Baseball players with Native American heritage.... Let's see some

[tedzan]

As a young kid, I remember 1951 very well. Bobby Thomson's "shot (HR) heard around the world", and Allie Reynolds 2nd No-Hitter that year. Check out this scenario......
Final weekend of the season. Ted Williams is at bat with 2 Outs in the 9th inning. Allie has his 2nd No-Hitter going. Williams pops a flyball behind Homeplate. Yogi Berra
drops it. Reynolds fires the same pitch again. Williams pops it up again behind Yogi, but this time Yogi holds on to it to complete the No-hitter.
After all these years, I can still recall that event which I watched on our tiny 12-inch TV. And, I very well recall Mel Allen referring to Allie as the ..... "Super Chief".

Allie Reynolds was 1/4 part Creek Indian. He started pitching in the Majors for the Cleveland Indians in 1942. The Yankees traded for Reynolds in 1946, after Joe DiMaggio
persuaded the Yankees Front Office to acquire him.
Personally, I think Allie Reynolds should be in the HOF. His numbers and other factors support this. SABR does a great write-up on Allie....check-it-out: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/allie-reynolds/




.




John "Chief" Meyers was Matty's battery mate (1909 - 1915). His grew up in California, his Mom being a Native American of the Mission Indians tribe.
He was one of the better hitters, regarding Catchers, during the Deadball era. His career BA is a respectable .291


.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[rats60]

[Jayhawke]

Being that Reynolds was born in 1919 in Oklahoma, he probably was more than a 1/4 Creek Indian. Being a Native American was looked down upon. I know of many on the Rolls that had more Native American blood than recorded, because some didn’t have birth certificates or didn’t know how much Indian blood they had because of the verification process. There are a lot more reasons.

[Bridwell]

Zack Wheat's mother was Cherokee.

[Bram99]

Though I have no first-hand memory of Allie, I agree with Ted that he was significantly dominant in his time and era, and won enough big games, to be in the Hall.

Here's a picture of a few of his cards.

[CobbSpikedMe]

Originally Posted by Bram99

Though I have no first-hand memory of Allie, I agree with Ted that he was significantly dominant in his time and era, and won enough big games, to be in the Hall.

Here's a picture of a few of his cards.

Just a few, of course.

[bobw]

[rhettyeakley]

A few Zeenut cards of known Native American players...

1913 William Cadreau (played in the Majors as William "Chief" Chouneau)

-played in 1 game for the 1910 White Sox, member of Fond-du-Lac Chippewa Tribe




Luther "Casey" Smith (several cards) he was at Spring Training with the Cubs and was given his nickname "Casey" by Johnny Evers because he hated calling every Native American player "Chief" and they already had a "Lou/Lew" on the team (Lew Ritchie.)

-Never played in the Major Leagues but was banned in 1920 for unsubstantiated rumors of throwing games (along with Tom Seaton)... Smith was born on Round Valley Indian Reservation (near Mendocino, CA) in 1891.




Moses Yellowhorse





Jim Thorpe this guy needs no introduction




McKinley "Mack" Wheat Cherokee, brother of HOFer Zack Wheat

[NiceDocter]

"Indian" Bob Johnson who was 1/4 Cherokee.... appeared in many sets in the 30s and 40s.....

[rhettyeakley]

William Marriott, Cherokee

(these two cards look the same but they have different dates)



George "Chief" Johnson, Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) Nation. Johnson played for various Major League teams from 1913-1915



Roy Johnson Cherokee, older brother of "Indian Bob" Johnson



"Indian Bob" Johnson younger brother of Roy Johnson, lifetime 55.3 WAR w/ lifetime .296 hitter (Really under-rated player in my opinion)

[Butch7999]

Not to divert this thread from its narrower focus, but just had to note the recent passing of First Nations hockey pioneer
Fred Sasakamoose (long listed as "Saskamoose"). Sasakamoose emerged from the physical and psychological torture
of Canadian "residential schools" (q.v.) to become the first Indigenous Canadian to play in the NHL (Chicago, 1953-54).
His entire NHL career consisted of just the 11 (not 8) games he played that one season, but he had a long minor-pro career
and went on to become a huge positive influence in youth sports and in his Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation. Sasakamoose
succumbed last week to Covid-19 at age 86.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7503981/f...-livestreamed/
https://regina.ctvnews.ca/a-first-na...ered-1.5218846

[hammertime]

When I got back into card collecting a Chief Bender T206 was my first purchase. He had a pretty fascinating life, seems ripe for a biopic or 30 for 30 or something.

[Joe_G.]

How about a whole team?

1916 Onondaga Baseball Team

The Onondaga Nation are one of the original five nations of the Iroquois with their traditional homeland in New York, south of Lake Ontario (centered in/around Syracuse).

[molenick]

Two "Chiefs" and a postcard. I need to get a real scanner instead of a copy/fax/scan combo...the cards are nicer than the scans. My options at the moment for graded cards are a "soft" scan or a photo with a reflection of my phone in it.

