 2013 as "Bud Fowler Day," dedicating a plaque and presenting an exhibit in his honor at Doubleday Field (it was prepared by The Cooperstown Graduate Program). The street leading to the Field has been named "Fowler Way." [8]
He is referred to in Marilynne Robinson's novel Gilead.
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