Books and articles about Luke Easter

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The 6'4" 240-lb Negro League veteran was 34 when the Indians promoted him from the minors. In 1950, they thought so highly of the lefthanded hitter that they traded Mickey Vernon, a once and future AL batting champ, making Easter their everyday first baseman. He hit 28 home runs as a rookie; one, a 477-foot shot, is considered the longest ever hit at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. In 1952, he hit 31 homers (his ML career high), one less than the AL leader, teammate Larry Doby; however, Easter's 7.1 HR percentage topped the AL. He continued playing Triple-A ball into his late forties. Working as a bank messenger in 1979, he was shot to death by holdup men. (TJ)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » October 3, 1948: Luke Easter's grand slam highlights the Homestead Grays' 19-hit assault on the Birmingham Black Barons in the 4th game of the Negro World Series. The Grays will win the Championship in 5 games. This will be the final Negro WS, as the Negro National League becomes a casualty of integration and folds during the winter. » June 23, 1950: Luke Easter has his 2nd consecutive 2-home run day to lead the Indians to a 13–4 trouncing of the Senators. Easter had two yesterday in a win over New York. Al Rosen adds a single, double, and triple to back Bob Lemon's pitching. » July 28, 1950: The Indians' Larry Doby, Al Rosen, and Luke Easter connect for consecutive home runs in the 3rd in a 13–1 whipping of the Red Sox. » September 12, 1950: The Yankees blow a 6-run lead as Cleveland scores four in the ninth inning off Allie Reynolds to win, 8–7. Luke Easter’s 3-run HR—his second of the game—is the big blow, as the Yankees skid to second place, a half game behind Detroit and a half game ahead of Boston. » September 24, 1950: Mental lapses crush Tiger hopes. Due to heavy smoke from a Canadian forest fire, Detroit puts on the lights in a Sunday afternoon contest with the Indians. Cleveland's only score in nine innings is pitcher Bob Lemon's HR in the fourth, as the match is tied 1–1 on Johnny Lipon's HR. Lemon opens the 10th with a triple, and two intentional walks follow. With the bases loaded and one out, C Aaron Robinson thinks he has a shot at a DP by just stepping on home. Because of the haze, he did not see 1B Don Kolloway remove the force after fielding the ball hit by slugger Luke Easter, and the Indians win 2–1. » September 2, 1951: The Cleveland Indians Harry Simpson, Al Rosen and Luke Easter hit consecutive home runs in the first inning, as Cleveland beats the Browns 5–1. » July 15, 1952: The Indian power hitters dazzle the Yankees with a triple steal in the first inning as Al Rosen scores, Larry Doby goes to third, and Luke Easter, in his only major-league theft, goes to second. » April 29, 1953: Joe Adcock becomes the first ML player to homer into the CF bleacher seats in the Polo Grounds, over 475 feet away. Luke Easter, in a 1948 Negro League game, and Schoolboy Rowe, in batting practice before a 1933 exhibition game, also accomplished the feat. Lou Brock and Hank Aaron will match it is as well in 1962. The Braves win the game 3-2 on a 9th-inning wild pitch by Hoyt Wilhelm. » July 20, 1960: At Municipal Stadium, with Cleveland in the lead 8–2, Mickey Mantle golfs a Gary Bell pitch over the auxiliary scoreboard into the distant upper deck in RF, matching Luke Easter as the only players to reach that spot. Cleveland holds on for an 8–6 win. » May 29, 1979: Former Indian 1B Luke Easter, working as a bank guard in Cleveland, is shot to death in a holdup.