Middlesex players grouped by race before integration
This is the third part of a special three-part series on Middlesex County semi-pro baseball teams and is on the all-black baseball teams that existed in Middlesex in the pre-integration era. It was first published in the Aug. 29, 1991 issue of the Sentinel.
Before the 1970s, segregation was a way of life in Middlesex County and the rest of the South.
Blacks and whites had separate schools, the local doctor’s office had waiting rooms for “whites” and “colored,” the local Rappanna Theater in Urbanna had a balcony for blacks and whites sat downstairs, and baseball had its separate all-white and all-black baseball teams.
The Major Leagues were integrated in 1947 when Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and this, no doubt, helped with desegregation reforms across the country.
Baseball helped races co-exist
The same was with Middlesex as baseball seemed to help the two races co-exist, to some extent, on more common and equal ground.
“The first place I remember seeing blacks and whites congregating together was at the ballpark,” said Arthur Macon. Macon was a longtime player, coach and manager of the Tidewater Cubs. The Cubs was an all-black Middlesex semi-pro baseball team in the 1940s and 50s that played at Cooks Corner.
The Middlesex Review, the “Home Paper of Middlesex” for African-Americans, called the Cooks Corner ballfield in its July 5, 1945 issue, the “Olympic Playground.”
Macon recalls Woodford Harwood of Saluda, a white man, sitting in the stands in the middle of the crowd cheering for the all-black Cubs team. “He loved baseball and he would come see us play when he wasn’t playing himself,” said Macon. “If you love baseball, you don’t care who is playing.”
Over the years, anecdotal (country store) talk had Woodford Harwood playing for the Boston Braves in the 1930s. If this were the case, he would be the only Middlesex native to have made it to “show” — the big leagues.
Middlesex has had several players sign with major league teams and play in the minor leagues. However, research has not been able to document Harwood playing for the Braves. He was a star on both the all-white Saluda and Urbanna semi-pro teams and those who remember him agree with Macon — Harwood loved baseball!
Macon also recalls that day in 1947 when the Deltaville and Urbanna all-white teams squared off in one of the biggest rivalries of that time. Both teams brought in two barnstorming professional pitchers to hurl for them. The game went 14 innings and ended in a 1-1 tie.
“We were all there for that one sitting in the stands together as a team,” said Macon. “We got there early so we could get seats. A team of wild horses couldn’t have kept us away. I will tell ya it was one of the greatest games I ever saw.”
If Macon thought it was a great game . . . then it must have been a great game. The former coach literally has seen thousands of baseball games and performances by some of the best black and white players in America. Also, some of his own Middlesex teams were spectacular.
Both blacks and whites used sandlots
For blacks, baseball in Middlesex started like it did for the whites — on sandlot fields. Macon first started playing ball at the old Antioch Elementary School ballfield in Saluda.
Years back, early schools for blacks were mostly elementary schools and baseball was one of the early games played at the schools. A homemade ball made from a ball of string, and a board bat (similar to those used to play cricket), or a home-made round baseball bat cut from a piece of ash wood, was all the equipment the children had to use.
In the 1920s, the black community leaders around Remlik decided that the neighborhood needed a permanent ballfield. James W. Johnson of Remlik recalls that his father, Brooklyn Johnson, and others began raising funds and purchased four acres of land for $250 for a local ballpark. It was named the “YMCA Grounds.”
Men went in woods to get “lemonade”
“I was just a little thing running around but I remember the concession stand with homemade ice cream. Cakes and pies were sold by the slice and out back in the woods was where the men would go get their lemonade,” said Johnson. “When they would say they wanted lemonade, it meant they wanted some corn liquor.”
“Back in the woods, the bootlegger would have a bucket and he would charge 25 cents for a cupful,” recalled Johnson.
“Later on, we got into hotdogs,” he said with a smile on his face.
Macon said he recalled the old-timers telling the story about the lemonade being sold at the YMCA ballpark but it was before his time.
However, Frank Jessie, a center fielder for the Cubs in the 1940s and 50s, still has the antique portable still that was used on some of the Cubs away games. It was operated with a Bunsen burner.
Middlesex All-stars formed in 1930s
In the 1930s, baseball began to flourish in the black community and the Middlesex All-stars were formed. The team played at Banks Park at Christchurch. “It was the biggest park (white or black) in the county at that time,” said Macon who was the bat boy on the team.
James Robinson, George Scott, Lloyd Carter, George Johnson, Marshall Johnson Sr., William Washington, Eddie Latimore, Emanuel Campbell, John Chandler, Thomas Wormley, Harold Johnson, Harvey Jones and James Johnson were all on the team, said Macon.
In the early 1940s, the Tidewater Wheels were formed and played at Locust Hill. They later became the Tidewater Cubs and moved to the Cooks Corner ballfield. Another local all-black team in the county was the Saluda Hawks.
Negro Leagues loaded with talent
As throughout America, local baseball action was at its best in the 1940s and 50s as segregation kept most black athletes from ever making it to the big leagues, and this caused the Negro Leagues to be loaded with talent.
The Cubs joined the Northern Neck Negro League in the 1950s and 60s. Such well-known ballplayers as Willie Mays, who later became a Hall-of-Famer with the San Francisco Giants and Al Bumbry, later to star for the Baltimore Orioles, came to play at Cooks Corner.
Theodore Williams will never forget the day Willie Mays came to play. During the Korean war, Mays was stationed in Ft. Eustis and was playing for the Ft. Eustis team. Williams was the pitcher. “They beat us 6-5. I remember that,” said Williams. “I also remember striking out Mays in one of his at bats. I didn’t realize what a feat that was until I started hearing about Mays later on making it to the majors.”
Theodore and his brother, Warren, pitched for coach Macon for nearly a decade. Macon was often a player/coach and played the catcher position. “They were two of the best pitchers in the area and, if times were different, they both would have been in the majors,” he said.
Macon recalls the biggest game that the Cubs ever played. “It was against the semi-pro all-black Richmond Giants. They were like a Triple A team today and they had some big-name players,” he said.
“Warren (Williams) pitched and we only lost 2-1. After the game, the owner of the Giants offered Warren a contract worth $1,500 on the spot” to come play for the Giants.
Another big game was against a Tidewater team that the Cubs beat 2-0. The game only lasted one hour and 48 minutes.
“Theodore pitched that night. He had two fastballs, one was an overhead fastball and the other was three-quarters,” said Macon. “When he went to the overhead, it was nothing but smoke.
“That night he struck out 21 batters and allowed only two hits. We didn’t have clocks but I believe he was throwing 95 mph with his straight overhead,” said Macon.
When the Cubs were in the Tidewater League, they had a 90-game schedule and would end up winning 80 games a year. “We played teams from New Jersey, Washington, Williamsburg, and we played a team from Canada once,” said Macon.
“The best hitter we had was Weaver Walker, but the team was solid and they loved to play baseball,” he said. Walker hit 31 home runs in one season.
Other good players on the Cubs were Richard Jones, Elmo Hodges, Thelmo Jarvis, Maxwell Thornton, Roger Wake, George “Cow Killer” Roye and Frank Jessie.
Baseball enriched black players’ lives
“Baseball gave us a purpose during those days,” said Theodore Williams. “We played together for fun but everyone of us got more out of it than just fun.
“This is my catcher and coach,” said Williams as he put his arm around Macon, “and he’ll be my catcher and coach until the day I die.
“Yes sir, we got more out of playing baseball than just having fun,” Williams repeated.
