The next
Negro League Legend spotlighted here on the blog from my custom set
released last year is one of the best, legendary outfielder and manager
Oscar Charleston:
One of
the most renowned players of his time, Charleston is credited with a
lifetime .353 career average with a .576 slugging percentage over his
long career that spanned 1915 through 1941.
Not only was he one of the top players of his generation regardless of league, he also was one of the top managers.
In 1932
Charleston was player-manager for perhaps the greatest team In Negro
League history, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, who had among their players
Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Judy Johnson!
In 1976,
Cooperstown rightfully elected the all-time great to the Baseball Hall
of Fame, capping off the extraordinary career that regrettably didn’t
get a chance to show it’s talent on a Major
League level, but nevertheless did NOT go unnoticed.
Though
he played for many organizations during his illustrious career, it was
his time with the Pittsburgh Crawfords that really established his
legendary career, and since his induction to the
Hall of Fame, he is frequently mentioned when there is discussion as to
the greatest players of all-time, regardless of Major or Negro League.
In 1999
he was ranked #67 on the Sporting News list of the "100 Greatest
Baseball Players", and he was also nominated for the Major League
Baseball All-Century Team.
For more
on Charleston’s career, and that of all the other greats that played in
the Negro Leagues, please do yourself a favor and just Google the
league and it’s players for amazing stories, history
and events. It’s all easily found and a great foundation to build off
of for further reading.