2014
Mr. James “Red” Moore has been selected as the Living Legend Award recipient for the Villages at Carver YMCA for 2014. The award will be presented at the second annual gala on Thursday, May 15th at the 755 Club located at Turner Field.
As part of the 2nd annual Atlanta Braves Heritage Weekend, the Braves and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights partnered for the Delta Air Lines Champions Luncheon (May 2nd). The 2014 award recipients, outstanding individuals who have made a lifelong commitment to overcoming industry obstacles and inspiring future generations, included Joe Barry Carroll, retired NBA All Star; Jackie Joyner-Kersee, track and field Olympic legend and gold medalist; Edwin Moses, former track and field Olympic legend and gold medalist; and Reverend C.T. Vivian, civil rights legend and recent recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Needless to say, they were happy to spend time with Mr. James “Red” Moore and his wife, Mary.
See video and Terence Moore article about the Heritage Weekend event.
Check out James “Red” Moore’s interview with CBS Atlanta host Larry Smith (televised Feb. 22, 2014).
Bill Knowles writes about Mr. Moore and his brief stint with the Macon Peaches in The 11th Hour, an arts and entertainment alternative weekly published in Macon and Houston County, Georgia. Here’s an excerpt:
After attending high school at Booker T. High School in Atlanta, Red started his baseball career in 1934 playing for the Macon Peaches, not to be confused with the minor league Macon Peaches who were actually not playing at all in 1934. Through a good friend of Red’s, Greg White, I asked him if he remembered anything about Macon or some of the people that he played with down here, and although he couldn’t remember a great deal of detail about Macon or the Peaches, he remembered that he played two seasons down here and it was really good for him because it was so close to home. When asked if he could recall about the ball parks or teams here, he remembered playing at all the local ballparks as well as a teammate named Telosh Howard who pitched for Macon at the same time Red played first base. (Telosh, also known as Twelosh, was a Macon native, who would go on to not only play for the Atlanta Black Crackers, but manage them as well.) Although Red’s memory is fading as any 97 year olds do, he could unfortunately remember Macon’s segregated past.
“It was a big day for the men and women of the historical Negro Baseball League. Monday, August 5th, some of the living members were honored by President Obama at the White House.” <read more>
See article in CrossRoadsNews (serving the East Metro Atlanta area)
2013
Mr. James “Red” Moore is featured in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article (“Braves celebrate Atlanta’s black baseball heritage”) on May 31, 2013, and will be honored the following day at Turner Stadium.
In his prime, James “Red” Moore was among the finest and most agile first basemen in professional baseball. There was no ball he couldn’t dig out of the dirt, whether it was hit to him or bounced at him by a scattered-arm shortstop.
Sometimes he would catch the ball, roll it off the heel of his glove and into his other hand so fast that it looked like he was catching bare-handed. Others he would catch between his legs.
“I could pick ‘em,” Moore said, waving his large hands. “And people used to come to the games early to watch me. I could put on a show.”
On April 28th, Atlanta Public Schools Office of Athletics, in partnership with L.E.A.D., will honor two of the district’s baseball legends who graduated from Booker T. Washington High School: James “Red” Moore (Atlanta Black Crackers and Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame) and Donn Clendenon (1969 World Series MVP, New York Mets).
The baseball field at Washington High School will be named in their honor during the Opening Day Ceremony. Other Atlanta Public Schools baseball legends being honored include Charles Easley, Sr., Ted Sparks and Lyndon Wade.
2012
See C.J. Stewart’s blog post about Mr. James “Red” Moore (Feb. 7, 2012). He writes:
Where would baseball be without the legacy of the Negro League players. In the famous words of Negro League founder Rube Foster, “We are the ship, all else is the sea.” African-Americans weren’t allowed to play in the major leagues so he had the audacity to establish the Negro Leagues and made it great.
We all know about players such as Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron. Did you know that Booker T. Washington High School (Atlanta, GA) graduated a respected Negro League player?
James Moore, commonly known as “Red” was born in Atlanta, GA in 1916. He played on several Negro League teams but played his best ball with the hometown Atlanta Black Crackers.
2011
Mr. Moore turned 95 on November 18, 2011. He and his wife, Mary, are doing well and wish everyone a happy holiday.
Mr. Moore took part in the Pop Lloyd Celebration on Oct. 14-16, 2011, in Atlantic City, NJ. He was also featured in the Griffin Stadium celebration in Washington, DC.
Mr. Moore and Greg White are featured in today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution (May 13, 2011).
There are many paths leading to Sunday’s Civil Rights game at Turner Field.
James “Red” Moore’s path started in the streets of Northwest Atlanta, before taking him to the Atlanta Black Crackers, the city’s Negro Leagues team, to Yankee Stadium and finally to this weekend’s game between the Braves and Phillies.
Greg White’s path started with a Topps baseball card and continued in libraries in Durham, N.C., before taking him to a meeting at Browns Mill Park near Lithonia and finally to this weekend’s events, which will honor the pioneers who helped fight for equality.
Greg White has been awarded the 2011 Thomas O. Davis Public Servant Award, which is given annually by the Decatur Business Association. The award honors a public employee who has helped strengthen the bond between government and the community, served as a role model for others in public service, contributed to the well-being of the community, inspired others to get involved in public service, and served the public with respect. The award is named in memory of Thomas O. Davis, Decatur’s city attorney from 1968 until his death in 2000. For over a decade, Greg has volunteered to help Mr. James “Red” Moore with his scheduling and public speaking engagements.
