American Valor Quarterly Issue 11 - Fall 2014 | Page 26

It was never discovered thus I had no
problems. But communications at that
time were not what they are today and
I could get away with it then.
Other players were doing
what I was doing, and they
had no problems. Jim Thorpe,
the great Indian athlete,
did the same thing and was
crucified. After a year and a
half I left college to help my
father who needed financial
help to support the family.
Another reason I left college
was the fact that I had major
problems with the coach and
athletic director who were
one in the same person. I
wanted more education, but
these two factors compelled
me to leave.
I joined the Negro leagues
full time in 1939 playing
for the Newark Eagles. By
1942 I had become a star
and ranked second to none
throughout the league. I
started as a shortstop but
wound up in center field. I
could cover the ground, and
I had a great arm, one of the
best arms ever. I was easy to
get along with. I liked people and they
liked me. The baseball club owners
had considered me to be the prime
candidate if Major League Baseball
became integrated. In 1942 I was most
valuable player in the league by hitting
.397 in Mexico City. That’s when I
realized I was a major league prospect.
From 1943-1945, I was drafted into
the Army Corps of Engineers during
World War II. We had all kinds of
engineering training in the States. It
was all very interesting, but once we
got to Europe our main emphasis
was building bridges and roads and
guarding Nazi prisoners. One of my
war memories is staying in Plymouth,
England which was quite pleasant. I
remember in 1944, the first of January,
our convoy left Boston, Mass., on a
troop ship. We spent 19 days in the
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North Atlantic lan