Dawson’s pro career is well documented and most baseball fans are familiar with his professional career, starting with Dawson’s selection by the Montreal Expos in the 11th round (250 player picked overall) of the 1975 MLB draft.

Obviously, Andrew Dawson did not go unnoticed while at Florida A&M between the years of 1973-1975… at least not by the Expos’ scout who recognized the potential in “the Hawk”.

Not drafted out of high school and with no scholarship offers, Andrew Dawson ignored advice from scouts and opted for Florida A&M instead of Florida State.  His cousins had attended FAMU, it was a good school and the Rattlers had a great athletic tradition.  Additionally, the school’s baseball team had a wonderful coach in Costa “Pop” Kittle.

When Andre Dawson arrived at Florida A&M in the fall of 1972, he was a scrawny kid with a knee less than 100% mobile from a high school football injury.  By the time Dawson left school in 1975 for pro ball, he was a solid and physically healthy pro prospect deserving of the chance he’d get to prove himself a star.

Though I have not found many stats for Andre Dawson while he was in college, I have located a few.  Generally speaking, the teams he played on were good enough to beat the powerhouse Hurricanes of the University of Miami 3 of 4 times between 1973-1974… Miami teams that went a combined 93-28 over that two year span and produced 1974 college player of the year, Orlando Gonzales.

Among the 1974 national statistical leaders, found in the 1975 edition of the Official Collegiate Baseball Guide, Andre Dawson is listed twice amongst the “small” school leaders.  Dawson finished third nationally in doubles with an average of .41 per game (11 doubles) and tenth in slugging with a .695 average.

Congratulations to an HBCU all-time great on his induction into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame!

By the way… if anyone has more stats on Andre Dawson while at Florida A&M, I’d love to hear from you.  You can reach me via Facebook or email me from our website link.

Inadvertently left off my list of yearly leaders was Southern University, with its lofty .334 team batting average leading the small school division in 1972.

And it is not a wonder the Jaguars were a hitting machine with the likes of Dale Brock and Danny Goodwin, both of whom would be named to the prestigious Team USA in 1973.

Dale Brock (l) Danny Goodwin (r)

Brock, the cousin of pro baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock, posted a .348 average in 1972 and led the team with eight home runs.  Goodwin, who went on to become a two-time All American and the only ballplayer ever to twice be tabbed as the number one pick in the MLB draft, hit .364.  Both Brock, an outfielder and Goodwin, a catcher, were freshman in 1972.

However, the team leader on offense was an upper-class outfielder named Roger Cador.  If the name sounds familiar, it should.  Cador went on to become the highly successful head coach of these same Southern University Jaguars.  Entering into his 21st season in 2010, Coach Cador had compiled a 645-334-1 record.

Roger Cador in 1972

But in 1972, leading the team with a .393 batting average (two years before aluminum bats came on the scene), Roger Cador had dreams of pro baseball, not coaching.  As a 10th round selection of the Atlanta Braves in 1973, Cador spent four seasons in the minor leagues before turning to coaching.  Dale Brock was drafted three times, the last being a third round pick of the Minnesota Twins in 1975.  Brock played two years of minor league ball.  Danny Goodwin was the first player picked in the 1975 MLB draft (by the California Angles) and played seven seasons in the Majors, mostly as a designated hitter and part-time catcher.

The memory of Negro League baseball is alive and well in Baton Rouge, Louisiana one weekend every spring when rival Grambling State University comes to town to face host, Southern University.

This year’s series will be played on Saturday, April 10th and Sunday, April 11th at Lee-Hines Field.  Both teams will be wearing Negro Leagues throwback jerseys.

“The throwback jerseys are always a special weekend,” Southern University head coach Roger Cador said.  “Negro Leaguers played a special role in baseball history because they were able to tear down barriers with their baseball ability.”

The concept of a throwback game at Southern came to Cador during the 1999-2000 season and the first games were played in 2002.  “We wanted to do what we could do to inform and enhance the awareness of Negro League ball,”  said Cador.

In every year but one, versus Texas Southern, Southern University has hosted Grambling for its annual throwback weekend which has grown to include vendors, exhibits and visits from the likes of the legendary Negro Leaguer, Buck O’Neil.