Greg White (kneeling next to Mr. Moore) with Mensa group.
See MLB.com article “Moore’s Black Crackers made Atlanta champs” about the 1938 Atlanta Black Crackers championship season.
Memories of the first championship baseball team in Atlanta reside faintly in the memory of one James “Red” Moore.
Seventy-three years ago, Moore was a key cog in an Atlanta Black Crackers squad that won a co-championship during their only season in the Negro Leagues. Moore, a slick-fielding first baseman who was always a fan favorite, was the star on that team, and he is the only living member from it.
Now, he’s 94 years old, he needs a walker to get around his Atlanta home, and his mind will wander from time to time. But still present in it is that 1938 season — when a little-known Atlanta Negro League team somehow came out on top.
Mr. James “Red” Moore will be a guest at the Decatur High School baseball game on Friday, March 18th. Please feel free to drop by and say hello.
Check out this rare film discovered of the 1938 Black Crackers by the Atlanta History Center (news story by Channel 11). In one scene you can see Moore posing with the team front and center.
“Red Moore” will be honored at a reception on March 3, 2011, in conjunction with a Georgia Tech program highlighting the Shades of Greatness exhibit. The symposium features James A. Riley, dean of Negro League history. It will also include a panel discussion by Douglas Flamming, professor in the School of History, Technology and Society, Ivan Allen College; Lucius Sanford, executive director of the Letterwinner Association, Georgia Tech Athletic Association; and Danny Hall, head baseball coach, Georgia Tech Athletic Association. The panel will be moderated by Eleanor Alexander, associate professor in the School of History, Technology and Society and is sponsored by Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.
James ‘Red’ Moore still living the dream is the headline of the ESPN-W article by Adena Andrews (Feb. 26, 2011).
Moore’s friend and volunteer publicist Greg White makes sure Moore is recognized whenever possible. White even created a website, rare for living Negro Leagues players, where the youth can learn about Moore and organizations can contact him for appearances.
“People read about a lot of folks after they’re dead,” Moore said. “Greg kept my name alive and let people know I’m still around.”
James “ Red” Moore will be honored by the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, February 2, 2011, as a Atlanta Hawks Black History Trailblazer. As part of this year’s celebration of Black History Month, the Atlanta Hawks are honoring prominent African-American leaders during home games in February for their civic contributions, accomplishments and leadership. Beginning with the Hawks – Raptors game on Wednesday, February 2, the team will recognize individuals from the Atlanta area who have excelled in these areas during special in-game ceremonies.
Where’s Red Moore’s glove? Columnist Terence Moore visits the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City and looks around for the glove — as well as checks into the current status of the museum itself. See his article on the FanHouse site.
2010
Please join us in wishing Mr. Moore a Happy 94th Birthday as of November 18th!
“Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience” comes to DeKalb County
Join guest of honor, Mr. Moore, former first baseman for the Atlanta Black Crackers, as he throws out the first pitch at the opening reception of “Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience” exhibit at DeKalb County Public Library.
WHEN: 6pm, Saturday, November 6
WHERE: Decatur Library, 215 Sycamore Street, Decatur, GA
On Saturday, November 20 (2pm), Mr. Moore will appear with noted Negro League baseball historian and author James Riley to discuss his experience playing baseball when “only the ball was white”.
Mr. Moore will receive the Life Time Achievement Award from the NAACP on October 23, 2010, in Decatur, Georgia.
Mr. Moore was a special guest at a book event hosted by Georgia Center for the Book at the Decatur Library. “A Baseball Triple Play” featured writers Pete Van Wieren and Jack Wilkerson (Of Mikes and Men), Dave Cohen (Matzoh Balls and Baseballs: Conversations with 17 Former Jewish Major League Baseball Players) and Hal Jacobs (Ball Crazy) on August 10, 2010.
Mr. Moore was featured in the following article by Bill Banks about Strat-O-Matic, the baseball simulation board game, in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (April 28, 2010):
James “Red” Moore has never heard of Strat-O-Matic, the baseball simulation board game that’s maintained an astonishing cult following for nearly 50 years.
He certainly didn’t know the company recently released a card set replicating the skills and statistics of 103 Negro League ballplayers who performed, mostly in obscurity, from 1896 to 1950.
But Moore, 93, knows quite a bit about those days, “when only the ball was white.” He was a virtuoso first baseman for three teams in the Negro majors from 1936 to 1941, including two years in Baltimore (1939-1940) when he roomed with a teenaged catching prodigy named Roy Campanella.
Likely because his tenure was so brief and because many of his statistics don’t exist, Moore, who has lived in the same southwest Atlanta home for the last 62 years, isn’t included in the Strat-O-Matic set. But 12 of his ex-teammates are here, including five who are enshrined at Cooperstown, along with one manager and at least 44 others he played against.
For anyone who has played this game over an extended duration, the individual Strat-O-Matic player card is a masterpiece of minimalist poetry. That single 3 by 5 rectangle assimilates a major league player’s hitting, fielding, running and defensive statistics and what emerges, particularly to the imaginative gamer, is a palpable personality.
