john henry lloyd
April 25, 1884 – March 19, 1964
john henry lloyd
During his 27-year professional career, playing for various teams in the Negro Leagues, Lloyd finished his career with a total overall batting average of .343. Lloyd is considered to be the greatest shortstop history of professional black baseball, and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
career
John Henry Lloyd nicknamed "Pop" and "El Cuchara", was a professional American baseball player, starting shortstop and manager, spending nearly 30 years in the Negro Leagues.
During his 27-year career, he played for many teams and had a .343 batting average.
Lloyd is considered to be the greatest shortstop in Negro League history, and he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
Lloyd is thought to have been born in Palatka, Florida, and he was the direct descendant of slaves. Pop Lloyd's his father died when Lloyd was just a baby.
Lloyd's maternal grandmother, Maria Jenkins, raised him in Jacksonville. Jenkins had lived in Jacksonville prior to moving to Palatka.
The return to Jacksonville may have been prompted by a great fire that had damaged businesses and changed the overall economic situation in Palatka. [8]
Before Lloyd completed elementary school, he had to go to work full-time. Early on, he delivered items for a grocery store, and then he became a railroad porter. [9]
Lloyd initially began his professional career in 1905, playing catcher for the Acmes of Macon, Georgia.
He played second base for the Cuban X-Giants of Philadelphia in 1906.
The following season, Negro Leagues’ veteran Sol White signed him for the Cuban X Giants' arch, rivals, the Philadelphia Giants, and moved him to shortstop, where he would remain through the bulk of his career.
Sportswriters Harry Daniels and Jimmy Smith both named Lloyd to their 1909 "All American Team" saying he "is a wonder at fielding and hitting, also a fair base runner." [10]
At various points in his baseball career, Lloyd worked non-baseball jobs due to the precarious financial situations of the black leagues. [11]
In 1910, Lloyd accepted Rube Foster's invitation to join the Chicago Leland Giants, where he anchored a team that Foster described as the greatest of all time.
He rejoined White on the newly-organized Lincoln Giants in 1911, batting .475 against all competition.
Lloyd took over as player-manager for 1912 and 1913, and in the latter year the Lincolns defeated the Chicago American Giants in a playoff series to become the undisputed champions of black baseball.
In 1914, Lloyd travelled west again to play for the American Giants. He split the 1915 season between the New York-based Lincoln Stars and the American Giants, then spent all of 1916 and 1917 with Foster's team.
In 1918, Lloyd served as player-manager of the Brooklyn Royal Giants, leaving the club early to work for the Army Quartermaster Depot in Chicago. 1919 saw him join the Bacharach Giants of Atlantic City, then 1920 found him back with the Royal Giants.
In 1921, he was hired to organize a new team in Foster's young Negro National League. Lloyd's Columbus Buckeyes were not a notable success, however, on the field or in the box office, finishing seventh in a field of eight, and folded upon season's end.
The following year, Lloyd was back in the east managing the Bacharach Giants, who had moved to New York City.
When the Eastern Colored League was formed in 1923, Ed Bolden hired Lloyd to manage the Hilldale Club.
Lloyd brought home the first ECL pennant by a wide margin, guiding Hilldale to a 32–17 league record. He did not get along with Bolden, was suspended in early September, and was fired at the end of the season. [12]
In 1924, Lloyd returned to the Bacharachs, now based again in Atlantic City.[13] With the brilliant young shortstop Dick Lundy on the roster, the 40-year-old Lloyd moved himself to second base.
He hit .444 to win the 1924 ECL batting title, at one point reeling off 11 straight base hits. The Bacharachs, however, were merely average under Lloyd during his two years there, finishing fourth both seasons (with records of 30–29 and 26–27).
The Lincoln Giants, who had finished in last place in 1925, hired Lloyd to manage them for 1926. They improved to fifth (19–22), then played 1927 and most of 1928 as an independent club.
It was during the latter season that Lloyd moved himself to first base while enjoying a fine season at the plate, batting .402 against top black clubs. In 1929, the Lincolns compiled the second-best overall record (40–26) in the American Negro League. Lloyd finished up his career managing the Bacharach Giants in 1931–32.
Lloyd played extensively in Cuba, beginning with a 1907 visit to Havana by the Philadelphia Giants. All told he spent 12 seasons in the Cuban League from 1908/09 to 1930, batting .329 for his career, and playing on three championship teams (Habana in 1912 and Almendares in 1924/25 and 1925/26).
In Cuba he was called "El Cuchara", which translates to "The Shovel" or "The Tablespoon", a reference to his ability to field batted balls. [14]
According to the historian John Holway, Lloyd batted .337 (970 hits in 2881 at bats) in the Negro Leagues. According to a study sponsored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame that covers the organized (post-1920) Negro leagues, Lloyd batted .343 with a .450 slugging percentage. [15]
He was a heavy hitter, usually batting cleanup during his prime, but also knew how to play "inside baseball" and was an expert place-hitter and bunter.
He is generally considered the greatest shortstop in Negro league history, and Babe Ruth reportedly believed Lloyd to be the greatest baseball player ever. [16] [17]
Lloyd was called the "Black Wagner", a reference to Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Honus Wagner. On Lloyd, Wagner said "It's an honor to be compared to him." [18]
Bill James ranked Lloyd as the 27th greatest baseball player of all-time in the 2001 book The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. [19]
Lloyd was probably the most sought-after African-American player of his generation. "Wherever the money was, that's where I was," he once said.
His career record bears this out, showing him constantly moving from team to team. He was also known for his gentlemanly conduct.
Lloyd was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
He was nominated, along with several athletes and other public figures, for induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2014. However, basketball player Patrick Ewing was the only sportsperson inducted. [20][21]
After his professional playing days, Lloyd lived in Atlantic City, New Jersey. [22]
He was a player-coach for the semiprofessional Atlantic City Johnson Stars until 1942. [23]
The team was named after politico Nucky Johnson and was later known as the Farley Stars after powerful state senator Frank S. Farley. (Farley had driven the creation of Atlantic City's Pop Lloyd Field to gain support from the city's large black population.) [24]
Lloyd could not run well by that time, and he shifted to playing first base, but a former teammate said that he was still able to hit line drives.[25]
Lloyd was a janitor for the Atlantic City School System, including Atlantic City High School. [26]
Though he did not have any children, Lloyd became a popular coach in the local youth baseball league. passing away in 1964.
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, and 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 this time he owned several teams in his dealings with the league.
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 baseball professionally as an infielder, manager and league executive. White is considered to be one of the pioneers of the Negro Leagues.
Ben Taylor
Ben Taylor
Ben Taylor
Born July 1888, Ben Taylor was the youngest of 4 professional Negro Leaguers, including his brothers, 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 businessman, investor, sports executive, 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 signed with the Memphis Red Sox for their first year of play in the newly formed Negro American League (NAL). His contract was sold to the Kansas Monarchs the following year.