Lesser-Known Legends of Spottswood Poles

n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”type”:”rich”,”width”:550,”__typename”:”ExternalEmbedContent”},” $ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({“locale”:”en-us”,”slug”:”the-story-of-spottswood-poles”,”type”:”story “}).parts.5”:{“data”:{“type”:”id”,”generated”:true,”id”:”$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({“locale”:”en- us”,”slug”:”the-story-of-spottswood-poles”,”type”:”story”}).parts.5.data”, “typename”:” ExternalEmbedContent”},”type”:”oembed”,”__typename”:”ExternalEmbed”},”$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({“locale”:”en-us”,”slug”:” the-story-of-spottswood-poles”,”type”:”story”}).parts.6″:{“content”:”But like John Donaldson and other former Negro players And Cannonball Dick Redding, the Pole is a legend. He played anywhere he could get his hands on — with Pop Lloyd and the Philadelphia Giants in 1909, with Smokey Joe Williams on the New York Lincoln Giants in 1913, and starring with Reading in Atlantic City in 1919. While it’s hard to put together his exact stats, nearly every story or available stat sheet acknowledges him to be a good hitter, with a career average in the .300-.400 range. SABR researcher John Holway said the Poles hit .440 in 1911, .364 in Cuba the next season and .487 in 1914. “,”type”:”markdown”,”__typename”:”Markdown”},”$ROOT_QUERY. getForgeContentBySlug({“locale”:”en-us”,”slug”:”the-story-of-spottswood-poles”,”type”:”story”}) .parts.7″:{“caption”:”The Poles on a brilliant 1911 New York Lincoln Giants. Photo from Negro League Baseball Museum”,”contextualCaption”:null,”contextualAspectRatio”:null,”credit”:null,”format”:”jpg”,”templateUrl”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb -images/image/private/{formatInstructions}/mlb/e4enhu10sixknblml7wf”,”type”:”photo”,”__typename”:”PhotoPart”},”$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({“locale”:”en- us”,”slug”:”the-story-of-spottswood-poles”,”type”:”story”}).parts.8″:{“content”:”Also Not only did Pole have an advantage against black pitchers, but in limited at-bats, he did the same against white pitchers in Major League Baseball. He reportedly faced major league players 41 times in his career and had 25 hits. That’s a ridiculous 0.610 average. In the fall of 1913, in a series against MLB teams, the 5-foot-9 lead hitter had three straight hits against Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland-Alexanders and a three-hitter against George Chalmers. Five hits in a row in the game. nn”He ignited big league pitching,” Kendrick said. “These are the games on record; he’s played on major league All-Star teams full of talent. Spot doesn’t discriminate who he lights up – he lights everyone up.”n n But what most people emphasize when they talk about Poles is his speed. nn “Anytime you compare Cool Papa Bell’s speed, we know you’re fast,” Kendrick said. “Some think he might even be faster.”nnBell, as many baseball fans may know, has long been considered the fastest player in Negro League history — perhaps anywhere to step into any ballpark Fastest player. There are stories of him being hit by his own line at second base or faster than the speed of light. Of course, Bell — now a Hall of Famer — started his career 12 seasons later than Pole, in the prime of his Negro National League career. His numbers are more accurately recorded, and his stories are more likely to be reported. nnHowever, there are some anecdotes in support of the Pole’s legendary speed. Journalists who covered his career abroad and in the United States dubbed him “Black Ty Cobb.” The Poles once ran 100 meters in less than 10 seconds. Negro League All-Star pitcher Sam Streeter, who watched Bell play the Pole and thought the Pole was faster, said of his time against the 36-year-old Spot:nn “He hit the ball right back to me right off the bat,” Streeter said. “It’s straight, like a straight ball. I turn and throw the ball first, and he crosses the ball before it gets there.”nnAccording to Seamheads, the Pole’s similarity score in the majors can be compared to elite Speedsters make comparisons like Lou Brock and Ichiro Suzuki. “:”the-story-of-spottswood-poles”,”type”:”story”}).parts.9.data”:{“html”:”

“Spot is an amazing story, ’” Bob Kendrick, curator of the Negro League Baseball Museum, told me on a recent phone call. “We needed to bring him to life for people who undoubtedly never heard the name. ” People have probably never heard of the name Spottswood Poles (which is a great name in itself. name) in part because of when and where he played: Poles began his career in 1909 and ended in 1923. Most of his playing time took place in 1920 when the more organized Negro National League was formed Before – back when stats and achievements weren’t more organized, and there weren’t any living players talking about him.