Jim Proctor — one of the first Black players to play for the Tigers — is one of the few surviving players from the Negro Leagues. Now, his grandson hopes to continue his legacy by 'getting more young minority talent on the playing side.' ✍️ ZHBuchanan
Without Jim Proctor, there would be no James, but now it seemed like a nearly 70-year-old baseball legacy was drawing to a close. They had shared so much — a name, a position, a throwing arm and even careers cut far too short by shoulder ailments. James wanted to follow in his grandfather’s wake and become a Black major-leaguer. Instead, with that 29th pitch and his trailblazing predecessor watching, it appeared to be over.
That was to be Proctor’s lot, too. The right-hander went 16-7 for the Clowns, after which the club sold his contract to the Tigers, who had yet to roster a Black player in the major leagues. As Proctor shot up the Detroit system, going from Class B in 1956 to Triple A in 1957, there was a lot of talk that he could be the first. “Tigers High on 2 Negroes” blared a February 1957 headline in the Detroit Free Press, accompanied by a photo of Proctor and catcher Wendell Antoine. “J.
“Ozzie Virgil was Dominican,” Proctor says. “He didn’t want to be called Black and be the first Black player because he didn’t consider himself Black. Although he lived as a Black person in the league. He couldn’t stay with the White people either.”The call finally came for Proctor in 1959, although it took the Tigers nearly the entire season to make it. His performance had been excellent. Proctor had gone 15-5 with a 2.
It would take a half-century for his baseball legacy to continue. Proctor’s two sons did not show interest in the game, and Proctor didn’t force it on them. They played other sports, but mostly to fulfill their father’s mandate to get good grades and keep out of trouble. It wasn’t until his grandson came along that another Proctor boy found himself staring down a baseball future.Since he was 11 or 12, James had romanticized the idea of taking after his grandfather.
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