Bob Black (baseball)

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Bob Black
Outfielder/Pitcher
Born: (1862-12-10)December 10, 1862
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Died: March 21, 1933(1933-03-21) (aged 70)
Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.
Batted: Unknown
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 19, 1884, for the Kansas City Cowboys
Last MLB appearance
October 19, 1884, for the Kansas City Cowboys
MLB statistics
Win–loss record4–9
Earned run average3.22
Strikeouts93
Teams

Robert Benjamin Black (December 10, 1862 – March 21, 1933) was a 19th-century American professional baseball player. He played for the Kansas City Cowboys of the Union Association in 1884.

In 1902, Black became manager of the Le Mars Blackbirds, who were charter members of the six–team Iowa-South Dakota League[1] The Iowa-South Dakota League was formed as a Class D level League.[2] The Blackbirds finished with a final record of 43–48 and placed fourth in the Iowa–South Dakota League standings, playing the season under managers Bobby Alberts and his replacement, Bob Black.[3] Black was a resident of Le Mars and owned a local bowling alley. As a retired major league player, Black was recruited to become the manager after being spotted watching a game from the stands early in the season.[4][5][6]

In June of 1903, Le Mars manager Bob Black signed Baseball Hall of Fame member Branch Rickey, to a contract with a salary of $150 per month. In his career, Rickey became best known for signing Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers while serving as Brooklyn's General Manager. In 1903, Rickey hit .265 in 41 games for Le Mars as the team's catcher and the Blackbirds won the league championship under Black.[4][7][8][9][6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "1902 Le Mars Blackbirds Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "Iowa-South Dakota League (D) Encyclopedia and History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  3. ^ "1902 Le Mars Blackbirds Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  4. ^ a b "There's no place like home (plate)". Le Mars Daily Sentinel. August 10, 2010.
  5. ^ "Iowa-South Dakota League". usfamily.net.
  6. ^ a b The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, editors (Third ed.). Baseball America. 2007. ISBN 978-1932391176.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ^ "Rickey, Waner enter Hall of Fame as part of Class of 1967". Baseball Hall of Fame.
  8. ^ "Branch Rickey – Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org.
  9. ^ "1903 Le Mars Blackbirds Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.

External links[edit]