biz mackey
July 27, 1897 – September 22, 1965
biz mackey
Biz Mackey was a highly regarded black professional baseball player, playing in the Negro Leagues for over 30 seasons. Mackey showcased his premier offensive and defensive talent as a catcher and infielder.
career
James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey was an American catcher and manager playing professional baseball in the Negro Leagues.
Mackey played for seven franchise throughout multiple Negro Leagues in his professional baseball career that lasted for over 30 years.
For his time he was a highly regarded talent and black baseball's premier catcher of the late 1920s and early 1930s.
His outstanding defense and powerful throwing arm were complemented by his keen eye at the plate.
By the time Mackey was finished with the Negro Leagues, he would be remembered as one of the best to play.
He stands as the unofficial Alll-Time Negro Leagues Leader in total bases, runs batted in, and slugging percentage.
Biz Mackey was elected to Major League Baseball's National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Born in Eagle Pass, Texas, to a sharecropping family that included two brothers Biz began playing baseball with them in 1916 and eventually found his way on the Luling Oilers, a Prairie League team in his hometown of Luling.
From there Mackey joined was asked to join the pSan Antonio Black Aces and remained on the roster for two seasons.
When teams began to fold in 1920 due in large part to the economic depresssion, in a move of desperation his contract was sold to the Indianapolis ABCs.
The acquisition by the ABCs aligned perfectly with the inaugural season of the Negro National League I.
Mackey spent three seasons with the ABCs, under manager Candy Jim Taylor who said that in his opinion Mackey had blossomed into the promising player he showed he could be.
With the ABCs, Mackey posting a batting average of .315, .317, and .344.
After three outstanding seasons, he stolen picked up by the Hilldale ball club in time for the creation of their own league, the Eastern Colored League (ECL) in 1923.
In his first season with Hilldale, he hit .423, winning the ECL batting title, leading his team to the pennant.
He followed up his incredible first season with the Hilldale ball club and follow that with 8 consecutive seasons batting .308 or better.
In 1924, he finished third in the batting title race, as Hilldale once again repeated as Eastern Colored League division winners, later losing to the Kansas City Monarchs 5-4 in what was the ECL’s first World Series.
Mackey found himself playing more of a utility role for the team during this phase in his career.
No longer a solitary catcher, Mackey went from his normal catching duties to third base, and then platooning at first base and second base. He did so well in the infield that Mackey ended up backing up his aging replacement, catcher Louis Santop.
He also shared time at shortstop with teammates Pop Lloyd and Jake Stephens, before taking over again as full-time catcher in 1925
In the second year of the Eastern Colored League’s Negro Leagues World Series, Mackey helped the Hilldale ball club defeat the powerhouse Kansas City Monarchs with a series batting average of .360.
As fate would have it, Mackey drove in the lead run in the top of the 11th inning of the first game of the series, eventually giving Hilldale a long 12 inning victory.
Mackey again showed his ability to leave his mark on any given game, scoring the winning run in a 2–1 victory in Game 5 of the series against the Monarchs..
His three hits contribution in the sixth game of the series helped clinch the title for Hilldale.
The next season in 1931, he won his second batting title with a .359 batting average.
Hilldale continued its dominence in the ECL, finishing with the best record among eastern teams.
In voting for the first East–West All-Star Game in 1933, Mackey was selected at catcher over the young budding power hitting catcher, Josh Gibson, who was a mainstay batting cleanup for the Homestead Grays.
Not to be outdone by this, Mackey would go on to play in three more All-Star Games by 1938.
In 1934, he hit .299 for the Philadelphia Stars, as they won the Negro National League II's second-half pennant.
He followed that up with a strong postseason, batting .368 in the series, and hitting the clinching hit to drive in the first run of a 2–0 victory in Game 7, nearly single handedly helping to defeat the incumbent, Rube Foster’s Chicago American Giants 4-3.
Mackey also participated in many barnstorming tours that included a highly successful trip to Japan in 1927, during which he became the first player to hit a home run out of Meiji Shrine Stadium. He follow that home run with 2 more in the next 2 games.
The 3 game home run streak earned Mackey a particularly warm reception while on tour in Japan and he would make numerous trips to play in Japan between 1933 and 1936.
By 1937, Mackey found himself managing the Baltimore Elite Giants. Here he began to take on the role of a mentor, particularly to a 15-year-old Roy Campanella, teaching him the intricacies of catching.
Campanella later recalled:
"In my opinion, Biz Mackey was the master of defense of all catchers. When I was a kid in Philadelphia, I saw both Mackey and Mickey Cochrane in their primes, but for real catching skills, I don't think Cochrane was the master of defense that Mackey was. When I went under his direction in Baltimore, I was 15 years old. I gathered quite a bit from Mackey, watching how he did things, how he blocked low pitches, how he shifted his feet for an outside pitch, how he threw with a short, quick, accurate throw without drawing back. I got all this from Mackey at a young age."
Biz joined the Newark Eagles for the 1939 season, replacing Dick Lundy as manager a year later.
During this time he continued his work mentoring major young influential players such as Monte Irvin, Larry Doby, and Don Newcombe.
When Doby became the first African American to play in the American League, breaking the AL color barrier by joining the Cleveland Indians in 1947, Mackey had recommended moving Doby from second base to centerfield, a transition that work out well for Doby in the Major Leagues.
Personality conflicts with Newark Eagles owner Effa Manley led to Mackey to resign from the franchise as a manager and player after the 1941 season.
He did however, return to the field in 1945 ato manage the Eagles team in 1946, winning the Negro League World Series 4-3, again over the Kansas City Monarchs, who featured pitcher Satchel Paige.
