In celebration of Black History Month, every February I teach a unit on the Civil Rights Movement of the 50's and 60's. And one of my favorite projects is having my students design trading cards of their favorite Civil Rights leaders. Due to distance learning, I'm running a little behind in my curriculum, but I hope to assign the trading card project by the end of the month.
In the meantime, I thought I'd borrow one of Night Owl's ideas for a post. Last week, he showed off his top 10 favorite Black Dodgers players. I figured I'd tweak his idea and list my Top 10 Black MLB players. Although the Top 3 spots are sort of no-brainers... I actually spent the better part of an hour flipping through binders before finalizing my list.
Let's start with the honorable mentions (in no particular order)...
Honorable Mention: Vida Blue
1977 Topps Cloth #4
Honorable Mention: Bill Madlock
1994 UD All-Time Heroes 125th Anniversary #74
Honorable Mention: Willie Mays
1993 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes #54
Honorable Mention: Derek Jeter
1997 Metal Universe Magnetic Field #5
Honorable Mention: Andrew McCutchen
Pittsburgh Police Pirates Charities #NNO
Honorable Mention: Dave Parker
1980 Kellogg's #23
Honorable Mention: Ken Griffey Jr.
1991 Score 100 Hottest Players #5
Honorable Mention: Hank Aaron
1983 Baseball Card News #4
Honorable Mention: Roberto Clemente
1994 Action Packed Minors #69
Honorable Mention: Tim Raines
1990 Topps TV Glossy All-Stars #55
Honorable Mention: J.R. Richard
1979 Kellogg's #19
Honorable Mention: Mookie Betts
2019 Topps Chrome Refractor #50
As with practically any list I've created for this blog... it's bound to change with time and will vary depending on my mood on the day I write the post. Several names on the honorable mention list started in the Top 10, but ultimately was swapped out at some point. And even now that I've settled on my list... I question whether one guy is too high, while another is too low. But if I continue going back and forth... this post will never get published.
So here we go...
#10: Dave Henderson
1992 Leaf Gold #232
The last time the Oakland A's won a World Series title, Hendu was a key member of that team and was always a fan favorite in Oakland.
#9: Barry Bonds
2002 UD Vintage Day at the Park #DP5
I know he's not very popular among baseball fans... but this guy provided Bay Area fans with highlights on a regular basis for a solid decade. I'll always be thankful for that.
#8: Kirby Puckett
1995 Select Certified Mirror Gold #33
When I played Little League... I was the chubby kid who hit for average... which explains my strong affinity towards chubby MLB players with high batting averages.
#7: Frank Thomas
1992 Fleer All-Stars #11
It felt like collectors had to choose between Griffey and Thomas back in the 90's. I went with The Big Hurt.
#6: Dwight Gooden
1992 Score 100 Hottest Players #25
Like Griffey and Thomas in the 90's... there seemed to be a line drawn between Clemens and Gooden fans. Doc was my guy.
#5: Ozzie Smith
1984 Topps Milton Bradley Championship Baseball #NNO
I grew up watching The Wizard's highlights and backflips. And up until creating this list... I didn't realize just how much he meant to me and my childhood. This might just kick off the start of a new PC.
#4: Dave Stewart
1990 Sports Illustrated for Kids #133
Any A's fan from the 80's will likely be a big fan of Stew. He was the heart of the A's starting rotations for years and won 20 or more games four straight seasons. The fact that he was born and raised in Oakland is a bonus for this East Bay legend.
#3: Jackie Robinson
1997-98 Fleer Million Dollar Moments #17
Jackie Robinson is the only player to make the Top 10 that I didn't have the pleasure of watching play. But when you're the gentleman who will forever be remembered for breaking the color barrier... you're worthy of being ranked this high on the list. That moment in sports history is something that has been celebrated way before I even became a baseball fan.
#2: Rickey Henderson
1981 Fleer Star Stickers #54
The first baseball games I remember attending involved Rickey playing in the outfield next to Dwayne Murphy and Tony Armas. Had the A's never traded him to New York, there's a good chance he'd be #1 on this list.
#1: Tony Gwynn
1988 Fleer Baseball's League Leaders #16
Obviously we all know Gwynn could hit. But he was also a very likable guy who was loyal to the San Diego Padres. And as much as I love Rickey... Gwynn is not only my favorite Black baseball player... he's my all-time favorite baseball player.
Well there you go. My list of favorite Black MLB players of all-time. I'm positive I've missed some guys and accidentally left them off of my list. Plus there were a few guys like Rod Carew who I wasn't sure fell into the category of Black players. I tried to do some research, but came up short.
Anyways... feel free to write in some of your favorite Black MLB players down in the comment section below... especially if they weren't listed in this post. Maybe you'll inspire me to update my list at some point.
Happy Tuesday and sayonara!
10 comments:
Willie Mays is only "honorable mention"? And from a bay-area blogger?
*scratches head*
Nice enough list ,I will assume that Clemente,Mays and Aaron are only honorable mention because they all played before you started following baseball?
Great list. That honorable mention team is pretty darn good too.
That's quite a list, and I imagine it was difficult to rank them by personal preference. There are some players whom I admire that played long before I was born, and some who played during my peak fandom that weren't HOFers. I have no idea how (or if) I'd rank them but off the top of my head I'd have Mays, Aaron, Jackie, Lou Brock, Gooden, Betts, Cutch, Kenny Lofton, Mo Vaughn, and Griffey Jr somewhere on the list. Gwynn, Campanella, J.R. Richard, Buck O'Neill, and a few others would be in the mix as well. This is a tough one!
jim from downintown - i have a deep admiration for mays (and mccovey)... but i based my list mainly on guys from my era of fanfare with a little dose of collecting. that's why jackie robinson was the only guy on my list who i never actually saw play. but i know that mays is a legend and one of the greatest to ever play the game
sg488 - yeah. had i went with greatest in regards to careers, they would have been ranked much higher
the lost collector - thanks. it was much more challenging than i originally thought.
chris - yeah, it was pretty tough. campanella is one i probably should add to my honorable mentions.
Had a feeling Tony would be #1 on your list. For being the first to break the colour barrier I would probably have to place Jackie Robinson as #1 though.
Great great list! No Frank Robinson or Joe Morgan?
Oh yea, Great cards too!
jongudmund - jackie robinson is definitely an mlb icon and would have no problems with seeing him #1 on anyone's list.
cincicuse bill - i definitely had both of those guys in mind, but they didn't crack my favorites. now all-time greats? that's a different story
I would say Curt Flood belongs here, because he was the pioneer that led to nine-figure player contracts.
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