Buck Leonard (Player Profile)

BUCK LEONARD (First Base)

Walter Fenner Leonard

Nickname: "Buck"

Career: 1933 - 1950

Teams

Brooklyn Royal Giants (1933)

Homestead Grays (34'-50')

Mexican League (51'-55')
Minor Leagues (1953)

Bats: Left / Throws: Left

Height: 5'10"     Weight: 185

Born: Sept 8, 1907 -- Rocky Mount, NC

Died: November 27, 1997 -- Rocky Mount, NC

Inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame (1972)

Lifetime Batting Avg: .341

vs. Majors (Exhibitions): .382

APBA Affiliations: Negro STARS Team (Barnstorming Tour)

• Left-Handed part of the power tandem with Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays for 9 consecutive Negro National League Championships (1937 - 1945).

• Seasonal Averages from 1939 - 1945: .363, .372, .275, .265, .327, .290 & .375.

• Smart, team player with smooth swing and smooth fielding. Considered the greatest Negro League First Baseman ever, many called him the "black Lou Gehrig".

• In 1952, GM Bill Veeck (of the St.Louis Browns) asked if Leonard would like to play for the Browns, Leonard turned him down feeling that he was past his prime.

• 1953: At age 48, Leonard batted .312 with 13 HR's in 62 games (Central Mexican League).

• Ranked #65 overall of all baseball players ever, in Bill James' "The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract" (2001).

Louis Santop (Player Profile)

LOUIS SANTOP (Catcher)

Louis Santop Loftin (real name)

Nickname: "Big Bertha"

Career: 1909-1926

Teams

Fort Worth Wonders (1909)

Oklahoma Monarchs (1909)

Philadelphia Giants (09'-10')

New York Lincoln Giants (11'-14', 1918)

Brooklyn Royal Giants (14'-17', 1919)

Chicago American Giants (1915)

New York Lincoln Stars (15'-16')

Hilldale Daisies (17'-26')

Military Service (18'-19')

Santop Bronchos (27'-31')

Bats: Left / Throws: Right

Height: 6'4"     Weight: 240

Born: Jan 17, 1890 -- Tyler, TX

Died: Jan 6, 1942 -- Philadelphia, PA

Inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame (2006)

Lifetime Batting Avg: .406

vs. Majors (Exhibitions): .316

APBA Affiliations: Negro STARS Team (Barnstorming Tour)

• One of the Negro League's earliest superstars, power hitter, earned the nickname "Big Bertha" for his tape-measured Home Runs during the dead-ball era.

• Solid, strong-armed catcher who's excellent at blocking the plate.

• Caught for "Smokey"/"Cyclone" Joe Williams & "Cannonball" Dick Redding.

• Used to put on a pregame throwing demonstrations prior to playing MLB teams in exhibitions. Throwing from his knees to all the infield positions in front of all-white crowds; the fans loved it.

• Served the Navy in World War I from 1918 - 1919.

• Good mannered, but once got into a fight with Oscar Charleston, and broke three of Charleston's ribs in the process.

• Eventually was relieved by up-and-coming catcher Biz Mackey, at the age of 35.