Tag: baseball hall of fame

Buck Leonard, Homestead Grays rout Charlotte team

On this day in 1947: Before 1,500 fans at Charlotte’s Griffith Park, Buck Leonard has three hits to lead the Homestead Grays to a 17-0 exhibition victory over the hometown Charlotte Black Hornets.

First baseman Leonard began his career in 1925 with his hometown Rocky Mount Black Swans. He becomes best known for his 17 seasons with the Homestead (Pa.) Grays. The Grays are the New York Yankees of the Negro National League, and Leonard and teammate Josh Gibson are the league’s Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

In 1972, Leonard, despite having being barred from the major leagues by segregation, will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

Monday morning link dump: Patricia Neal, R.I.P.

— Death noted: actress Patricia Neal, who played opposite Andy Griffith in the prescient and underrated “A Face in the Crowd” and opposite Gary Cooper in “Bright Leaf,” which inspired “Bright Leaves,” Ross McElwee’s  bittersweet documentary on tobacco.

— A big day for challenging long-accepted Civil War numbers: the death toll for North Carolina troops and the percentage of Confederates who owned slaves.

— Baseball Hall of Fame acknowledges error in plaque discovered by Durham blogger.

— “Junebug” screenwriter relishes the serendipity of Winston-Salem’s annual Bulky Item Collection day.

— Just when you thought Walter Dellinger couldn’t be any more ubiquitous….