For Moore, however, many of these cards depict the actual flesh-and-blood men he knew, some quite well. For openers there’s Satchel Paige, perhaps the greatest of Negro League pitchers, blessed with such immaculate control he’d warm up throwing fastballs over sticks of chewing gum instead of a plate.
Glancing over Paige’s card Moore said, “Whoever did this got it right. Satch was right scarce [giving up] the walks and the home runs. People ask me all the time how I hit against Satch and I tell them, ‘Well, I sure enough hit against him plenty. But I never hit him.'”
The man who prides himself on “getting it right” is Hal Richman, now 74, who founded Strat-O-Matic out of his parents’ Long Island basement in 1961. Even in today’s graphics- and computer-drenched gaming culture, Richman’s deceptively simple dice-and-cards cardboard game, with its uncanny statistical results, wields considerable influence.
In “The Numbers Game,” his definitive 2004 book on the history of baseball statistics, Alan Schwarz references Strat-O-Matic on 21 pages, pointing out that in a 2002 poll of 50 baseball executives, “exactly half had learned the game (and particularly the value of On Base Percentage) in the large part by playing Strat-O-Matic.”
All of which Richman finds humbling, considering, as he admitted in a recent phone interview, that “I had average math skills in high school. I knew enough to keep baseball statistics and that’s about it.”
For years Richman had vague notions about creating a Negro League set. But the task was daunting, he knew, since the Negro Leagues’ entire history was plagued by shoddy record-keeping and slapdash organization.
Then about three years ago Richman, whose company and nine full-time employees are still located in Glen Head, N.Y., was contacted by Scott Simkus, a Chicago-area limousine dispatcher. Simkus told Richman he’d been collecting Negro League box scores since the mid-1990s, culling them from microfilm and digital versions of old black newspapers and even a few big-city white papers.
“By now I have close to 4,000 boxes,” Simkus said recently over the phone. “Our fundamental problem was that the Negro Leagues played an abbreviated schedule, only about 70 to 90 league games. Therefore we didn’t have enough data to reproduce any one entire season, which is what [Strat-O-Matic] usually does.
“So we decided to sample statistics from a player’s best five to seven seasons. We wanted to get a minimum 1,200 at-bats for each batter and 1,200 opposing at-bats against each pitcher. Once we got those numbers, we pro-rated them for a 154-game schedule. That way we came up with a standard statistical profile any baseball fan would be familiar with.”
Both Simkus and Richman acknowledge many pleasurable discoveries, like center fielder Oscar Charleston — his pro-rated numbers are .391 batting average, .478 on-base percentage, 32 home runs, 125 RBI — emerging as probably the set’s best all-around player. Perhaps for both, the biggest surprise was right fielder/second baseman Chino Smith (.388, .425, 20, 118), baseball’s version of Jimi Hendrix, who only played from 1925 to 1930 and died of yellow fever before his 30th birthday.
Red Moore, however, was particularly drawn to his Newark Eagles teammates, with whom he played in 1936 and 1937. He broke out his trademark grin when he saw the card representing right-handed Hall-of-Famer Leon Day (17-7, 2.78 ERA).
“I’ll never forget this one game Leon was pitching,” Moore said. “It was a league game and it was late innings and it was tight. The batter hit a foul pop and I go toward the stands and try to make a behind-the-back catch. Don’t ask me why. I would do those things, catch it between my legs and all that during exhibitions and warm-ups. I admit, I was known as a showman. But I’d never do it in a league game, except I did that day.
“So it hit off the heel of my glove and rolled out. That ballpark sounded like a funeral parlor. Well, Leon got the batter out and we won the game. But after the game he came up to me and said, ‘Red, if we’d lost that game I was gonna whup you good, boy.'”
Both Simkus and Richman agree that catcher Josh Gibson (.381, .457, 34,119) is the set’s best all-around hitter. But Moore also remembers the Buena Vista, Ga., native for his rough-hewn verbal dexterity.
“My rookie year with Newark, we were playing against Pittsburgh,” Moore said. “Josh was catching and Satch was pitching. Josh says to me, ‘Hey little red boy, Satch don’t like rookies. Only thing he likes about ‘em is to knock ‘em down.’ So I feel this pitch – I sure enough don’t see it – somewhere around my chin and when it hit Josh’s mitt, it sounded like a pistol shot.
“I waved at it and Josh tells me, ‘That nearly got you, son. If I was you, I wouldn’t dig in too deep.’ Then there were two more like the first one. I never saw any of those balls. I struck out, I go back to the dugout and the manager says, ‘Seems like you were in a rush to get back here and sit next to me.’
“Like I said,” Moore adds with a low laugh, “I never did hit Satch.”
See the YouTube video of Mr. Moore talking about batting against Satchel Paige.
On, Friday, April 16th, the Atlanta Braves invited Mr. Moore to be the special guest for Jackie Robinson Day and throw out the first pitch. On Thursday, he spoke at the Atlanta History Center for the Home School Day- Past Times event.
Negro League Legend Red Moore to Attend Decatur Baseball Game Friday
by Bill Banks
Decatur Bulldogs Booster e-newsletter
March 17, 2010
A couple weeks back I read about the death of the last surviving World War I veteran, and it occurred to me that surviving authentic Negro League players are nearly as rare. When I say “authentic,” I’m talking about those who played in the Negro American or Negro National League prior to 1947, the year Jackie Robinson signed with the Dodgers.
