Announcement! Black Baseball in Alabama 1870-1950: The Rough Diamonds of Dixie

While waiting for the Biscuits to get their heads together on how they want to handle their most vocal internet supporter, I have much more important news!

 

At the NSL Museum

On Saturday I enjoyed the Jackie Robinson Day festivities in Birmingham at the Negro Southern League Museum, meeting again with its founder, Dr. Layton Revel as well as Dan Creed, the senior researcher on the NSLM staff. I also met Bham Mayor Randall Woodfin and several former Negro League players, including one from Montgomery who had some wonderful tales.

Also on the agenda was visiting and photographing the location that was formerly West End Park, known as the Slag Pile, where Birmingham's biggest ballgames were held before Rickwood Field was constructed. This will all come in very handy for my upcoming project, which I am now very happy to be able to announce.

 

 BLACK BASEBALL IN ALABAMA 1870-1950: The Rough Diamonds of Dixie

Coming to bookshelves this summer, my first book, "Black Baseball in Alabama 1870-1950: The Rough Diamonds of Dixie" will be available and I can not be more excited about it! From The History Press publishers, it should be in stores across the state, nation and perhaps beyond by September. For me, it is the culmination of years of study and research, I am thrilled to have the chance to share it with everyone.

The overlooked stories of the men and women in Alabama who aided the development of baseball have long been in danger of being lost, the African American contributions to the sport are immeasurable and a crucial part of the American experience. Lending a voice to those who can no longer tell their stories themselves and sparking more discussion on the amazing and largely unheralded history of Alabama's Black baseball legacy has been the most amazing adventure.

 

PREPARE FOR A SHOCK

There are many surprising stories, shocking me even as I researched them. Some are so incredible you will wonder if they can possibly be true. You will question what you have been previously told about famous players, teams and events after reading this book! 

What I thought I knew about baseball was wrong. 

What I thought I knew about Negro League baseball was wrong. 

What we are told is a streamlined myth, a fairy tale crafted to let young children sleep easily.

There is simply no area of American life that was not in some way connected to Black baseball in Alabama. Alabama Black baseball influenced, and was influenced by, everything across the country, from music to food to education to travel to politics. 

WHATS IN THE BOOK?

With the Dr. Miraculous style that has, to many, become synonymous with telling Alabama baseball history, lost stories are brought back from the past to be held in the light of the sun, often for the first time in decades. Forgotten players who were legends in their day are again heralded, juggernaut teams that have fallen into oblivion are again championed, even cities that no longer exist are given their due for the game they loved.

The tales and images range from old-time 1800's to mid-20th century and modern, they illustrate the life and times of ballplayers and the spread of baseball from city to city. People and places are the focus, identifying as many individuals as possible and sharing their struggles and victories, as well as the constant dangers that existed for those who simply sought to play baseball. 

1880's Western Railway of Alabama, now the location of Riverwalk Stadium

WHO'S IN IT?

Lots of famous players are mentioned, including info about Satchel Paige never printed before. Stars like Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella appear, but just as shining are the unheralded greats such as Geechie Meredith and George Lockhart. 

Some have tragic stories, the dangers of being a Black ballplayer in Alabama were inescapable. Police reports were as common as scouting reports in my research. I was surprised at the body count for this baseball history, which will also fall into some readers "True Crime" collections. It is not for the fainthearted. 

There are ballplayers, managers and owners too. But the cast of characters includes much more. Jazz and blues musicians rub shoulders with gamblers and gangsters, politicians and actors are involved, as are bootleggers and policemen. There are a lot of names you will know, some you won't and many you should.

Dozens of cities across Alabama, large and small, are documented for their earliest and most successful Black teams. Crossroads and ditches, mills and mines, colleges and fire department teams and their players are recognized for their baseball accomplishments. 

Many players career records are identified for the first time, entire cities are added to the map of important Alabama locations that have featured major league players, teams and hosted games.

Many players, including Hall of Famers, are identified as appearing with Alabama teams for the first time.

CANT READ? THATS OKAY!

Look at the pictures! 

Norman "Turkey" Stearnes

Oh, these images, if I have been errant in my attention to you on the blog it has largely been due to the challenging hunt for rare photos to accompany the stories and characters described. And that hunt has been very fruitful, I am happy to report. I have scoured the planet and found help from the very best in the baseball research world and beyond. 

Institutions such as Harvard, UCLA, Tuskegee University, Alabama State University and many others opened their archives for this project, some for the very first time in their history. Libraries of ten American cities shared info and photos, some never before published. 

Dr. Ravel of the Negro Southern League Museum kindly provided many more, often unseen, photos. Historian William Plott gave use of his images, including some photos never before seen and unpublished interviews with Montgomery Grey Sox players. 

Museums were generous with support, including leading photography galleries in New York. Locally, the Alabama Department of Archives & History and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts were extremely helpful.

Many nationally recognized Negro League experts, simply too many to name individually, assisted with info or shared player and team images for this project.