[irv]

Originally Posted by Butch7999

Not to divert this thread from its narrower focus, but just had to note the recent passing of First Nations hockey pioneer
Fred Sasakamoose (long listed as "Saskamoose"). Sasakamoose emerged from the physical and psychological torture
of Canadian "residential schools" (q.v.) to become the first Indigenous Canadian to play in the NHL (Chicago, 1953-54).
His entire NHL career consisted of just the 11 (not 8) games he played that one season, but he had a long minor-pro career
and went on to become a huge positive influence in youth sports and in his Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation. Sasakamoose
succumbed last week to Covid-19 at age 86.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7503981/f...-livestreamed/
https://regina.ctvnews.ca/a-first-na...ered-1.5218846

I guess like most history stories/books, this has also been disputed. I personally have no opinion one way or another as I had never heard of either gentlemen until the recent passing of Sasakamoose but I thought you might like to read this?
https://sihrhockey.org/__a/public/co...?cid=2&aid=494

[jakebeckleyoldeagleeye]

Gene Locklear. Remember he did those painting that were used in those Ted Williams Cared Company issued.

[Vintagecatcher]

One of my favorites: Chief Meyers Art Photo.

Patrick

[doug.goodman]

As mentioned in Ted's post to start this thread, here are scored scorecards from both Allie Reynolds no-hitters in 1951

[tedzan]

Robert Lee "Indian Bob" Johnson (1941 Play Ball with a Norman Young bio on its back).

.



TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[sb1]

Louis "Chief" Laroy/Leroy

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by Bram99

Though I have no first-hand memory of Allie, I agree with Ted that he was significantly dominant in his time and era, and won enough big games, to be in the Hall.

Here's a picture of a few of his cards.

Hey Tony

An awesome collection of Allie Reynolds cards you have on display in Post #5.

Career-wise, Allie Won 182 games, lost 107. With the Yankees (1947 - 1954), his record is 179 - 67 (when you include Saves) for an exceptional W-L % of .73
Although, Reynolds was Casey Stengel's premier starting Pitcher, Casey would not hesitate to use Allie in relief in a crucial game. Especially, when the Yankees
relief Ace, Joe Page, was no longer on the team. Furthermore, Allie was a pretty good batter.

Allie deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and another factor which I don't understand is why the Yankees never retired his uniform # 22.

Allie Reynolds and Joe Page, perfect together......

. .



Take care Tony,


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[scooter729]

Shown previously but here is my Moses Yellowhorse....

[LincolnVT]

Got this signed in person. Modern. My son has native blood, would be happy to post his card if Leon lets me.

[bigfanNY]

Originally Posted by sb1

Louis "Chief" Laroy/Leroy

Great card Scott..

[RCMcKenzie]

Here's one I snagged about 15 minutes ago. This is the second e103 I have with a Burdick stamp from the Nagy Collection.

Plus, a few more. Also, I think I have a Pepper Martin Delong. I will look this week.

[itjclarke]

Would love a baseball Thorpe eventually, but happy to have this one in the meantime.

[Leon]

E224

[slidekellyslide]

A favorite subject of mine. The Nebraska Indians.

[t206fix]

More Moses Yellowhorse - 24 Zeenut

I recently found out he is a distant relative of mine - An aunt of mine uploaded an interview from her mother, Lucie (Davis) Long, a long time resident of Pawnee, Oklahoma. The interviewee asks Aunt "Ludie" about who used to come visit her when she was little... Low and behold, the magic words... "Tom and Bertie Yellowhorse were related to us. We're related to Tom, not Bertie..." I know, I know, all Indians are cousins/aunts/unlces to each other, so this info definitely has an asterisk next to it, but still...

The picture included is of my great, great grandma Eva Running Scout, my Aunt Ludie and Roan Chief (not related, but married my gggma).

[slidekellyslide]

Very nice Tony! My 3Xgreat grandfather was full blood Cherokee.

Here's a postcard of the Oxford Indians team circa 1910. The owner of this team (James Beltzer, top row first on the left) would purchase the Nebraska Indians team in 1912.

[SAllen2556]

Rudy York. His maternal great-grandmother was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian.
48696527767_989c8452f7_o.jpg

[Bram99]

TedZ,

Thanks for the thread and I agree with your views on the HOF candidacy. I wish you had several votes on the veterans' committee!

Tony

Originally Posted by tedzan

Hey Tony

An awesome collection of Allie Reynolds cards you have on display in Post #5.

Career-wise, Allie Won 182 games, lost 107. With the Yankees (1947 - 1954), his record is 179 - 67 (when you include Saves) for an exceptional W-L % of .73
Although, Reynolds was Casey Stengel's premier starting Pitcher, Casey would not hesitate to use Allie in relief in a crucial game. Especially, when the Yankees
relief Ace, Joe Page, was no longer on the team. Furthermore, Allie was a pretty good batter.