Prominent Negro League historian James Riley (who lives in metro Atlanta) estimates that maybe 20 are still living. One of these is lifelong Atlanta resident James “Red” Moore who turned 94 last November. Four years ago I published a profile of Red in “Atlanta Magazine” which — and I say this with extreme humility — is a great piece of writing and should be required reading on many college campuses.
In preparing the article I spent quite a few weeks researching and talking to Red, who’s an absolute delight and also quite a bit more modest than myself. I mention this because Red will attend this Friday’s Decatur High baseball game against Greater Atlanta Christian at McKoy Park. First pitch is 6 p.m., but Mr. Moore will be on hand beginning at 5:00, talking, answering questions and signing autographs. Greg White of Decatur Active Living, who’s been close friends with Red for years, tells me that he will have a limited supply of reprints of historic photographs that Red will sign and sell.
If you get a chance, don’t miss this opportunity to hang with Red. He is a singular individual and an absolute state and, frankly, national treasure.
He played five years in the Negro Majors, a career cut short (as were those of many ballplayers) by World War II. In his definitive volume, “The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues,” James Riley writes of Red, “He was expert at handling ground balls, a master at catching bad throws and making it look easy. Described as the ‘most perfect’ first baseman ever, the slick fielder was quiet, unassuming, and practical.”
In 1936 and 1937 he played for the Newark Eagles, owned by numbers banker Abe Manley, and these teams featured several players now in Baseball’s Hall of Fame. In 1939 and 1940 he was with the Baltimore Elite (pronounced E-Light) Giants where he roomed with a teenaged prodigy named Roy Campanella, about whom Red once told me, “There was nothing I could teach him. He was only 16 or 17 and he knew more about the game than I did.”
But Red’s most indelible season was 1938, when he stayed home and played for the Atlanta Black Crackers. By all rights the ’38 Black Crackers were Atlanta’s first legitimate major league sports franchise, some 28 years before the Braves moved from Milwaukee. For most of their duration (1919-1952) the Black Crackers were members of the minor-league Negro Southern League. But in 1938, the team changed ownership, hired a number of superlative ballplayers, including Moore, and joined the Negro American League for that season only.
After going through three managers in a matter of weeks, owner John Harden gave the job to his spirited, impulsive 19-year-old second baseman Gabby Kemp―”they called him that,” Moore recalled, “because he done a lot of talking”―and the Black Crackers won the NAL’s second half championship.
Relatively little is known about that team―Moore has long been the squad’s only surviving member. For several years Riley’s been researching a book on that team, and when he’s finally ready to publish it should prove a vital addition to Negro Leagues scholarship.
The Black Crackers played most home games at white-owned Ponce de Leon Park, but were prohibited from using its locker facilities and showers. Practices, and perhaps even some league games, were held at Booker T. Washington High School. The team was covered regularly by Rick Roberts of The Atlanta Daily World, but hardly a word was written in the three white-owned newspapers of the period, and not much has been written since.
Incidentally, it was around 1938 when Moore became the first―or at least one of the earliest―players ever to wear a batting glove. “I wore it on my top hand―my left hand―because it stung good when I hit an inside pitch,” he told me. “I just wore an ordinary winter glove, and I cut the finger tips off so I could feel the bat.” By season’s end Moore was selected to the Southern News Service’s NAL All-Star team, and fans even held a special day for him at Ponce de Leon Park, awarding him with $350 worth of gifts and merchandise.
One of the joys of writing this article was that it gave me a chance to talk with Red’s famous contemporary, Buck O’ Neill, just a few months before he died. It seemed to me, from my own research, that many Negro League first basemen of the 1920s through 1940s, Red included, were deft-fielding showmen who loved slight-of-hand and catching balls behind their backs and all that. Take, for instance, Good Tatum, who played for the Indianapolis Clowns, but later became the single most important and innovative Harlem Globetrotter of them all.
Anyway, my thinking about Negro League first basemen as compared to contemporary first basemen led to a rather awkward exchange over the phone between O’Neill and myself. I made the point to Buck that first basemen, though often premier power hitters, haven’t always been the most gifted athletes. I said something to the effect that first base is often a home for “mediocre” defense, and almost immediately I regretted ever opening my mouth.
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone before Buck answered, suddenly turning very formal. “You have to remember, sir, I saw Lou Gehrig play. Nothing mediocre about him. I remember Red Moore and Jelly Taylor who could pick ’em one handed. Superior athletes, both of them. I remember Goose Tatum and Buck Leonard. Uh-huh. I remember Buck O’ Neill [referring to himself] who, in 1946, made one error the whole season. Yeah. That”s right!”
When I later recounted this conversation to Red, I didn’t think he’d ever stop laughing. “That Buck, ain’t he something,” Moore says. “You can’t slip anything past Buck.”
I remember another time, when we were at book signing at Decatur’s Little Shop of Stories, and a very young Raymond Glier — he now pitches for the Decatur High varsity — asked Red when he played. Red patted Raymond on his head and replied, “Young man, I played when only the ball was white.”