Fred Lewis, who wore similar throwback uniforms at both Southern University and as a San Francisco Giant versus the Kansas City Royals  admitted he did not know many details about the Negro Leagues, but said, “I appreciate what they did for us. I didn’t know much about what they went through back then. I’ve read some stuff and seen video clips of what happened. It meant a lot to put on the uniforms of the teams they played for. “  And the throwback uniform he wore at Southern University… the Kansas City Monarchs.

Not only is the throwback game appreciated by current and former Southern University ballplayers, but also by Grambling players who wear grey flannels representing Negro League teams.  Said Southern University’s Roger Cador, “our opponents also enjoy being part of something special.”

Grambling’s Jeremy Shelby, son of former Major Leaguer John Shelby, said “playing in the game gave me a better appreciation for the Negro Leagues and it was an honor to be part of the affair including the throwback uniforms.”

Former Southern University ballplayer and current Milwaukee Brewer, Rickie Weeks, is one ballplayer who previously had an understanding and appreciation of Negro League baseball before playing in his first throwback game.  “I was told at an early age about the struggles and times these players went through.”

In his two Southern University throwback games, Weeks (pictured to the left) wore uniforms of the Memphis Red Sox and the Homestead Grays.  However Weeks confesses that his favorite uniform probably is that of the Newark Eagles.  And why might that be?  For the same reason he probably had a better understanding of the Negro Leagues than most… his grandfather Victor (pictured to the right) had a short stint with the Newark Eagles, a team that featured future Hall of Famers Larry Doby and Monte Irvin.

If you can make it out to the ballpark for any of the throwback games, you won’t be disappointed.  But if you can’t be there, then a trip to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri would definitely make up for it.  Below is a short video on such a trip made by Rickie Weeks a few years ago.

When it came to college baseball, Jackie Robinson played second fiddle to the subject of our player profile, Kenny “Kingfish” Washington.

By the time Jackie Robinson transferred from Pasadena Junior College in 1939, Kenny Washington was already the football and baseball hero on the Los Angeles, California campus of UCLA.

An All-American football player in 1939, Washington led the Bruins for three years as the team’s single-wing halfback.  In that formation, Kenny Washington was the key to running the offense as both a passer and rusher.

As a senior, Washington led the country in total offense and was the recipient of the Douglas Fairbanks Trophy as the nation’s best collegiate player.

In 1946, Kenny Washington was one of the first to re-integrate professional football when the Cleveland Rams moved west to Los Angeles.  Until then, blacks were forced to play in lessor leagues.

Washington had been playing with the Hollywood Bears of the Pacific Coast Football League and the San Francisco Clippers of the American Football League, but when the Rams agreed to move to Los Angeles and play at the LA Coliseum, one of the conditions required the team to integrate.

Kenny Washington was still very popular in the area  and a big drawing card, so he was an obvious selection.  And even though, by then, Washington was no longer the football player he had been in his glory days, “Kingfish” Washington played another three years in the NFL.

Off the baseball diamond, Kenny Washington will always remain in the shadow of Jackie Robinson.  But on the college diamond, Washington was the first African-American to play baseball at UCLA.  His .454 batting average in 1937 and .350 average in 1938 paced the UCLA nine.  (In his lone year playing baseball for the Bruins, Robinson hit .097).

The second of four generations of baseball playing Washingtons, Kenny’s father Edgar “Blue” Washington played Negro League ball briefly with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1920 and with the Chicago American Giants.  He also was an actor and had a bit part in Gone with the Wind.  Kenny’s son, Kenny Jr., starred at the University of Southern California from 1961-1963 and his grandson, Kraig played ball at USC and in the Chicago Cubs organization.

Kenny Washington went on to become the first football player at UCLA to have his uniform retired and was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956.  Following his athletic career, Washington was affiliated with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Kenny “Kingfish” Washington passed away on June 24, 1971

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which started admitting HBCU schools in 1953 and held its first baseball championship in 1957, did not officially start collecting statistics until the 1960 season.  That year Charles Gray, the national individual ERA leader (0.56 ERA),led a Southern University pitching staff that finished third in the nation with a 2.01 ERA.  The Jaguars hitters also finished third in the country with a collective .335 batting average.

Tommie Agee

The following year, it was Grambling University’s turn to show off its baseball muscle leading the country in hitting with a .362 average and fielding with a .964 average.  The star on the Tigers’ 1961 squad was Tommie Agee (later of New York Mets World Series fame) who finished third in the country hitting an even .500 , third in home runs with seven and seventh in rbi with 37.  Hitters representing HBCU schools also finished fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and tenth in batting.  On the pitching end, Clyde Parquet ranked first in the country with a 0.66 ERA while the entire staff finished fourth with a 1.79 ERA.