Allie deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and another factor which I don't understand is why the Yankees never retired his uniform # 22.

Allie Reynolds and Joe Page, perfect together......

. .



Take care Tony,


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[tedzan]

Two great athletes on one card....Ted Williams and Jim Thorpe.





TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[Lobo Aullando]

Beat me to it.

Not that I have that card, and it is a pretty cool one.

Originally Posted by tedzan

Two great athletes on one card....Ted Williams and Jim Thorpe.

[h2oya311]

A few Chief Meyers stamps - 1911 Helmar and 1914 Piedmont...would love to add a 1914 Pritchard Stamp to join the fray...hint, hint!:

...

[slidekellyslide]

Some large size cabinet photos of the Nebraska Indians teams.

[Leon]

Well, no doubt one of these has Indian lineage.

[oldjudge]

The greatest athlete ever:

[Jobu]

Thorpe with the Giants. And if I can squeak a little football in, Thorpe, Joe Guyon, and Elmer Busch with the short-lived NFL team the Oorang Indians, and Elmer Busch when he was at Carlisle.

[Butch7999]

Ah, Seminole Village! We were there not quite, uh, sixty years ago (yikes!)... watched a muscular Seminole wrestle an alligator.

A couple of really poor photos of some pretty good photos -- oblique angle to avoid reflections...
these were from the 2008 "Baseball League of Nations" exhibit at the Iroquois Indian Museum in Howe's Cave, New York,
near Cooperstown.
First some Nebraska Indians, for Dan, then Allegany Senecas, then Tonawanda (New York) Senecas...

Oh, and the IIM website maintains a page about that 2008 exhibition -- more photos and a video here:
https://www.iroquoismuseum.org/2008

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

My old friend Chief Hogsett denied his Native ancestry to me once when I was over at his house. To be fair, he was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's at the time, and the subject never came up between us when his mind was clearer.

As could be expected, there are numerous players with at least partial Native background. I've found so many over the years, and their ancestry isn't common knowledge. Unfortunately, the majority weren't specific as to tribe(s), mostly listing "Indian" or some derivation of that terminology.

Here's a more modern player who I just learned today was part Native.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by Butch7999

Ah, Seminole Village! We were there not quite, uh, sixty years ago (yikes!)... watched a muscular Seminole wrestle an alligator.

A couple of really poor photos of some pretty good photos -- oblique angle to avoid reflections...
these were from the 2008 "Baseball League of Nations" exhibit at the Iroquois Indian Museum in Howe's Cave, New York,
near Cooperstown.
First some Nebraska Indians, for Dan, then Allegany Senecas, then Tonawanda (New York) Senecas...

Oh, and the IIM website maintains a page about that 2008 exhibition -- more photos and a video here:
https://www.iroquoismuseum.org/2008

I remember that exhibition. A gal named Stephanie was in contact with me and sent me pics since I could not visit in person.

[Leon]

s74 Meyers miss cut, factory and brand at bottom

[mullings]

I have been working on this project for a few yearsnative6.jpg

native11.jpg

native10.jpg

natives5.jpg

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Does Louis Sockalexis appear on anything even approximating a card?

EDIT: From his playing days.

[mullings]

update on my native american project
balenti.jpg
DSC03514.jpg
jim thorpe.jpg
miss maud.jpg
maud.jpg

[oldjudge]

The greatest of them all

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

The greatest of them all

Very nice Jay.

[egri]

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by tedzan

As a young kid, I remember 1951 very well. Bobby Thomson's "shot (HR) heard around the world", and Allie Reynolds 2nd No-Hitter that year. Check out this scenario......
Final weekend of the season. Ted Williams is at bat with 2 Outs in the 9th inning. Allie has his 2nd No-Hitter going. Williams pops a flyball behind Homeplate. Yogi Berra
drops it. Reynolds fires the same pitch again. Williams pops it up again behind Yogi, but this time Yogi holds on to it to complete the No-hitter.
After all these years, I can still recall that event which I watched on our tiny 12-inch TV. And, I very well recall Mel Allen referring to Allie as the ..... "Super Chief".

Allie Reynolds was 1/4 part Creek Indian. He started pitching in the Majors for the Cleveland Indians in 1942. The Yankees traded for Reynolds in 1946, after Joe DiMaggio
persuaded the Yankees Front Office to acquire him.
Personally, I think Allie Reynolds should be in the HOF. His numbers and other factors support this. SABR does a great write-up on Allie....check-it-out: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/allie-reynolds/




.




John "Chief" Meyers was Matty's battery mate (1909 - 1915). His grew up in California, his Mom being a Native American of the Mission Indians tribe.
He was one of the better hitters, regarding Catchers, during the Deadball era. His career BA is a respectable .291


.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

+1000 on all of that. I have always thought of Allie Reynolds as a truly great pitcher.