Although the article I wound up writing was over 5,000 words, I could only include a fraction of the many great anecdotes Red pulled from his remarkable memory. Here are two of my favorites:
“I’ll never forget this one game Leon [Day, a New Jersey teammate now in the Hall of Fame] was pitching,” Moore said. “It was a league game, and it was late innings and it was tight. The batter hit a foul pop, and I go toward the stands and try to make a behind-the-back catch. Don’t ask me why. I would do those things, catch it between my legs and all that, during exhibitions and warm-ups. I admit, I was known as a showman. But I’d never do it in a league game, except I did that day.
“So it hit off the heel of my glove and rolled out,” he said. “That ballpark sounded like a funeral parlor. Well, Leon got the batter out, and we won the game. But after the game he came up to me and said, ‘Red, if we’d lost that game I was gonna whup you good boy.’ “
The second anecdote concerns two of the greatest all-time Negro Leaguers, whom Red never tires of talking about. Satchel Paige, perhaps the greatest of Negro League pitchers, was blessed with such immaculate control he’d warm up throwing fastballs over sticks of chewing gum. Meantime Josh Gibson, born in Buena Vista, Ga., was not only the Negro Leagues greatest catcher, he was probably their best all-around hitter.
“My rookie year with Newark we were playing against Pittsburgh [Crawfords],” Moore said. “Josh was catching and Satch was pitching. So I come to bat and Josh says to me, ‘hey little red boy, Satch don’t like rookies. Only thing he likes about ‘em is to knock ‘em down.’ So I feel this pitch – I sure enough don’t see it – somewhere around my chin and when it hit Josh’s mitt it sounded like a pistol shot.
“I waved at it,” he said, “and Josh tells me, ‘That nearly got you, son. If I was you I wouldn’t dig in too deep.’ Then there were two more like the first one. I never saw any of those balls. I struck out, I go back to the dugout and the manager says, ‘seems like you was in a rush to get back here and sit next to me.’
“Well,” Red added, “people ask me all the time how I hit against Satch, and I tell them I sure enough hit against him plenty. But I never hit him.”
In February 2010, Mr. Moore attended the program announcing new hall-of-famers at the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame. He also spoke to the 8th grade students at Renfroe Middle School as a part of Black History Month Celebration.
2010 Highlights
- February. Renfroe Middle School Visit
- April. Atlanta History Center Visit
- April. Honored on the Atlanta Braves Jackie Robinson Day (threw out the pitch to start the game and featured on “680 the Fan” radio show).
- July. Recognized at the Negro League Stamp Unveiling
- July. Attended the Baseball Writers Conference and featured in the conference guide
- August. Featured with baseball writers – Pete Van Wieren, Jack Wilkerson, David Cohen and Hal Jacobs at Decatur Library Book Talk
- September. Featured speaker at Mensa Chapter meeting
- October. Attended the Pop Lloyd Celebration- Atlantic City, NJ where he was honored and reuninited with former teammate Monte Irvin
- November. Legacy League Opening Day/visit to Southwest DeKalb High School
- November. Negro League Exhibit at the Decatur Library (Opening and Celebration for Mr. Moore)
- November. Featured profile on Fanhouse.com by writer Terrance Moore
- November. “On First with James Red Moore” event at Decatur Library
- December. Recognized at the Mike Glenn Tom Molineaux Celebration with other pioneers in sports
2009
In November 2009, Mr. Moore visited Hartland Baseball Statues in Cleveland, Ohio, to sign his new series of statues. These autographed statues are number 9 in the Negro Legend Series and limited to 100 statues.
James Red Moore is featured in the new book The Baltimore Elite Giants (John Hopkins University Press) by Bob Luke. Mr. Moore is shown on the back cover of the book and featured in the book.
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Baseball fans, look for Mr. Moore’s autographed card in the the 2009 Topps Allen Ginter Baseball Cards.
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See the May 17, 2009, article about Mr. Moore in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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On Wednesday, July 8, 2009, Mr. Moore will be a guest speaker at the Atlanta History Center, where he will meet with summer campers (age 6-11).
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On April 26, 2009, Moore was recognized by Georgia Common Cause as one of the 2009 Outstanding Citizens for his contribution to baseball, society and giving back to local schools and organizations.
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On February 20, 2009, Moore was a special guest at the Lithonia Middle School Black History Program.
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On February 15, 2009, Moore spoke about his Negro League playing days in the Roswell Roots Black History program (Roswell City Hall). See article below (“Atlanta Black Crackers player brings history to life,” by Michael Pearson, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sunday, February 15, 2009).
Fourth-grader Donovan Bohannon showed up at Roswell ‘s City Hall Sunday to see Negro League baseball infielder James “Red” Moore and an exhibition of photographs featuring many of Moore ‘s teammates from baseball’s segregated era.
“I never thought I’d be able to meet any of them,” said Donovan, a student at Hembry Springs Elementary School in Roswell . He and a few dozen other people came to meet the man who was known for putting on flashy fielding demonstrations before games.
For Donovan’s father, Ken Bohannon, the event was an opportunity to show his kids that the opportunities now open to African-Americans weren’t always available.
“They don’t know how we got here,” he said.
Moore was born in Atlanta and, at age 92, still lives here. He played first base for the Atlanta Black Crackers, among other Negro League teams in the era before Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947 and became the first African-American to play for a major league team.
The Atlanta Black Crackers played home games at the old Ponce de Leon Park in Midtown Atlanta, the same field used by the white Atlanta Crackers.
