- published: 01 Oct 2013
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Joseph Black (February 8, 1924 – May 17, 2002) was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro League and Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Redlegs, and Washington Senators who became the first black pitcher to win a World Series game, in 1952. Black died of prostate cancer at age 78.
A native of Plainfield, New Jersey, he starred at Plainfield High School. Black attended on a baseball scholarship and graduated from Morgan State University in 1950 and later received an honorary doctorate from Shaw University. He was a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He appears prominently in Roger Kahn's classic book, The Boys of Summer.
Black helped the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro Leagues win two championships in seven years. He and Jackie Robinson pushed for a pension plan for Negro League players and was instrumental in the inclusion of players who played before 1947. Black then played for a year in the Brooklyn Dodgers' minor league system.
The Dodgers promoted Black to the major leagues in 1952, five years after teammate Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier. Black was 28 when he reached the majors. He roomed with Jackie while with Brooklyn, and was dominant out of the bullpen, chosen Rookie of the Year after winning 15 games and saving 15 others for the National League champions. He had a 2.15 ERA but, with 142 innings pitched, fell 8 innings short of winning the ERA title.
In the wintercold I see the blood
clotting slowly in the snow
Unsung heroes cry in the night
may they die before dawn
Broken banners mourn fallen crowns
grieving swords lay all around
As the swansong touches the mountainside
unseeing eyes look at you
Can't you hear it
hear the sorrows vail
Oh, can't you see it
the newborn day
Impaled hearts welcome the end of pain
black blood releasing warrior souls
Vultures circle 'round the fields of grief
another graveyard, another tale
Can't you hear it
hear the sorrows vail
Oh, can't you see it
the newborn day