Quote:
Originally Posted by pariah1107
Respect your opinion Jeff, but Claxton's father, William Edward Claxton (1862-1943), was one of the original 50 African American strikebreakers in Roslyn, Washington August 1888. Jimmy played for forty years (1906-46) in semi-professional baseball, segregated and integrated teams up-and-down the west coast. Though of mixed ancestry he was most certainly first-most African American, and opened the doors for others such as his nephew, Jack Tanner, the first African American superior court judge in Washington state history. A teammate of Claxton's on the 1946 Tacoma Casino Giants.
|
I agree with all of this. The issue is that not many other people do, except those who may live in the NW or follow PCL history closely. I do not mean to undermine what Claxton accomplished, I just don't feel what he did really impacted mainstream baseball on a nationwide level, as great as he was.
Best,
Jeff