Brenda Turner, a Marietta photographer, started the collection of Negro League players. She became fascinated by the history of African-Americans in sports when she stumbled across a pin featuring black gymnast Dominique Dawes at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
She was glad for the opportunity to show off her collection and to let people meet Moore, whom she called a “real hero.”
But she wishes Americans would give more attention to Negro League players and other African-American achievers during months other than February — Black History Month.
“It’s sad to me that it constantly has to be tied into black history,” said Turner, who is herself African-American. “It’s not just black history. It’s American history.”
For his part, Moore is pleased for the run of attention he and the few other surviving Negro League players have been receiving in recent years.
He has been inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame, honored by a Georgia General Assembly resolution and drafted by the Atlanta Braves in an honorary draft for Negro League players.
“I’m just glad God’s let me live this long to enjoy it,” he said.
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On February 7, 2009, James “Red” Moore and Jim Riley, Negro League historian, shared experiences from the Negro Leagues with 35 Magnolia Chapter Society for American Baseball Research members at Turner Field.
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On January 31, 2009, Mr. Moore was honored by the Braves 400 Club for his contributions to baseball. The event took place at the Marriott Century Center in Atlanta.
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2008
Recent School Visits. On October 18, 2008, Moore participated in the Southwest DeKalb Homecoming Parade. On October 22nd, he visited Allgood Elementary School and spoke to 100 fifth graders on the opening night of the World Series. On October 24th, he visited Fernbank Elementary in DeKalb County.
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From October 3-6, 2008, Moore attended the 16th Annual Pop Lloyd Weekend Celebration in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
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On September 9, 2008, Moore was honored by the Atlanta Braves with an on-field presentation.
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On July 5, 2008, the Milwaukee Brewers honored Moore at the third annual Negro Leagues Tribute and Cerveceros Day events at Miller Park.
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PRESS RELEASE
June 18, 2008
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Former Negro League players to be honored at Mother Kathryn Daniels Conference Center
Former Negro League players Eugene ‘Dick’ Scruggs and James ‘Red’ Moore will be inducted into the “Yesterday’s Negro League Baseball Foundation” Hall of Fame on Saturday, July 5, 2008, at 11:00 a.m. The induction ceremony will take place at the Mother Kathryn Daniels Conference Center (MKDCC), 3500 W. Mother Daniels Way at 35th and Hampton Avenue in Milwaukee.
Eugene ‘Dick’ Scruggs, a right-handed pitcher with a major league curve ball at the age of 17, was born May 17, 1938, in Huntsville, Alabama. He spent two seasons playing in the Negro Leagues as a member of the Kansas City Monarchs and the Detroit Stars.
James ‘Red’ Moore hails from Atlanta, Georgia. The top fielding first baseman in the Negro Leagues from the mid-30s to the mid-40s, he was born November 18, 1916 and spent time with the Chattanooga Choo Choos, Mohawk Giants, Atlanta Black Crackers, Newark Eagles, Indianapolis ABCs, Baltimore Elite Giants and the Macon Peaches.
Scruggs and Moore will receive the induction honor at the MKDCC and then travel to Mayfair Mall for an autograph signing session and then on to Miller Park for pre-game recognition on the field prior to the Brewers-Pirates game that evening The Brewers, Holy Redeemer Institutional Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and the MKDCC formed a partnership in 2006 to present the Negro Leagues Tribute and support other community-based initiatives.
“The worthy tradition of honoring these great men continues with our two new inductees,” said Billy Young, Executive Director of the Mother Kathryn Daniels Conference Center. “We are both humbled and elated to host their presence here in Milwaukee and extend our commitment another year in properly recognizing some of the greatest athletes of our time – athletes who were never allowed the deserved spotlight of national attention that is so rightfully theirs as athletes of excellence. The Negro League legacy will forever remain on our campus and in our memories.”
“We are overjoyed for this recognition and eternally grateful to the Yesterday’s Negro League Baseball Foundation and the Mother Kathryn Daniels Center,” said Mr. Scruggs and Mr. Moore in a joint statement. “We are deeply appreciative of the hospitality provided by the Foundation and the Center in acknowledging our careers and our small contributions to the great game of baseball. Both Mr. Biddle and Bishop Daniels are to be congratulated and commended for their tireless efforts to preserving the legacy of the Negro Leagues and its remaining living players.”
“Our mission is to both acknowledge and support these men beyond their playing days,” said Dennis Biddle, Founder and Executive Director of the YNLBF and a Hall of Fame inductee himself. “We are totally committed to ensuring their contribution to the game does not go unrecognized and resources are found to assist in their twilight years.”
Later that day, both men will take part in the Milwaukee Brewers annual tribute to Negro League baseball while attending the Brewers game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Brewers will don the uniforms of the old Milwaukee Bears Negro League team while Pittsburgh will sport those of the Pittsburgh Crawfords, home to Negro League legends Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige. Scruggs and Moore will address the crowd during pre-game ceremonies and sign autographs during the first three innings of the game.
In previous years, the Brewers recognized outfielder W. James ‘Jim’ Cobbin and catcher Arthur Hamilton into the Yesterday’s Negro League Hall of Fame in 2007. During the Brewers initial Negro Leagues Tribute in 2006, Buck O’Neil, James Sanders and Dennis Biddle were each recognized.
