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Black/white game is TC historyThis is a continuation of my article from last week about early black baseball players and the early black baseball league.Jackie Robinson was the first black player to play modem major league baseball. Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 and played all 10 of his major league career years with the Dodgers. Robinson started at first base but gained his fame as a second baseman.He was an outstanding hitter and finished with a .311 lifetime batting average. He was a superior runner and base-stealer, the only player up until this date to steal home in a World Series game.Robinson top rookieIn 1947, Robinson was named Rookie of the Year. In 1949, he was the National League’s Most Valuable Player, as well as the league’s batting champion with a .342 average.Jack Roosevelt Robinson was no dummy. He was born in Georgia, but his mother moved the family to Los Angeles.There, Jackie, a great athlete even then attended UCLA and starred in four sports at the university. In 194S, Robinson played with the Kansas City Monaichs of the Negro American League.He was discovered in this league, brought to Montreal in the minors of the other league and then to the majors.Well, the rest of the story is all good African-American history andmost people of color, the older generation, know the story of how he was treated.Some teammates didn’t like him. Opposing pitchers tried to bean him. Base runners tried to spike him. Black cats and all other kinds of racial slurs and gestures were thrown his way.He had to dress alone, eat alone and travel and sleep separately from the re^t of his teammates.But each and every day he took his position and played exceptionally well for the Dodgers. His character, ability to play, and sportsman-•ship were the keys to hji/success.i ■ * • - « \ } , \ l*,i vteamPan American Oil Refinery came to Texas City in 1934. Colonel H.B. Moore persuaded the officials of that company to locate here, and that decision has proven its worth ■down through the years. Many Iblacks worked as laborers in the iearly days for this company.744In 1949, Sam Woods, a black who worked for Pan American, asked the company to sponsor a local semi-pro baseball team, and they did. It was called the Pan American Colonel team in 1949.Pan Am purchased the suits, equipment, and furnished a park to play in.I was one of its bat boys.Sam Wood was the manager, Poor Boy” Felders was'one of the coaches, and the team members were Tommy Smith, Leon Rice, W.C. Howard, Willie Jackson, Flex McVea (Rocking Chair Catcher), Seth Littles, Theodore White, Bennie Gaines, Ernest “Sugar” Caldwell, Clarence Godfrey, Janes “Dot-toe” Porter, Ollie Waters, Buster Griffin, Robert Griffin, Melvin Griffin, Cornelius “Mano” Heard and “T” Nola White.Most of their games were played on Sunday afternoons and all of these men were better than average players. Melvin “Speck” Griffin went up and Cornelius “Mano” Heard and the rest of the players were victims of color and age.There were some exciting games when Pan Am played Wharton andBrenham.Black little league44In the summer of 1951 ClarenceBunny” Godfrey and Johnny Henderson, two young black men in their 20s came up with the idea of organizing a community Little League team for black boys ages 10-12 years old.The reason it was for black boys is because across Texas Avenue they had their own teams and we were not allowed to play on their teams. This was no problem for Johnny and Clarence because all of the boys in our community could play baseball.We played baseball and rubber ball like the kids play basketball today. Our team name was the Texas City Indians. On that team were Eddie Lee Gardner, Joe Craddock, Junior V. Ferris, James Payne Sr., Calvin Courier, Homer Lee Rollins, Joe Caldwell, Earl Tolden, Lively Walker Jr., Harry Lindsey Williams and I.We were in the league with the Galveston teams.They were Triple X Dodgers, I.L.A. Exporters, CD Yankees and St. Augustine Red Sox. We won the championship in 1951, blowing away Triple X Dodgers. Their manager was Obie Parker, now deceased.Some of their players wereLYNN RAY ELLISONPoint of ViewEugene Scott, Doby Gardner, Jimmy Compton, George Compton, Raymond Boute, Marvin Bouldin, Melvin Bouldin, Norris Horn, Levy Compton, Robert Lott, Charles Shinette and Harold Singleton.We beat them 1-0. It was a pitching duel.The news had been spreading across Texas City and the countyabout this black little league team defeating everybody they played. A call came in to Clarence Godfrey from the manager of the Clarks Department Store team from across Texas Avenue. He wanted to match unofficially a game with us. I guess he was curious and really wanted to know who had the better team. His boys were the same age.The big dayI shall never forget this as longas I live.The game was set up to be played in our end of town, in our park.On game day our park was so crowded with people you could hardly walk around. This game was a cultural, sociological, psychological shock to all of us. We had never played, gone to school, eaten, gone to the movies or to church with anyone else except other black friends. Here we were, playing a baseball game against a team that was nonblack.They dro ve up in two new Pontiac station wagons, probably from the Roger-Jacob Pontiac dealershipthere in town. They got out in their beautiful uniforms.The managers stopped and talked briefly, then ushered their players over to the side.Johnny Henderson and Clarence Godfrey noticed the lull that had come over us. We were unusually quiet and they gave us a pep talk that went far beyond the boundaries of baseball.Clarence and Johnny started with James Payne Sr. at third. He was quick, sure-handed and could field a bunt.I was at short stop, because I had the range, quickness, and nothing ever got by me.Joe Caldwell was at second. (Years lager, he was All-American at Arizona State, in the 1960Olymp s, and 11 years in the N.B.A.)Homer Lee Rollins was at first. Homer was tall and agile and you couldn’t throw over or under him.Joe Craddock was in right field.Joe was strong with a good arm to could throw a perfect peg to any base.Earl “Zeke” Tolden was in center. Zeke could do it all and he made it look so easy.Harry Lindsay Williams was in left “Chilly” Williams covered a waterfront in leftBehind the plate was Junior V. Ferris. Junior V. was tougher than nails. You couldn’t hurt him and he either caught or blocked everything that was thrown his way.And on the mound was “T” Richard, better known as Richard Felder Jr. His main pitch was a dead red — a fastball.Game called at 10-0We were bonded together playing baseball. Night and day, this was our thing. They had a good solid team, but from the outset of the game we had too much power, speed, quickness and — surprisingly to some — we had much more baseball sense.After the first three innings, everybody present could see it was no contest. We were ahead 10-0 when the game was called — for some strange reason.For Our victory, Clark management offered to give us their used uniforms — hand-me-downs.Our management refused, and for the next season we had new uniforms bought by local black merchants like Wise Barber Shop, Dur-geon Four Leaf Clover, Johnny Martin’s Cafe, Beamer’s Cafe, the Blue Shadow Cafe, Elk’s Lodge, Jay’s Inn, Gary’s Cafe, Malveaux’s Barber Shop, Labor Union 116, Johnny Hardeman, Pride of 146 Lodge, the Honey Dripper Cafe, Wishy Ice Cream Parlor, King’s Grocer^ and a few others.Our immediate reward for winning that game was ice cold soda water and ice cream.the Magic School Busgoes toTUE M AI All AHin lUlllBEIIRfl
Newspaper Details
Texas City Sun
Texas City, Texas, US
Sun, Dec 04, 1994
Page 121
Full Page
Clipped by
Sandra M.
TX, USA 12 Dec 2021
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