Oklahoma baseball and Negro League historian, my introduction

[Horsehide Historian]

Good day, baseball fans!

I recently made the acquaintance of fellow memorabilia collector Michael (ruth-gehrig) who recommended that I join Net54baseball. I have seen this message board several times before, but I never pulled the trigger to join.

So, a little about myself. My name is Jake. I am an Oklahoma Negro League baseball historian and always looking for any items related Oklahoma baseball history. Specifically, I am seeking any items relevant to semiprofessional or professional Negro League teams that played in Oklahoma, particularly the Tulsa T-Town Clowns, Tulsa Black Oilers, or Tulsa Colts. Also, I am interested in any other items from teams around the state, such as the Guthrie Black Spiders, Oklahoma Monarchs, Oklahoma City Black Indians, Clearview Rockets, Boley Wonders, Muskogee Hustlers, Muskogee Black Chiefs, Muskogee Cardinals, and McAlester Go-Devils.

I am serious about the history of baseball and realize that there are still many stories to be told about the sport in my state of Oklahoma. My master's thesis focuses on the existence of Negro League teams in Oklahoma that played outside the famous Negro National and American Leagues. I am currently gathering pieces, such as photos, uniforms, and equipment, so that I can assemble an exhibit next year that tells an all-encompassing story of professional and semiprofessional baseball in Oklahoma over the past century. Baseball in Oklahoma was so much more than professional white teams in the first part of the century; there also existed various incarnations of Negro Leagues and several Native American baseball teams.

I am located in the Tulsa area. Please contact me if you have or know of any photos, uniforms, baseball equipment, programs or scorecards, stadium pieces, or fan memorabilia related to any Oklahoma baseball or Oklahoma Negro League baseball teams.

If you do not wish to part with them, I would love to scan or take pictures of the items that you possess.

Thank you so much in advance.

Jake Cornwell

"Horsehide Historian"

[clydepepper]

A Very Warm Welcome, Jake.

I have always had an interest in Native American Baseball players and teams.

Currently on my 'round-to-it' books to read list are biographies of Charles Bender and Mose Yellowhorse.

[barrysloate]

Nice to be able to get your MA in baseball history. I'm sure it's a labor of love.

[Horsehide Historian]

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys!

Clyde (Raymond), as part of my research this summer, I have done quite a bit of digging on Native Americans in baseball because it will apply to my course that I am taking next semester. Coincidentally, one of my very good friend's great grandfather was the owner of Ben Harjo's Indian All-Stars. I recently went to Pawnee to visit Yellowhorse's grave and found a vertical file on him at the local historical society.

Barry, you are so, so right that it has been a labor of love. Every time I dig through primary sources and start to lose clarity, I find a gem that reinvigorates the process and keeps me going until the next discovery!

Thanks again for the kind words.

[Leon]

Welcome to our forum, Jake. Both my wife and I have lived in Texas all of our lives. We have friends from Oklahoma. There are a ton of knowledgeable baseball folks on the board so hopefully there will be a symbiotic relationship . Happy collecting!!

[mrvster]

[Horsehide Historian]

Leon, though I have never lived in Texas, I have many friends in Lone Star country, too!

I am reading a great book about Texas Negro League baseball right now. It's by author Rob Fink and titled Playing in Shadows. You should check it out. Talk about a symbiotic relationship, Oklahoma and Texas Negro League teams embodied the term; they often played each other throughout their existence.

[Runscott]

It's interesting the areas of the US where they have decided to go by the white man's term. I am kind of surprised that is the case in OK. It certainly is not in the southeast where I got laughed at for being pc and using the term 'native american'.

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[bwbc917]

Welcome aboard Jake. Good luck with your collecting and research.

[smtjoy]

Welcome aboard and good luck with your research, very interesting!

Here is one of my favorite exhibits-

[tulsaboy]

Hi Jake! Welcome. I'm a very infrequent poster, and am nowhere near the expert most of these folks are. But I am a fellow Okie, and a Tulsan to boot. So welcome!

kevin

[Horsehide Historian]

Originally Posted by Runscott

It's interesting the areas of the US where they have decided to go by the white man's term. I am kind of surprised that is the case in OK. It certainly is not in the southeast where I got laughed at for being pc and using the term 'native american'.

For the most part here in Oklahoma, non-Natives like myself generally use the term Native American or American Indian. I use Native American out of respect, especially from an academic perspective, but occasionally interchange American Indian and Indian.

Originally Posted by smtjoy

Welcome aboard and good luck with your research, very interesting!

Here is one of my favorite exhibits-

Great find, Scott MtJoy! I recently found a sandlotter pamphlet from 1931 that lists "Moss" Yellowhorse as a utility player for the Pawnee team. From my understanding, Mose occasionally played first base. What I found interesting is that Yellowhorse continued to play now and again even after the second injury to his arm.

Originally Posted by tulsaboy

Hi Jake! Welcome. I'm a very infrequent poster, and am nowhere near the expert most of these folks are. But I am a fellow Okie, and a Tulsan to boot. So welcome!

kevin

Glad to know you, Kevin! Hope to see you out on the local hunt.

[ethicsprof]

welcome aboard!
great to have a baseball historian and scholar with us.
are you going for the PhD after the MA?

all the best,
barry

[the 'stache]

A very warm welcome to the forum, Jake.

That's quite an interesting thesis you are developing. I think you'll find that Net 54 is a veritable treasure trove of artifacts and knowledge. I know there are several members interested in the history of the Negro Leagues, myself included.

I wish you much success in your continued research.

[Runscott]

HH, it was a university professor who initially informed me that if I used the pc term 'Native American' around Indians they would probably laugh at me.