Grambling pitchers topped the individual charts in 1962 and 1963, as they did in 1961, with Hillary Bossier’s nation leading 0.53 ERA and Alex Pero’s amazing 0.00 ERA.  As a team, Grambling led the nation in both hitting and pitching in 1963 with a .370 batting average and a 0.61 ERA.

In the mid-to-late 1960s, Grambling continued to be the leading HBCU program in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and produced Atlanta Braves’ great, Ralph Garr, the nation’s leading hitter in 1967 with a batting average of .582.

In addition to Garr, Kentucky State’s James Jackson and Charles Stukes of Maryland State finished second and fifth in hitting with respective .531 and .489 averages.  As well, Pete Barnes of Southern University led the country in 1967 with 43 rbi and home runs (an average of .32 per game).

Charles Stukes (L) Curtis Gentry (R)

Charles Stukes was one of a number of Maryland State grid stars who not only went on to pro football careers, but were also stars on the Eagles baseball team.  Others who either led the country or were highly ranked in  various statistical categories were Curtis Gentry (Baltimore Colts) in stolen bases, Johnny Sample (New York Jets) in hitting and slugging and William Thompson (Denver Broncos).  Stukes, who played for the Baltimore Colts, finished fourth in the country in 1966 hitting at a .492 clip and for two years led the country in stolen bases.  Maryland State (now known as the University of Maryland Eastern Shore) teammate Tick Hebron hit .487 and along with Stukes, helped Maryland State rank second in team hitting with a .352 average.

Maryland State again finished second in team hitting (tied with Southern University at .341) the following year, but finished behind 1967 national leader Grambling University’s .355 batting average.  Grambling’s pitching staff also led the nation in 1967 with a 0.88 team ERA.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, ballplayers from even more HBCU schools started to creep into the annual NAIA statistical leaders.  In 1969, St. Augustine’s College of North Carolina led the country in hitting with a .379 average.  Ronald Tucker of Hampton Institute ranked first in doubles per game with an average of .62 per game, while George Pack of West Virginia State was second (.58 per game).  Leroy Sykes of Wiley College finished third in the country in triples per game with an average of .33 per game and Eldridge Blake of Fisk was fourth in rbi per game (1.54).  On the pitching end, Kenneth Stone of Tuskegee was nationally ranked third in victories with ten.

In 1972, Al Holland of North Carolina A&T appeared upon the college scene and as a freshman led the country in strikeouts (143) and was second in ERA (0.54).  The following year, NCA&T’s last in the NAIA, Holland recorded an ERA of 1.03 and added another 102 strikeouts.  Though the Aggies moved up to NCAA status, Al Holland continued to dominate the competition the next two years with a 0.95 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 1974 and a nation leading 0.26 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 1974.

In 1973, one of the leading hitters in all the NAIA was future Major Leaguer, Steve Henderson of Prairie View A&M.  His .488 batting average ranked fourth and his five triples was also among the nation’s leaders.  Besting Henderson in hitting was another HBCU standout, James Marshall of Jackson State, who finished third hitting .495.  An emerging powerhouse, Jackson State topped the NAIA team hitting stats with a .372 average.

The 1974 season saw Nathan Chapman from Jarvis Christian in Texas win the NAIA batting title with a .551 average.  Interestingly… Tyrone Phinnessee of Tuskee won the NCAA Division II crown hitting .482 and Artis Stanfield of North Carolina A&T topped the NCAA Division I big school hitting charts with a .500 average.  Stanfield also won the stolen base crown stealing an average of 1.32 bases per game.

As more and more historically black college left the NAIA for the NCAA in the mid-to-late 1970s and early 1980s, fewer names from HBCUs dotted the list of national statistical leaders.

Artis Stanfield (R)

That is not to say they disappeared.  Greg Carter from Kentucky State finished fifth in hitting (.487 BA) in 1975 and the Thoroughbreds led the NAIA in team hitting with a .375 average.  The following year, the Delta Devils from Mississippi Valley State topped the NAIA in team hitting (.370 BA) and team pitching (1.79 ERA).  Individually, Mississippi Valley State’s Frederick Akon finished second in the country with a 0.71 ERA and teammate Willie Powell was the top hitter with a .563 average.

