A while back I posted the list of former Negro Leaguers who were “drafted” by Major League Teams in the 2008 MLB Negro Leagues Player Draft. According to MLB.com, the draft was “a continuation of baseball’s effort to fix a historical wrong.” Each team selected a surviving former Negro Leagues player to represent all players who were denied the opportunity to play Major League Baseball. Charley Pride and his brother Mack were drafted by the Texas Rangers and the Colorado Rockies, respectively. This list of “drafted” players appears below.
Yesterday, I summarized the baseball career of country singer Charley Pride. But he wasn’t the only athlete in the family. His older brother, Mack Pride, Jr., also was a pitcher in the Negro Leagues. Mack Pride played for the Memphis Red Sox in 1955 and the Kansas City Monarchs in 1956. According to the Negro Leagues Baseball eMuseum, Mack Pride, “has sung in night clubs, at weddings, funerals and on television ministry programs. He coached little league baseball for six years. He has held various occupations for the past 30 years.”
Mack Pride was featured along with other Negro Leaguers in a traveling exhibit titled, “Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience” in 2011.
~ baseballrebecca
Player | Drafted By |
Bob Mitchell | Arizona Diamondbacks |
James “Red” Moore | Atlanta Braves |
Bert Simmons | Baltimore Orioles |
Jim Colzie | Boston Red Sox |
Walter Owens | Chicago Cubs |
Hank Presswood | Chicago White Sox |
Charlie Davis | Cincinnati Reds |
Otha “Li’l Catch” Bailey | Cleveland Indians |
Mack Pride, Jr. | Colorado Rockies |
Cecil Kaiser | Detroit Tigers |
Enrique Maroto | Florida Marlins |
Bill Blair | Houston Astros |
Ulysses Hollimon | Kansas City Royals |
Neale “Bobo” Henderson | Los Angeles Angels |
Andrew Porter | Los Angeles Dodgers |
Joe Scott | Milwaukee Brewers |
Bill “Lefty” Bell | Minnesota Twins |
Robert Scott | New York Mets |
Emilio “Millito” Navarro | New York Yankees |
Irvin Castille | Oakland Athletics |
Mahlon Duckett | Philadelphia Phillies |
James Tillman | Pittsburgh Pirates |
Walter McCoy | San Diego Padres |
Carlos Manuel Santiago | San Francisco Giants |
John “Mule” Miles | Seattle Mariners |
Walter Lee Gibbons | Tampa Bay Rays |
Charley Pride | Texas Rangers |
Harold Gould | Toronto Blue Jays |
Mamie “Peanut” Johnson | Washington Nationals |