[Runscott]

I also extend my welcome - we can certainly use more baseball historians. My area is midwest semi-pro baseball (mostly Iowa), with additional emphasis on black teams from kc and chicago.

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[Runscott]

Sorry about the samsung mini keyboard typing errors.

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[mattsey9]

Welcome to the board. I'm currently halfway through a MA in history. My final paper will be on minor league baseball in the South during the Progressive Era.

[Vol]

Originally Posted by mattsey9

Welcome to the board. I'm currently halfway through a MA in history. My final paper will be on minor league baseball in the South during the Progressive Era.

Mike, I would love to read that when you do.

Hello Jake and welcome!

[Horsehide Historian]

Originally Posted by ethicsprof

welcome aboard!
great to have a baseball historian and scholar with us.
are you going for the PhD after the MA?

all the best,
barry

Barry (ethicsprof), thanks for the welcome! Yes, I plan to pursue my PhD afterward. I have an American Studies background, but I am currently pursuing my MA in History with a focus on Public History. After I achieve my degree, I hope to continue into the field of Public History and Historical Preservation. Right now I am looking at various universities that offer such programs. American University in D.C. looks appealing with their film and digital programs, but time will tell if I find another place with similar programs closer to home.

Originally Posted by Runscott

HH, it was a university professor who initially informed me that if I used the pc term 'Native American' around Indians they would probably laugh at me.

Scott, you know, I'm sure it's a personal preference. One of my college mentors is a well-known Native American historian, L.G. Moses. He uses all three regularly.

Originally Posted by the 'stache

A very warm welcome to the forum, Jake.

That's quite an interesting thesis you are developing. I think you'll find that Net 54 is a veritable treasure trove of artifacts and knowledge. I know there are several members interested in the history of the Negro Leagues, myself included.

I wish you much success in your continued research.

Bill (the 'stache), thank you. It looks like Net 54 will be one of my cyber haunts now. I am glad to find a group of people who share the same passion for baseball that occurred during its golden eras. I chose my username because I feel like baseball as a whole drastically changed right around the time when MLB went to cowhide baseballs in the early 1970s.

[Horsehide Historian]

Originally Posted by mattsey9

Welcome to the board. I'm currently halfway through a MA in history. My final paper will be on minor league baseball in the South during the Progressive Era.

I am halfway through mine, too! I'll race you to the finish! Ha!

Your paper sounds quite intriguing. I have been to several old ballparks in the South and often think about the history there. Great of you to document it.

[Exhibitman]

Welcome and please keep us posted on your finds; we love that sort of stuff around here.

[Jobu]

I have two snapshots that I believe are the Tulsa Black Oilers. Curious if anyone can tell me more about them. I found the following:

http://www.cnlbr.org/Portals/0/Stand...1919-1926).pdf

...which says there was a Tulsa team without a listed nickname in 1920 along with the Beaumont Black Oilers, so this photo could be players from both teams or in 1923 the Tulsa team's nickname, the Black Oilers, is included so it could be all players from that team with different uniforms.

Thanks

[tulsaboy]

Wow! What a find. As a Tulsan, I have never heard of the "Black Oilers." Is there any back story on these photos?
Thanks for sharing them!
kevin

[Jobu]

The only thing I was able to find about the team in in the link in my post that mentions local teams. I tried searching the address on the back and that street address shows up in Fort Smith, Arkansas, which isn't too far from Tulsa. Searching for "Professor Edward Jones" only gets me financial advice.

Originally Posted by tulsaboy

Wow! What a find. As a Tulsan, I have never heard of the "Black Oilers." Is there any back story on these photos?
Thanks for sharing them!
kevin

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Originally Posted by Jobu

The only thing I was able to find about the team in in the link in my post that mentions local teams. I tried searching the address on the back and that street address shows up in Fort Smith, Arkansas, which isn't too far from Tulsa. Searching for "Professor Edward Jones" only gets me financial advice.

Very interesting! I live just over the river from Fort Smith and go right through that area often. That makes me want to visit again.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

This is what the property looks like now. It is tucked away near a developed area. It is now a rent house owned by Red Laces Investments. Someone named Edward James Jones purchased it in 1990 and sold it in 2006 to a different LLC than what owns it now.

It appears it was owned by a member of the Watts family in '62 and sold in '90 to Jones. Then Jones sold it in 2006 to an LLC and it was sold again to another person named Watts....daughter?? She sold it to Red Laces.

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[Jobu]

I am glad you found that it was 1990 - I was going to be hunting for a Prof Jones back in the 20s-30s and probably would have spent a lot of time striking out!

[Horsehide Historian]

Hey, guys,

Following up since I last posted on this thread. It has been nearly a decade since I posted this initial request, reaching out to see if anyone had any relevant Oklahoma Negro League items, like the Tulsa Black Oilers or Tulsa T-Town Clowns.

While for most of that duration, there hasn't been much activity or any leads. I have sourced a few items outside of this search along the way, however, I never found many "grail" items, as we all know how rare regional black baseball items can be to find.

I am so thankful that Net54 is still here and has the posts archived. Because of that, fellow collector, Jobu Bry@n went above and beyond the call to try and find me. His due diligence provided me the opportunity to add the above images to the Oklahoma Baseball Archive. He even gave me a heads up for finding another Tulsa treasure. Lightning indeed struck twice! I am appreciative of his dedication for getting the images "back home" where they will be used for telling the tales of those teams and preserving those players stories.

But I AM STILL LOOKING for more items relevant for the project, as they will be used to supplement this whenever it is published. In the meantime, I just wanted to say a thank you to Jobu and for Net54 keeping house all these years.