Negro Leagues Baseball Player. He was a pitcher and outfielder for the Chicago American Giants during the 1930s and 1940s, credited with paving the way for blacks to play in the major leagues. He was a lifetime friend of Theodore "Double Duty" Radcliffe who assisted Johnson in gaining entry into the Negro leagues. He began his playing career traveling throughout Canada and the American Midwest with various independent teams before joining the Giants in the early 1930s. He was instrumental in pressing Major League Baseball to offer pension plans to former Negro league players. Following his baseball career, he went to work as a porter for the Illinois Central Railroad. He was involved in an anti-discrimination lawsuit against the railroad, which he successfully won, after being turned down for a special agent position to investigate thefts and crimes against passengers. Following his retirement from the railroad in the 1970s, he spent several years working for a private security firm. He died from complications of prostate cancer at the age of 96.
Negro Leagues Baseball Player. He was a pitcher and outfielder for the Chicago American Giants during the 1930s and 1940s, credited with paving the way for blacks to play in the major leagues. He was a lifetime friend of Theodore "Double Duty" Radcliffe who assisted Johnson in gaining entry into the Negro leagues. He began his playing career traveling throughout Canada and the American Midwest with various independent teams before joining the Giants in the early 1930s. He was instrumental in pressing Major League Baseball to offer pension plans to former Negro league players. Following his baseball career, he went to work as a porter for the Illinois Central Railroad. He was involved in an anti-discrimination lawsuit against the railroad, which he successfully won, after being turned down for a special agent position to investigate thefts and crimes against passengers. Following his retirement from the railroad in the 1970s, he spent several years working for a private security firm. He died from complications of prostate cancer at the age of 96.
Bio by: Nils M. Solsvik Jr.
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