Toney Howell of Central State in Ohio won the hitting crown in 1981 with a .524 average and in 1983, Murauder teammate Terry Edwards finished third in hitting (.514 BA).  Sandwiched between the two, St. Augustine’s Eddie White finished second in the NAIA, hitting .515 in 1982.

While fewer and fewer names of HBCU schools and ballplayers dominated NAIA stats, more and more started to appear amongst the leaders or on top of the NCAA’s Division I charts like Stan Jefferson of Bethune-Cookman, Dave Clark of Jackson State, Vince Coleman and Marquis Grissom of Florida A&M and most recently Mike Woods and Rickie Weeks of Southern University

… but that will be reserved for another story!

In a world before the internet and even further back to a time without television, heroes were created with the recording of  their exploits by newspaper writers and radio broadcasters.

The task of earning a national reputation was more difficult back in the early part of the twentieth century, when word of ones accomplishments reached fewer eyes and ears.  And those it reached, often received  the news only after the tedious and time consuming process of getting the word onto paper or on the air.

Much of the credit for making stars of those early-day HBCU athletes goes to the sportswriters at African American newspapers like the Chicago Defender, Pittsburgh Courier, Philadelphia Tribune and the Baltimore Afro-American.

One such legend was Harry “Wu Fang” Ward of  Wilberforce College.  (Sidebar…now known as Wilberforce University, the city of Wilberforce, Ohio was both an important stop and destination on the Ohio Underground Railroad and the school is the oldest private, historically black university in the country).

Harry Ward’s exploits in football, basketball, track and baseball were well documented in the black newspapers of the day.  His nickname, “Wu Fang” added that much more color to the headlines.  Whether it be, as reported, that he had a Chinese relative or because it was the name of one the popular film and comic book characters of the first quarter of the twentieth century, Ward’s nickname brought attention to the lore and legend he was in the late 1920s.

In football, Harry Ward was without question, the star of the Wilberforce eleven.  Leading the way as both the team’s fullback and kicker, Ward single-handedly won many a game against such black college powerhouses of the day like Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Tuskegee of Alabama and Bluefield of West Virginia.

In 1925, the Pittsburgh Courier began selecting a college All-American football team and continued being the ultimate source for identifying top black college talent for the next five decades.  Harry Ward had the honor of being picked for the fullback position on the Courier’s very first team of All-Americans.

Basketball was the sport that occupied Wu Fang Ward’s time and all-around athletic talent between football and baseball seasons, with an occasional interruption to run indoor track. The sprints, long jump and both the discus and shot put were Ward’s specialties.

While his accomplishments in basketball did not match his dominating success in football, it was basketball that took Ward the the farthest as a professional athlete. First playing with local teams in his hometown of Cincinnati, Harry Wu Fang Ward later joined the Homestead Grays basketball team which included a number of players on the Grays’ famous baseball teams.

Before Wu Fang Ward left the Big Green of Wilberforce College in 1931, he also made a name for himself on the baseball diamond and again in the headlines as a power hitting outfielder.

Ward (front row right ) with the Homestead Grays

Following college, Ward played with the local black semi-pro baseball club, the Cincinnati Tigers, in 1934 and 1935 and faced a number of Negro League teams like the Memphis Red Sox and Nashville Elite Giants.  In 1937, the Tigers joined the Negro American League, but disbanded after one season.

After his baseball career ended, Harry Ward worked as an umpire in the Cincinnati area and worked the 1945 Negro League East-West All-Star game, which featured Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella.

Such was the case with former NFL linebacker, Peter Barnes of Southern University.

Not only was Barnes recognized twice as an All-American (by the Pittsburgh Courier in 1965 and 1966) for his prowess on the gridiron, he was also twice honored as an All-American baseball player for the Jaguars in 1966 and 1967 by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

In an eleven year career that started out in 1967 as a sixth round draft pick of the, then Houston Oilers and ended in 1977 with the New England Patriots, Pete Barnes played in a total of 142 professional games in both the old American Football League (AFL) and National Football League. A career best five interceptions in 1969 with the San Diego Chargers helped Barnes earn recognition on the Associated Press All-AFL team that year.

Of his accomplishments on the football field, Pete Barnes’ biggest claim to fame might be that his $45,000 signing bonus in 1967 was, at the time, reported to be the largest ever given to a ballplayer from an historically black school.  The enticing bonus was a major inducement in his choice of pro football over pro baseball.