The Mother Kathryn Daniels Conference Center is located at 3500 West Mother Daniels Way on the corner of 35 th and Hampton Avenue in Milwaukee.
For more information about this event, please contact Billy Young at (414) 466-1800 ext. 5154.
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PRESS RELEASE
July 2, 2008
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
Living Negro League legends to hold autograph session at Mayfair Mall
Former Negro League players Eugene ‘Dick’ Scruggs and James ‘Red’ Moore will sign autographs for the public at Mayfair Mall on Saturday, July 5, 2008 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. The autograph session will take place at Jeff’s Sports, inside the main entrance of Mayfair Mall, 2500 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
Mr. Scruggs and Mr. Moore will be in town to receive induction honors at the Mother Kathryn Daniels Center (MKDCC) earlier in the day and will then be recognized by the Milwaukee Brewers during the annual Negro League Tribute at Miller Park later that evening prior to the Brewers-Pirates game. The induction ceremony will be held at the MKDCC, 3500 W. Mother Daniels Way, Milwaukee, beginning at 11:00 a.m. The pre-game activity and on-field ceremonies will begin at Miller Park at 5:30 p.m.
Eugene ‘Dick’ Scruggs, a right-handed pitcher with a major league curve ball at the age of 17, was born May 17, 1938, in Huntsville, Alabama. He spent two seasons playing in the Negro Leagues as a member of the Kansas City Monarchs and the Detroit Stars.
James ‘Red’ Moore hails from Atlanta, Georgia. The top fielding first baseman in the Negro Leagues from the mid-30s to the mid-40s, he was born November 18, 1916 and spent time with the Chattanooga Choo Choos, Mohawk Giants, Atlanta Black Crackers, Newark Eagles, Indianapolis ABCs, Baltimore Elite Giants and the Macon Peaches.
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See article on Moore related to the MLB draft (below) — “For Moore, Negro Leagues were big-time“. Also, see MLB draft video (link to MLB site).
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Braves to pick Negro Leaguer Moore
Former first baseman to be chosen in honorary draft
05/30/2008 10:35 AM ET
ATLANTA — The Braves will pay tribute to James “Red” Moore, regarded as one of the best fielding first basemen in the Negro Leagues, when former Negro Leagues alumni are honored before the start of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on June 5.
Each Major League club will select a surviving Negro Leagues player who never had a chance to play in the Majors. This special Negro Leaguers Draft will be aired live exclusively on BaseballChannel.TV.
Moore, who was born in Atlanta in 1916 and played in the Negro Leagues from 1936-40, played on three All-Star teams, three Second Half Championship teams and was selected to the 1938 Southern News Services All-American Negro League Baseball Team.
MLB.com will carry every pick of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, which takes place June 5-6 at The Milk House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla.
Day 1 coverage on BaseballChannel.TV begins at 1 p.m. ET with a special ceremonial draft of former Negro Leaguers who will be on hand at The Milk House. The First-Year Player Draft follows at 2 p.m. with a simulcast of ESPN2’s broadcast of the first round and compensation picks.
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As a 2006 inductee of the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame, Moore will attend the fourth annual induction and awards ceremony, to be held May 31, 2008, at the Emory Conference Center. Among this year’s honorees is John Schuerholz of the Atlanta Braves.
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Moore recently visited the Chamblee High School baseball team, throwing out the first pitch and signing autographs afterwards (April 28, 2008). Enjoy this short video.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2008
BREWERS MEDIA RELATIONS
BREWERS TO HONOR NEGRO LEAGUE AND HISPANIC BASEBALL LEGENDS
MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers today announced details for the third annualNegro Leagues Tribute and Cerveceros Day events at Miller Park this season. The announcement was made by Brewers Executive Vice President – Business Operations Rick Schlesinger.
The annual Negro Leagues Tribute, started in 2006, will take place on Saturday, July 5 when the Pittsburgh Pirates visit Miller Park for a 6:05 p.m. start time. As part of the tribute, the Brewers will wear reproductions of uniforms worn by the Milwaukee Bears, the city’s 1923 representative in the Negro National League. The team played only one season before disbanding but featured some of the game’s most influential men, including Hall-of-Fame player/manager Preston “Pete” Hill.
The Pittsburgh Pirates will join in by donning uniforms that will honor the Pittsburgh Crawfords, home to Negro League legends such as Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige. The Crawfords played as an independent team in 1932 before joining the Negro National League from 1933-38.
Also on this day, two former Negro League players will be inducted into the Yesterday’s Negro League Hall of Fame, located at Milwaukee’s Mother Kathryn Daniels Conference Center (MKDCC). Pitcher Eugene ‘Dick’ Scruggs (Detroit Stars and Kansas City Monarchs, 1957-58) and first baseman James ‘Red’ Moore (Atlanta Black Crackers, Newark Eagles and Baltimore Elite Giants, 1934-1948) will receive the honor at the MKDCC and then travel to Miller Park for pre-game recognition on the field. The Brewers, Holy Redeemer Institutional Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and the MKDCC formed a partnership in 2006 to present the Negro Leagues Tribute and support other community-based initiatives.
In previous years, the Brewers recognized outfielder W. James ‘Jim’ Cobbin and catcher Arthur Hamilton into the Yesterday’s Negro League Hall of Fame in 2007. During the Brewers initial Negro Leagues Tribute in 2006, Buck O’Neil, James Sanders and Dennis Biddle were each recognized.
