Charleston, Oscar McC.
Baseball
b. Oct. 12, 1896, Indianapolis, IN
d. Oct. 5, 1954
Charleston's long baseball career began before black major leagues had been established and ended just as organized baseball was accepting its first black player of the twentieth century.
That career began in 1915, when he joined the Indianapolis ABCs as a centerfielder. A left-handed hitter and thrower, the 5-foot-11 Charleston weighed about 185 pounds in his younger days, when he was an outstanding base runner and defensive outfielder; later, he grew to well over 200 pounds and became a first baseman.
He was, at various times, called the "black Tris Speaker" because of his fielding ability, the "black Ty Cobb" because of his aggressive base running, and the "black Babe Ruth" because of his power.
Charleston went to the Chicago American Giants in 1919, when he also began playing winter baseball in Latin America. In 1921, he joined the St. Louis Giants and hit four home runs in a post-season exhibition game against the NL's St. Louis Cardinals.
After serving as player-manager of the Harrisburg Giants from 1922 through 1927, he went to the Philadelphia Hilldales, where he batted .396 in 1929. He then joined the Homestead Greys for two seasons.
Charleston became player-manager of the great Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1932. He hit .363 with 19 triples and 13 home runs in his first year, when the team won 99 games and lost only 36. The Crawfords moved to Toledo in 1939. After one season there, Charleston went to the Philadelphia Stars, again as player-manager, and remained with them until joining the Brooklyn Brown Dodgers in 1945.
The Brown Dodgers, owned by the Brooklyn Dodgers, were a kind of a front for Branch Rickey's attempt to sign black players in order to integrate organized baseball. They lasted just one season, and Charleston then returned to the Philadelphia Stars for two more years before retiring.