The “hulking” 6′-3″, 230 lb athletic specimen was equally talented on the baseball diamond where he hit for both power and average.

As an outfielder for the Southern University nine from 1964-1967, Pete Barnes earned All-Southwestern Athletic Conference honors each of his four years in school.  As a sophomore in 1965, Barnes finished fourth in the country hitting a robust .506.  He also ranked high amongst the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics leaders in homeruns (7) and runs batted in (41).  The following year (his first of two straight All-American seasons), Pete Barnes was again nationally ranked,  hitting .436 with 8 doubles and 26 rbi.

In 1967, Barnes upped the anti for his professional services by hitting .432 and leading the NAIA in homeruns (8) and rbi (43), while earning baseball All-America recognition again.

Peter Barnes was inducted into the Southern University Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.  Sadly, other than this, I have no updated information on Barnes except an unconfirmed report that he is now homeless.  I hope that sometime soon I can uncover information that proves this to be inaccurate… I hope!

But back in the day, when UMES was known as Maryland State, the Maroon and Gray was widely known in HBCU circles as a football powerhouse.  During the period of 1946-1960, Maryland State produced five undefeated teams and a combined won-loss record of 139 wins, 36 losses and 7 ties.

Of the many greats who would go on to play in the NFL (a record five alums played in Super Bowl III), quite a few were multi-sport stars on the Princess Anne, Maryland campus.

One of the all-time very best all-around athletes at Maryland State was Johnny “Red Ball” Sample.

During the mid to late 1950s, Johnny Sample was a star on the football field (where he earned first team Pittsburgh Courier Black College All-American status in 1955 and 1957) and on the baseball diamond (where he was the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association player of the year in 1958).  As well, Sample was a member of the track team (shot put), played basketball his freshman year and was said to be an accomplished gymnast.  Later in life, Sample added tennis to his vast sporting resume and became a nationally ranked player and tournament official.

A multi-dimensional athlete, Johnny Sample lead the Maryland State football squad to glory as an offensive and defensive standout.  He also starred on special teams as a punt and kickoff returner and was the Hawks’ punter and place kicker.

Sample’s football talent was rewarded with his selection by the (then) Baltimore Colts in the seventh round of the 1958 NFL draft and as the first ballplayer from a historically black college selected to participate in annual Chicago Charities College All Star Game.  From 1934-1976, the late summer football exhibition game was considered to be the premier showcase of star seniors from the previous college football season pitted against the reigning NFL champions.

On the baseball diamond, Johnny Sample was equally blessed with talent.  The all-star second baseman’s Maryland State squads captured CIAA championships in each of his four seasons (1955-1958) on the team.  In 1957, Sample finished with a .394 batting average and his .682 slugging percentage ranked among the national small-college leaders.  The following year, Sample upped his batting average to .418 and again ranked high among the national slugging leaders with an average of .764.  Additionally, he used his speed (9.6 seconds in the 100 yard dash) to finish fifth in the country with 17 stolen bases, averaging 1.31 steals per game.

During his senior season, the Philadelphia Phillies regularly scouted Sample and invited him to a tryout once the college season was finished (the MLB player draft was not established until 1965).

In his memoir, Confessions of a Dirty Ballplayer, Sample recounted his tryout saying, “during my few days at Connie Mack Stadium, I was hitting the ball into the stands and off the walls.  With my assets, the Phillies figured they’d use me in the outfield instead of at second base.”

The Phillies did in fact offer Johnny Sample a contract, but the offer was for far less than he expected.  With a better offer from the Baltimore Colts, Sample opted for a career in professional football.

The move proved to be a smart one for Sample, who totaled 11 seasons in the National Football League (1958-1968), all as a defensive back and punt returner.  During his pro career, which also included stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins and New York Jets, Sample was know as a hard hitting, tenacious defender.  Once referred to as one of the league’s dirtiest players, the All-NFL performer embraced the moniker and eventually used it in the title of his 1970 memoir.

Whether he was actually a dirty player or just plain aggressive, Johnny Sample was also know for his heady preparation of games… being one of the first to keep elaborate notes on pass receivers’ tendencies.  Without question, Johnny Sample, who was also one of the earliest practitioners of the “bump and run” and “trash-talking”, was considered one of the best cornerbacks of his era. 

