BASEBALL “Play Ball.”

Cris Terriente, Colored champion home-run hitter and out-fielder, and known as the Cuban “Babe Ruth”, was a marvel even several years ago when he played in the United States with the famous Colored teams, American Giants of Chicago and the All-Nationals of Kansas City. This Colored ball player has been frequently estimated by white baseball critics as being an equal home-run hitter to the celebrated “Babe Ruth”, whose services were sold by a Boston team to a New York team for over one hundred thousand dollars. And one of those well-meaning white critics, when commenting on the wonderful baseball playing of Terriente, so far forgot his “square-deal” and one hundred per cent Americanism as to allow some of his grayless brain matter and stagnant watery thoughts to soak through his system and overflow into his pen point that splashed little puddles of poisoned ink. In his article he lamented the fact that it was impossible to “indelibly white-wash” Terrente so as to make him white enough to be accepted as a playing member on one of the Big League White baseball teams.

Now, if that same baseball critic had entered the United States Army as either a volunteer or a draftee in the World War and had been dying of thirst on the bloodsoaked and bone-strewn plains of “No Man’s Land”, it is wondered if he would have thought it necessary to “indelibly white-wash” Colored soldiers before accepting from their black lips, and greedily pressing to his own parched white lips, the begged-for water canteens of the Colored soldiers? For such exchanges of canteens between generous Colored and dying white soldiers occurred thousands of times and in not one instance did those famished white men allow color prejudice to stand between them and a few mouthsfuls of left-over Colored water that meant the saving of their lives. Nevertheless, a majority of those soldiers whose lives had been saved by the timely swallows of water from the canteens of black soldiers, immediately resumed their persecution of and discriminations against the Negro race even before they got back home to America.

Thus while history shows that the majority of white people, when in the jaws of threatened or actual death, become too “color-blind” and “near-sighted” to see the hue of the hand or the shape of the face that comes to its help and vital rescue; history also shows that a great many white people, while in the pink of life, health and prosperity, allow their visions to become so magnified and their minds to become so overrun and soaked with vile race prejudice that they constantly see imaginary color-lines that really do not exist. They also are constantly building up before law-abiding, clean-living and progressive classes of Colored people certain racial barriers that are not only proving a stain but also a shame (in the eyes of the rest of the onlooking world) upon this land of freedom, civilization and Christianity. But at this time and place the writer will not go further into this particular phase of this color-line subject, as it is being more fully dealt with in the writing of one of his other books.

Fair-minded white people are justly ashamed of the words and actions of such members of their race as the above mentioned reporter, and already bright rays of hope are beginning to shine in the Big League for Colored baseball players. In this direction The Continental League with headquarters at Boston, Mass. and formed by the white baseball magnate, Andrew Lawson, has really wedged the first opening. At the formation of this league, Lawson admitted two Colored teams, one from Providence, R. I. and the other from Boston, the latter team having both Colored and white players. This is the greatest bit of encouragement Colored professional baseball players in America have ever received. The chairman of the Board of Directors of The Continental League is R. T. Murray, a Colored man. This league’s influence for the spreading of broad-mindedness and fair-play is already being noticed among the officials of other white Big Leagues. At the end of the baseball season of 1920, Colored teams were allowed to play against many of the big white league teams on their barn-storming tours.

During that season Bolden’s Hilldale team played against Connie Mack’s team of All-Stars at the National League Park, Phila., Pa., in which game Bolden’s team lost by a score of 2 to 1.

Bolden’s team also played against the famous “Babe” Ruth and his All-Stars at the National League Park, Phila., Pa., in which game Bolden’s team won by a score of 5 to 0. In this game, Flourney the Hilldale pitcher not only kept “Babe” Ruth from getting one of his famous home-runs but struck him out twice. “Babe” Ruth was also struck out at Shibe Park, Phila., Pa., during the same season by “Cannon Ball” Redding, star pitcher on the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants team.

Tesreau’s Bears played against Carl May’s All Stars at Dyckman Oval at which place the Yankees defeated the Colored team on both ends of a double-header by scores of 10 to 0 and 5 to 3.

