Sol White
1868-1955
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2B-3B-OF-1B-MGR Negro Leagues 1887-1912, 1924-26 Pittsburgh Keystones, Wahington Capital Citys, Wheeling Philadelphia Giants , New York Lincoln Giants, Quaker Giants, Cleveland Browns, Newark Stars, Ansonia
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White was a black baseball pioneer who played for several white minor league teams
in the 1880s, when blacks were allowed in organized baseball. In 1887 he hit .381
for the Ohio State League's Wheeling, WV, team, playing third base, but was cut when
the color line was drawn the next year. In the integrated Eastern Interstate League,
he played second base and hit .358 for the 1891 York Monarchs. The last integrated
team he appeared with was Fort Wayne, IN (Western Inter-State League). He went on
to play for numerous black teams.
With H. Walter Schlichter, in 1902 White founded
and captained the Philadelphia Giants, a top black team of the early 1900s. They
claimed the Black World Championship in 1905-07. White managed the New York Lincoln
Giants in 1911, the
Boston Giants in 1912, and the Negro National League Cleveland
Browns in 1924. His 1907 book, Sol White's Official Base Ball Guide, is the only surviving record of the early years of black baseball.
(JJM)
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