 

 NEED MORE? OF COURSE WE DO!

George  "Tubby" Scales

But it's not enough to just have pictures. We need names.

Again, I gotchu fam.

 I identify teams that have been lost to history for decades, in many cases over a hundred years, and include the names of their known players in order for their modern descendants to locate them and for researchers to locate them in other known photos.

If that's not enough, I include every nickname I could find, Steel Arm and Candy Jim are just the tip of the Cool Papa Bell iceberg. 

WHAT WILL BE LEARNED?

Montgomery's first No-hitter was thrown by a Black man. You will see his name and face together for the very first time.

The legendary Satchel Paige has some very startling revelations, including how he got started in pro baseball and other stories never told before.

Read the origin story of the Montgomery Grey Sox, previously entirely unknown, and how it was sparked by the most notorious gangster in town. 

The Birmingham Black Barons beginnings are laid bare, as are the organized crime syndicates battling for control of the team.

Discover who won the disputed Negro Southern League championships of 1920 & 1921, the mystery finally untangled.

Hear how Birmingham and Montgomery became major league teams, and the players who starred for them. 

Josh Gibson brought his Homestead Grays to many Alabama cities, including one of the biggest games of his career.

See the faces of the men who played with Montgomery's major league team for the very first time.

Barnstorming became a way of life, learn how it saved the Black Barons and cemented their legendary status.

Stories include, bats, balls, gloves, facemasks, guns, knives, razors, poison, cars, busses, trains, tornadoes, electric chairs, moonshine, phrenology, the KKK, chain gangs, minstrels, and so much more!

 

WHERE DO I GET IT?

The release date has not yet been announced, and I will be debuting the cover in about six weeks or so. I expect the book to be on shelves in bookstores and ballparks across the nation, particularly in the South and in Alabama. Of course as I am able to, I will share updates on when/where to get it, and I look forward to sharing the stories of Black Baseball in Alabama with everyone!

 

 

It's Just Some Pictures, Guys

It's just pictures, guys. Let's go!

Let me explain.

In 2016 I was approached by the team front office for images of their players to supplement their promotions. I said no problem, I like to help out. I had previously been providing them images as requested for free, but the team indicated they wanted to move beyond that and work together. I was happy to do so. 

 

I shot the pictures for the team baseball card set and heard a lot of good feedback from players, fans and the front office. I was paid exactly one hundred dollars for what amounted to two weeks of shooting, focused on getting usable shots of each player. It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed it and didn't mind the low pay. Probably came out to about two dollars a picture, instead of the usual pro rate of $25-$125 per. I was helping the team, right?

Later that summer I was told by the front office
that my images had been mistakenly passed to an advertiser, but was not told who. My images were on a portable usb device that had somehow been handed off, and I would not get my usb device back. Okay, fine.

 

Then I found my images used without my knowledge for third-party merchandise. As many as four images of players I had shot were included in the Southern League All-Star team card set produced by the Mississippi Braves. I was not asked and if I signed away permission for their use I do not recall it, as I was under the impression our agreement was for the use of my images for Biscuit promotions. 

Either way it would have been nice to be compensated, provided a copy for my own archives or at least told about the use.

After that, I was quietly refused further photography jobs with the team. I have repeatedly asked what we can do to continue our work together. But instead, the club first handed an expensive camera to entry level staffers before finally hiring a media person for camera work along with many other duties during games. Fine, whatever.

When MLB took over MiLB and the pandemic shut down the season, my media pass became obsolete. Since then I have repeatedly requested media access from the Biscuits, who have said "Oh sure we will email you that info. It comes from MLB now." It is literally the same guy I worked with when shooting for MiLB.com and Minor League Baseball with no problems, but I don't have his contact info so I requested several times to be put in touch. 

I've been waiting to hear back from the Biscuits with that contact info, which I request every six months.

For four years.

I do not understand the delay. Nor do I appreciate it, since I have been quietly sitting on the fact that my images were likely used for third-party merch and been denied further work with them.

My photography over the past twenty years includes working with equipment companies, sports agents and players themselves. My photos have appeared in magazines, newspapers, MLB programs and promotions, as well as on national television news programs. I have worked as an on-field photographer at multiple MiLB parks, in dugouts and bullpens during games, quietly doing the job at hand while building a reputation for quality pictures.

Before each game I go to the pressbox and find the info package made available to the media. The Biscuits used to offer that info for season ticket holders, of which I am also one. But they quit that, in spite of the fact that after the game those very sheets of paper are literally dropped in the trashcan. 

This past season I was stopped by an usher who accosted me about going upstairs, verboten to ye peasants of the seating bowl. I mentioned that I had previously had a pass, and he demanded to see it. When I brought the expired pass, which I explained WAS EXPIRED, he took it as valid and said I was good to go upstairs. Uh okay. Of course a day or two later I was again stopped by said usher, who was mad that I had deceived him with my old pass! 

So now, every usher in Biscuitville has my mugshot saying - DO NOT LET HIM UPSTAIRS. 