The Lincoln Colored Giants played and defeated the New York Giants (white) in New York by a score of 4 to 1. Williams the Colored pitcher struck out thirteen men on the white team.

As far back as the early eighties, M. F. Walker proved himself such a good pitcher that he played on a white league ball team in Toledo, Ohio, and a Frank Grant also played on big white league teams in Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania. William B. Matthews, during his college days at Harvard caused quite a sensation throughout the country by his unexcelled ball playing and mainly through his star playing his college nine won sweeping victories all down the line of their engagements.

In taking hurried glances over past performances of present day Colored baseball players, the following named are but a few picked from among those who think, dream, talk and act so much over the diamond that baseball has become their middle names:

T. Brown of American Giants, Cockerell and Flourney of Hilldale, Holland of Detroit Stars, Leblanc of Cuban Stars Redding of Bacharach Giants, Rogan of St. Louis Giants and J. Williams of Lincoln Giants put forth the same kind of energy and earnestness in making moundmen fan the wind and think holes are in their bats as did Mathewson, Shawkey and Alexander, the great white pitchers, against their players.

Duncan of Chicago Giants, Ray of Kansas City Monarchs, Rodguez of Cincinnati Stars, Rojo of Bacharach Giants, Santop of Hilldale Quakers and Webster of Detroit Stars use the same kind of stickability in freezing onto hot balls as the white past masters in backstop, Schalk and O’Neill.

Bost of Oakland Braves, Grant of American Giants, Jeffries of Chicago Giants, Pettus of Bacharach Giants and Richards of Godfrey’s California All-Stars go through the same kind of successful limber-jointed jumping-jack antics on first base as McInnis and Kelly in the big white leagues.

Crowell of Tesreau Bears, Holloway of Indianapolis A. B. C’s. Holtz of St. Louis Giants and Thomas of Columbus Buckeyes have the same love for and show just as much jealously over the second bag as the crack second basemen, Collins and Hornsby don’t try to hide.

Day of Indianapolis A. B. C’s, Dinan of Tesraeu Bears, Fial of Lincoln Giants, Francis of Hilldale Quakers, Brown of Norfolk Giants and F. Hill of Detroit Stars are just as busy nailing and crucifying the last hopes of runners at third base as Groh and Gardner, who are about the best among white third basemen.

Dobbins of Hilldale Quakers, Hewitt of St. Louis Giants, Lloyd of Columbus Buckeyes and Lundy of Bacharach Giants while panning the same kind of red-hot frying sizzlers at shortstop as the celebrated Wagner and Bancroft, also usually salt and pepper those frying sizzlers with most amusing capers and comedian stage acts.

Briggs of Hilldale Quakers, Gans of Lincoln Giants, P. Hill of Detroit Stars, Jenkins of Chicago Giants, Kemp of Norfolk Giants, Thomas of Baltimore Black Sox, and Weeks of Pittsburgh Stars have that same knack of vamping the sun straight in the face without blinking an eye while pulling down a twenty-two story sky-scrapping fly, like the rangy outfielders Speaker and Burns.

Meadows of Godfrey’s California All-Stars, Santop of Hilldale Quakers and Torrenti of American Giants are just as much interested in astronomy and scientific research as “Babe” Ruth and Sisler when they start a message to the planet Mars by way of a home-run baseball.

While big Jeff Tesreau has tried so hard and done so well, he has not yet become so big a thief as Ty Cobb in stealing bases and pawning runs at home-plate.

All of the other players, on these Colored teams, whose names have not been mentioned are also A-1 baseball jugglers and would make good showing to their credits in any of the white Big Leagues that would give them a fair and square chance to play on their teams.

And Colored boys who are talented and aspire to become great ball players should not lose ambition and hang back because of their race or color: They should take on new courage by reading here; that the most youthful and hopeful things (the grass and leaves) in the world, are Colored, and no one who looks “green” with hate and envy is able to stop Dame Nature each spring from stepping boldly out and, without apologies to men of any race, drapping the woods and fields with her colored shades of green.