ST LOUIS - JULY 18: Statue of "Cool Papa" Bell of the St. Louis Cardinals is outside of Busch Stadium on July 18, 2004 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS – JULY 18: Statue of “Cool Papa” Bell of the St. Louis Cardinals is outside of Busch Stadium on July 18, 2004 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /
Former Negro Leagues catcher Samuel Taylor will throw out the first pitch at the St. Louis Cardinals game on Sunday.
“I’ll be ready to throw it Sunday. Not throw it, I’m going to have to roll it.” His name is Samuel Taylor, and he’s a 91-year-old former catcher who played three seasons in the Negro Leagues.
The Cardinals are honoring Taylor and the Negro Leagues when they play the Phillies on Sunday. Taylor never played for the Cardinals.
In a 2005 article in the St. Louis American, Taylor said he had a chance to sign with the Cardinals, but the team members refused to suit up if he was signed. He spent three seasons with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues and was coached by the legendary Buck O’Neill.
91-year-old former Negro Leaguer prepares to throw out first pitch Sunday https://t.co/A5rGAqvWUy
He remembers the good times and bad times playing ball in the 1950s, years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
Taylor remembered his teammates “were accepted in a lot of places and sometimes they didn’t want us there.” He said, “We had trouble in Buffalo, New York, of all places.”
“We went to different places, to visit and play. In all, we played in 29 states and Canada. Barnstorming meant playing good local teams. And there were places that never let you forget that you were a black man,” Taylor said.
Taylor remembers many of the great players who played in the Negro Leagues, including Josh Gibson, the black Babe Ruth. Legend has it that Gibson hit over 800 home runs in his career, although Negro League records were not well-kept and such legendary feats could not be proven.
Other players Taylor thinks fondly of including the great Satchel Paige, Sam Jethroe, Luke Easter and Al Smith. Many of these players had the talent to play in the major leagues, but never got the chance. They often played against major league players in exhibition games and more than held their own.
The St. Louis Cardinals had their first African-American player in 1954, the same year as the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Senators. This was seven years after Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby and Hank Thompson broke the modern color barrier in 1947. Thompson played for the cross-town St. Louis Browns.
St. Louis Cardinals and John Gibson
According to front-office executive Bing Devine, Cardinals owner Fred Saigh, who owned the team from 1947 to 1953, refused to sign black players. Many restaurants and stores in St. Louis refused to serve black customers in the 1950s and their far-reaching radio network cultivated white Southern fans. Sportsman’s Park, the home of the Cardinals from 1953 to 1966, was the last in the majors to abolish segregated seating.
The St. Louis Cardinals were purchased by Anheuser-Busch in 1953, and August A. Busch, Jr. instructed his front office to find a black player. It wasn’t that Busch was a strong believer in civil rights, though. It was all about the Benjamins. Busch had beer to sell, and he didn’t care what race, creed or color the person was. If they had money to spend, Busch had beer to sell them.
Quincy Trouppe, a veteran Negro League scout hired by the Cardinals, signed more than a dozen black players, including Tom Alston. In 1953, Alston played for the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League.
He drove in 101 runs in 180 games while hitting .297/.353/.446. After the season, he played winter ball in Mexico. The Cardinals purchased his contract from the Padres for $100,000 and four players. That made him the most expensive black player signed at the time.
Busch made the signing of Alston a much-publicized event by renting a suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Hollywood and traveling to Hollywood for the contract signing. Budweiser and caviar were served to the attendees. Alston remembers, “The only blacks in the room were me and the valet who served the beer.”
Busch announced that the team had done extensive research to find the very best players they could find, including Alston. He said, “Our scouts, manager Eddie Stanky, and everyone on our staff is high on him. Now that I have met Alston in person and visited with him today, I’m more satisfied than ever that the Cardinals and all St. Louis will be proud of him.”
Unfortunately, Alston didn’t live up to the hype. He played 66 games and hit .246/.317/.369, for a 79 wRC+, making him 21 percent below average on offense after league and ballpark effects were taken into account. The Cardinals sent him down to Triple-A Rochester at the end of June. Over the next three years, he had just 28 plate appearances with the Cardinals.
He also started having mental health issues, including hearing voices and at least one suicide attempt. By 1957, his behavior was noticeably erratic, and he spent time in a hospital for a nervous condition. Alston would later say he was administered shock treatment. He left St. Louis in 1958 and never played baseball again.
His mental health issues continued after his career ended. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon in early 1958, then burned down a church later that year. He still claimed he heard voices.
As a result of burning down the church, Alston spent eight years in a state psychiatric institution. He got out in 1967 only to set fire to his apartment and get re-committed for another two years.
Garagiola was able to get Alston into an apartment of his own through B.A.T.’s help. That led to the Cardinals inviting Alston to throw out the first pitch at a game so he could be recognized as the pioneer he was for the franchise.
He said, “I had more fun that visit than I ever had when I was playing.” His tombstone is decorated with two birds on a bat, the St. Louis Cardinals logo.