Even in his early 40s, Mackey maintained his ability as an effective player.
He hit .307 in 1945, and again appeared in the leagues 1947 All-Star Game at the ripe old age of 50.
When the Newark Eagles moved the franchise to Houston in 1950, biz retired from baseball.
Through the 1950s, Mackey moved to Los Angeles and began working as a forklift operator.
In 1952, he was selected by a Pittsburgh Courier poll as the Negro Leagues' greatest catcher, finishing ahead of Josh Gibson.
Mackey received more attention on May 7, 1959, when his protégé Roy Campanella was honored at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum following his tragic paralysis as a result of a car accident.
Mackey was introduced to a crowd of over 93,000 fans for an exhibition game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, where he was honored, while also paying respects to his protege, Campy.
Mackey continued his life living in Los Angeles until his death in 1965.
He is buried in that city's Evergreen Cemetery.
Through the 1990s, reference sources widely reported his death as having occurred in 1959; this seems to have resulted from Campanella's recollection in John B. Holway's 1988 book Blackball Stars that Mackey "passed away right after" the Coliseum event, an apparent error that Campanella repeated in other interviews.
In 2006, Mackey was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Mackey's grandson Riley Odoms played 12 seasons for the National Football League's Denver Broncos.
players
Oscar Charelston
Oscar Charelston
Oscar Charelston
Oscar Charleston played and managed in the Negro Leagues as an outfielder, first baseman and pitcher. Charleston would later become manager of the Indianapolis Clowns.
Cool Papa Bell
Oscar Charelston
Oscar Charelston
Cool Papa Bell played centerfield in the Negro Leagues from 1922 to 1946. played for the powerhouse Kansas City. Monarchs, Pittsburgh Crawfords, and Homestead Grays.
Buck Leonard
Oscar Charelston
Satchel Paige
Buck Leonard, along side Josh Gibson formed the best three-four, hitting tandem in the History of the Negro Leagues, leading the Homestead Grays to dominance.
Satchel Paige
Cumberland Posey
Satchel Paige
Satchel Paige began his 20 year career in the Negro Leagues pitching for the Chattanooga Lookouts. He would later make his MLB debut at age 42 for the Cleveland Indians.
Cumberland Posey
Cumberland Posey
Cumberland Posey
Cum Posey was a veteran Negro Leagues team owner, player, and league executive. He is the founding member of two leagues, and a Hall of Fame Basketball player.
Jackie Robinson
Cumberland Posey
Cumberland Posey
Jackie Robinson is the first African American to play Major League Baseball. He broke baseball's color barrier in 1945, by signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella played one season in the Negro Leagues, signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers just one season after Jackie Robinson’s debut in Major League Baseball.
Gus Greenlee
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Gus Greenlee was a driving force behind the organization of the Negro National League I. During his time involved with Negro Leagues he owned several profitable side businesses.
Henry AAron
Roy Campanella
Candy Jim Taylor
Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in home runs with 755, few know Aaron began his baseball career in the Negro Leagues as a shortstop for the Indianapolis Clowns.
Candy Jim Taylor
Cristóbal Torriente
Candy Jim Taylor
Candy Jim Taylor was a professional third baseman, manager, and brother of four professional playing Negro Leaguers. His career in baseball spanned over 40 years.
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente, often called the Babe Ruth of Cuba, played as an outfielder in the Negro Leagues from 1912-1932. He was most known for his incredible power to all fields.
Rube Foster
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente
Considered one of the best pitchers of the early 1900s, and perhaps the most influential figure in Negro League history, Rube Foster founded the NNLI and managed the Chicago American Giants.
Larry Doby
Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson
Larry Doby was the second African-American baseball player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black player to play in the American League.
Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson
Even from the catcher position, Josh Gibson's display of power during his career for the Homestead Grays is legendary. However, Gibson would never play Major League Baseball.
Sol White
Josh Gibson
Ben Taylor
King Solomon "Sol" White played professionally baseball as an infielder, manager and team owner. White is considered to be one of the pioneers of the Negro Leagues.
Ben Taylor
Ben Taylor
Ben Taylor
Born in July 1888, Ben Taylor was the youngest of 4 professional Negro Leaguers, including Candy Jim Taylor, C.I. Taylor, and Johnny Steel Arm Taylor.
Biz Mackey
Ben Taylor
Biz Mackey
Biz Mackey was regarded as one of the Negro Leagues premier offensive and defensive catchers, playing across several leagues from late 1920s and early 1930s.
Nat Strong
Ben Taylor
Biz Mackey
Nathaniel Strong was a Negro Leagues sports executive, businessman, team owner and founding member of the Negro National League I,
Monte Irvin
Turkey Stearnes
Turkey Stearnes
Monte Irvin flourished as one of the early African-American players in MLB, making 2 World Series appearances for the New York Giants, playing along side Willie Mays.
Turkey Stearnes
Turkey Stearnes
Turkey Stearnes
Norman Turkey Stearnes played professionally in the Negro Leagues, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Willie Mays
Turkey Stearnes
Steel Arm Taylor
A can’t miss five-tool player, Mays began his professional baseball career with the Black Barons, spending the rest of his career playing MLB for the Giants and Mets.
Steel Arm Taylor
Steel Arm Taylor
Steel Arm Taylor
John Boyce Taylor was the second-oldest of 4 baseball-playing brothers, the others being Charles, Ben and James. For the 1899-1900 seasons, Taylor won 90% of his games starting pitcher for the Giants.
Buck O'Neil
Steel Arm Taylor
Martín Dihigo
Buck O’Neil joined the Memphis Red Sox for their inaugural season in the newly formed Negro American League. However, his contract was purchased by the Kansas City Monarchs the next season.