Former Negro League stars keeping history alive
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

The surviving members of the Philadelphia Stars know they are the keepers of the flame.

America has learned much about the Negro Baseball Leagues, but as the number of players who participated in those leagues dwindle, former players like Stanley "Doc" Glenn, Bill "Ready" Cash, Mahlon Duckett and Harold Gould know they have to keep the flame burning bright so that it is not forgotten.

"We're not going to let it go away," said Glenn, who was a catcher. "It's a part of American history and needs to be told. I had fun when I was playing."

Glenn joked that he was the youngest of the Philadelphia Stars at 80 years old. The Stars were part of the Negro League from 1933 to 1952.

The four ex-Stars were at the Little League State Championships Sunday, hosted by Tony Richardson, state coordinator and District 11 administrator, and the Neptune Township Little League of Section III. The players met the public and signed autographs.

Cash, a catcher who played in six different countries during his career, knows the significance of the time and what the players went through.

"It's important to let them know how it was," he said. "It was rough below the Mason-Dixon line."

Finding accommodations in the South was not easy, and more often than not, the players slept in the buses. Deprived of locker room facilities, they would have to dress for the games under the bleachers, and, of course, had to put up with racial slurs.

Cash got his nickname, he recalled, when he was pulled out of a game. It didn't sit well with him and he told his manager, "When I put on the uniform, I'm ready to play." "Ready" stuck, and Cash became Bill "Ready" Cash.

Duckett, an infielder, said he and his former teammates enjoy getting out and meeting the public. Recently, the city of Philadelphia dedicated Philadelphia Stars Negro League Memorial Park at the site of their home field, Parkside Field at 44th Street and Parkside Avenue.

"We try and get around and meet people," he said. "It's a lot of fun for us. We like to let them know the type of ballplayers we had."

At the time they were playing, Gould, a pitcher, recalled, no one believed they'd be remembered.

"We never thought anything would come of them [games]," he said. "We really didn't keep records. It's hard to tell how great they were."

By getting out and meeting the public, and through the Negro League Baseball Players Association, in which Cash, Mahlon and Glenn are members of the board of directors, the players want to ensure that what happened in the Negro Leagues is remembered.

"The Negro League was everything," said Duckett. "The major leagues were not open."

Duckett said he always believed that baseball would eventually integrate because of outside pressures. He pointed out that when the Stars played in Yankee Stadium or Shibe Park (Connie Mack Stadium), up to 35 percent of the fans were white. They had a big following among the white community and the white baseball players behind them as well. He said players like Bob Feller told them that they belonged in the major leagues and were behind them.

"Most of the players were in our corner," he said.

Some owners were as well. Still, it took until 1947 for the first steps to be taken, when Jackie Robinson came up with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

A highlight for every player was the barnstorming games played after the major league season between the Negro League players and major leaguers, such as Feller.

"It was a great feeling," said Glenn. "We played it like it was just another game. We wanted to win and they wanted to win."

Players from both leagues had more than baseball in common: money. Packed houses meant more money for both teams, and they packed the houses they played at. This was a time when major league players weren't making the millions they are today.

Gould sounds like any baseball veteran when he talks about changes in the game. He noted that when he was pitching, there was no such thing as a relief specialist. Pitchers were expected to complete their games.

The toughest hitter he ever faced, Gould recalled, was Buck Leonard.

"He never struck out," said Gould, a righty. "He hit it somewhere with authority."

Duckett recalled one of the Negro League's all-time greats, Satchel Paige, who late in his career did get to pitch for the Cleveland Indians.

"Paige threw hard, but a lot of people throw the ball hard," he said. "Satchel had perfect control. He threw the ball where he wanted."

Glenn caught Paige and said that he was so easy to catch because of that pinpoint control.

Baseball took Cash to six countries - the United States, Canada, Cuba, Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Mexico. He was an all-star in every league but Cuba, he pointed out, and was selected to play for Paige's barnstorming team (before a thumb injury kept him on the sidelines). Everywhere he played, he said, there was one constant.

"The game is the same," he said.

The Hall of Fame has opened its doors to Negro League players, and on Sunday enshrined 17 more players and owners, who were the trailblazers.

"I'm very grateful that guys have been going into the Hall of Fame," said Gould. "There are a lot of guys who are not mentioned who deserve to be in."

By shining light on the Negro Leagues, the ex-Stars may help more deserving players who were deprived of their opportunity to play in the major leagues, to get recognized.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the Negro Leagues can call Carson "Cal" Puriefoy, a member of the Negro League Baseball Players Association and director of public relations for the Philadelphia Stars, at (610) 724-8155.