Author Information
"Ode to Negro League Baseball Stats"
by Jeph Johnson
A rubber core
Created for
A ball in summer weather
From melted shoes,
Wrapped in makeshift yarn
With a painted white leather cover
Then cork and soon red laces,
This ball jettisoned from aces
Named Old Hoss, Three Fingers and Cy
The hitters sent line drives past the infield,
That were often caught falling back from the sky.
The fences were the limits of the throng
Until Babe Ruth and Josh Gibson came along.
We've few sepia-toned photos
Of that blue sky preserved,
For time is remote and reticent,
There's just fewer ways to observe
These players lost in limbo and sadly segregated,
The romance of it all remains cold and distant
And wraps 'round their rage reserved
For all the stars who sought the glory,
Each human being with so many characteristics
Can now be seen side by side with
Ty Cobb, Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig
Bygone eras to take pride in with statistics
That Buck O'Neil could verse with verve,
Cool Papa's speed was boundless
As was Biz Mackey's catcher prowess,
It all shot past and faded fast like Bullet Rogan's curve
They swung their bats each trying time their twisting torsos swerved
Then Jackie made a Brooklyn debut, that was long, long overdue
But not at all over-deserved