My buddy goes up to get the same media info every game. I followed him and got tagged by the usher like a highschool kid caught smoking in the boys room.

As with the MLB/MiLB contact, I have repeatedly requested this media stat pack of info, being told "Oh sure, we will bring it to you." only to have it be brought one time and then forgotten. Which is fine if I have access to grab that handful of wastepaper myself.

THE SECRET INFO

Whats in those secret files that are being secured behind an army of polo-topped sentries?

The media pack includes a single page with both teams lineups on the face, along with the umpires and a list of each teams roster by uniform number. This is incredibly valuable to a photographer, knowing the actual players and positions instead of the often errant lineup published early in the day is golden. Not to mention being able to tell quickly who a substitution is by the their uniform number, which is also often incorrect in programs and pre-game lineups.

There is also a deep list of player and team stats. Also worth its weight in gold for photogs. Learning who might be utilized due to their metrics helps prepare for action, knowing a hitter is scuffling means you get a shot of him in the field or else you will end up with pictures of him striking out or staring at an infield popup in the batters box. Players KNOW, multiple times I have had a guy say "Oh man thats a swing-and-miss" on a shot of them at bat.

Team notes. Each team's media crew provides a brief that includes a bio of the days starting pitcher and each of the position players. It also provides info on the relievers and serves as a mini media guide. All the info you won't be hearing from the broadcast booth because you are shooting the game and not listening to the radio/tv call. Many who get these sheets may not read them but it is part of my pre-game to go through EVERY PAGE and highlight any stats that seem like they would impact my days photography. If you have seen me at the ballpark before the game with my nose in some papers and a pen in hand, that's what I am doing.  

I've never requested an autograph while working with credentials, never kept a foul ball or asked for a souvenir while working. I practically refuse to speak to players while on the field. I've never fraternized with players or officials before or after a credentialed media event and I have tried to handle business with respect and professional courtesy.

I'm not demanding a job, if they want to pay a staffer who won't spend it at the beer cart, that is their decision and something that should have been happening every game since 2004. I'm also not competing with them, in fact I think I hype their brand more than any single non-team entity.

Why the delay on the MLB media contact and the refusal for stat packs that literally help me pimp them?

So thats why I say, it's just some pictures, guys! Let's go!

 

 

Rebels Footage By Request! Back to Baseball

Can we get back to baseball now? Great!

I said last time that the Biscuits may be for sale, and that could be a possibility. It could also be that they are suffering from back-burner-ism, with the Rays concerned about where they will play and owner Lou working to secure the same details for his Flying Squirrels. Montgomery fans may have to sit on their hands and wait their turn. 

Whether those details could play into the future of the Biscuits is up in the air, though I would think the Rays might kick the can down the road just to not have another thing to worry about during their ballpark transition.

 

GOOSE

Meeting Goose Gossage was pleasant, he told me a nice story about playing in Japan. "It was just like 'Mr. Baseball'" he told me, and mentioned the move came about due to being blackballed by MLB managers Don Zimmer and Roger Craig. "We have since buried the hatchet," he said, but I could tell he wished it was buried in someones neck instead of wherever they had left it when they made amends. Gossage was great, launching quickly into ballplayer mode with full swearing and gesturing, regardless of the high class location and proximity to expensive suits.

 

REBELS FLASHBACKS

Someone asked recently if I had any Alan Trammell/Lou Whitaker Montgomery Rebels stuff. Oh the delicious irony. Someone else had just recently sent me a link to old broadcasts of local news shows. Talk about a wayback machine, I could not turn my eyes away! After two days of drying my retinas nonstop I found a few gems that I think everyone might appreciate. 

 

Here is a great clip worth clicking thru to watch...

https://youtu.be/tTDvps96ExI?si=JBP_d3PrXrHlA6f-&t=732

Beginning at 12:12 you will see the Montgomery Rebels first spring workout at Paterson Field in 1977, this is the first time Trammell and Whitaker worked together outside of spring camp, having not yet appeared in a single game. 

I will save you the effort of watching the hours of footage like I did. There were only a handful of baseball related items.

 

It's a real blast from the past!

Rebels footage is found in this broadcast, gotta love those classic orange tops! 

More orange tops in this interview with Al Green, Rebels outfielder in '78.

 

This image is Ted Brazell, Mark Fidrych and other Rebels doing groundskeeper work when the city decided to punish the team by pulling basic support.

PODCAST!

The tech thing kicked our ass. We recorded about three epi's but the sound levels were atrocious, and holiday fun prevented us from working it up. Not to worry, Uncle Mikey and I will be back at it in the next few weeks producing new content with new equipment! Thanks for sticking it out and not throwing things at us. Yet. 

SOMETHING EXTRA

Since I have been tardy and ya'll been so patient, I'm including another video.. yeah ikr.. this one is from last years conference, Jeb Stewart gave a fantastic bio of former Montgomery Negro League catcher Paul Hardy.