Following both games, the commemorative uniforms worn by the Brewers will be auctioned off on brewers.com. The proceeds from the Bears uniforms will benefit the Yesterday’s Negro League Foundation and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. The “Cerveceros” jerseys worn by the players will be auctioned with proceeds going to the Wisconsin Hispanic Scholarship Fund (Mexican Fiesta), the Phillip Arreola Scholarship Fund (Hispanic Chamber) and the Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee Scholarship Fund.
Located inside Miller Park near the Home Plate Gate on the Field Level, fans will notice two displays which include photos, artifacts and stories on the history of the Negro Leagues and Hispanic players in Major League Baseball.
2008 Highlights
- Featured in the Barbershop Digest (February 2008).
- Featured in a story about his inside-the-park homerun at Yankee Stadium in a special USA Today sports edition (spring 2008) on the stadium’s history. Copies of the issue are for sale at http://www.usatodayservice.com/yankeestadium/
- Special guest at the opening of the Negro League Exhibit in the Atlanta University Center (February 6, 2008).
- Featured in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article “A Black Diamond Exhibit” (Feb. 10). Article also featured Hank Aaron.
- Guest speaker for the Black History Program at the VA Hospital (Feb. 13).
- Conducted an education series on the Negro Leagues (with author Jim Riley) at Turner Field for area schools. The event was sponsored by the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame and the Atlanta Braves.
- Honored with a special resolution (introduced by State Representative Stephanie Benfield) at the Georgia House of Representatives (February 29) (SEE BELOW).
- Featured in a special USA Today sports edition (spring 2008) about his inside-the-park homerun at Yankee Stadium.
- Honored before the start of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on June 5 with a special tribute from the Atlanta Braves.
- Honored by the Milwaukee Brewers for his contributions to baseball and society (July 5th).
- Honored by the Atlanta Braves with an on-field presentation (September 9th).
James “Red” Moore House Resolution 1606
A RESOLUTION
Commending Mr. James “Red” Moore and inviting him to appear before the House of Representatives; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, more than 60 years ago, Mr. James “Red” Moore of Atlanta was one of the shining stars of the Negro baseball leagues, gaining renown as one of the leagues’ most gifted first basemen; and
WHEREAS, prior to the integration of major league baseball in 1948, the Negro National League and the Negro American League showcased many of the most talented baseball players in the world; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Moore first began playing with “semipro” baseball squads at age 13 before being discovered by the then minor league Atlanta Black Crackers in 1934; and
WHEREAS, in 1936, he joined the Negro National League’s Newark Eagles, becoming part of the team’s “million dollar infield,” and in 1938 he played with the Atlanta Black Crackers as a major league team; and
WHEREAS, while Mr. Moore was with the Crackers, the team won the Negro American League’s second-half championship, and he was named to its all-star team; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Moore played with the Baltimore Elite Giants before leaving major league baseball to serve his country as a member of the United States military during World War II; and
WHEREAS, during his athletic career, Mr. Moore gained a reputation for his defensive grace and has been called the “most perfect” first baseman of all time; and
WHEREAS, the DeKalb History Center has recently launched an exhibition of the memorabilia of Mr. Moore, believed to be the only living Negro leagues player in Georgia; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Moore continues to share his story with today’s youth, serving as an outstanding role model for all of Georgia’s athletes.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body join in commending Mr. James “Red” Moore on his extraordinary contributions to the history of baseball.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Mr. James “Red” Moore is invited to appear before the House of Representatives for purposes of being recognized by the House and receiving an appropriate copy of this resolution at a date and time to be fixed by the Speaker of the House.
By Representatives Benfield of the 85th, Watson of the 91st, Oliver of the 83rd, Stephenson of the 92nd, Williams of the 89th, and others.
2006 Highlights
On December 31, 2006, Moore participated in the Chick-Fil-A parade as a member of the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame.
On December 18, 2006, Moore was honored by Michael Glenn, former Atlanta Hawk and numerous athletes as a part of the Tom Molineaux celebration.
On November 4, 2006, Moore participated in the Riverdale Veterans Day Parade.
On August 20, 2006, Moore attended the High School Showcase at Georgia Perimeter with teams from St. Louis, New Orleans, Jacksonville, and Atlanta. He threw out the first pitch for the championship game.
On July 29, 2006, Moore participated at an event with the Roadway Traveling Negro League Museum. He signed autographs with former Atlanta Brave Terry Harper.
On June 9, 2006, Moore was inducted into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame with Evander Holyfield, Furman Bisher, Phil Neikro, Bobby Cremins and Wyomia Tyus.
2005 Highlights
On December 2, 2005, Moore was inducted into the Atlanta Tribune Hall of Fame at a ceremony held at Turner Field in Atlanta.
On September 10, 2005, the Atlanta Native Club honored Moore and former Crackers with a plaque under the magnolia tree at the site of the old Ponce de Leon ball park.
On September 2, 2005, Moore was honored with other Negro League players at the Atlanta Braves game (versus Cincinnati Reds) and was featured in the game day program.
On August 20, 2005, Moore made a guest appearance with the Roadway Express Negro League Mobile Museum at Turner Field.
On August 5, 2005, Moore received the Pioneer Award from the National Association of Black Journalists.