Yet for all his accomplishments, which included playing as a rookie for the World Champion Baltimore Colts (their 1958 defeat of the New York Giants is considered to be the game that ushered in the popularity of pro football) and on the Super Bowl III Champion New York Jets (their 1969 defeat of the Baltimore Colts legitimized the American Football League and was the impetus for the merging of the NFL and AFL), Johnny Sample is not yet in Canton, Ohio’s Pro Football Hall of Fame.  The closest he has gotten is admittance into the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s Hall of Fame in 1977 and into the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2004.

There are those who feel that his day of recognition will come.  There are those who feel Johnny Sample’s outspoken nature and (at the time) controversial views on racial injustice, both on and off the football field, have kept him out of the football’s Hall of Fame to this day.  Some even feel that his legacy will forever remain one detrimental to pro football’s status quo.

Not one to “accept what most blacks were taking in stride”, one of the men who inspired Johnny Sample to stand up for what he believed in and to fight for what he thought was right was Jackie Robinson… a man who had to swallow his pride for years in order to make his mark on society.  Sample observed that only after he had been accepted by the baseball establishment was Robinson moved to start saying the things he had wanted to earlier in his pro baseball career.

Though Johnny Sample had heard Robinson speak on the radio when Sample was in high school in the early 1950s, it was not until years later that the two had an opportunity to first meet.  By then, Sample had become a football star and acquired a reputation for speaking up for what he believed.  At their introduction, Sample told Robinson that his words had a profound effect on his life.  Robinson’s response must have been pleasing to Sample when he said Johnny must have been a good listener.  Robinson observed that Sample was a very outspoken man today and that Robinson was glad he was.

Growing up, Johnny Sample was one of my very favorites.   I only wish I had the opportunity to meet him before he passed away unexpectedly in 2005 at the age of 69.  Those who knew Sample said that he was different than his football persona and that if you were his friend, there was none better.

Other than the photo of Johnny Sample in color, all photos courtesy of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.  My thanks to Jennifer Neumyer and Eric Jodlbauer of the UMES Frederick Douglass Library for their assistance in locating school photos of Johnny Sample.

If you’d like to learn more about the prospects of reviving UMES football, please click here.

Though even today, few know of him and still even fewer knew him to be a “professional” football player until it was uncovered in a Shelby, Ohio newspaper account in1975, Charles Follis is recognized as the first black to sign a professional football contract. 

Charles Follis grew up in Wooster, Ohio and as a high school junior helped organize the school’s first football team in 1899.  Known as the “Black Cyclone”, Follis stared on local ball clubs and and then in Shelby (Ohio) for the Blues.  His reputation was such, that in 1904, the Shelby club’s manager, fearful of Follis jumping to another team, signed him to a contract that included payment for his services.

For this reason alone, Charles Follis is recognized by the Professional Football Hall of Fame as the sport’s first African-American pro football player.

As good as Follis was in football, he was considered an even better baseball player.

While enrolled at the College of Wooster Preparatory School, Charles Follis played baseball on the college varsity nine in 1901 and 1902.  The National Collegiate Athletic Association was still a number of years away from being organized and eligibility rules were still somewhat lax (one of the myriad of reasons the NCAA was ultimately formed).  Follis never officially enrolled at the College of Wooster (known as the University of Wooster until 1914), but starred on its baseball teams as a catcher.

His reputation around the state of Ohio as a feared power hitter with excellent speed was well deserved and along with Branch Rickey of Ohio Wesleyan University (who would go on to become the Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager famous for signing Jackie Robinson to a pro baseball contract) were considered to be the two best catchers in all of Ohio college ball.

Ironically, besides facing each other on June 17, 1902 as opposing catchers at Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan, respectively, Charles Follis and Branch Rickey would end up playing football together for the Shelby Blues Athletic Club and Rickey would coach Ohio Wesleyan football in a game against Follis’ Shelby team.

After injuries cut short his football career, Follis played baseball, first in the Ohio State Colored League and then for the Negro professional Cuban Giants (also known as the “Genuine” or “Original” Cuban Giants).  While catching for the Cleveland team in the Ohio State Colored League of 1908, Follis’ Columbus opponent that season featured a catcher named Charles Thomas (see my story on Charles Thomas, here) who starred on Branch Rickey’s Ohio Wesleyan University baseball teams of 1903 and 1904.

In 1910, Charles Follis contracted pneumonia while playing baseball in Cleveland and passed away on April 5th at age 31.