Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
For The Birmingham Times
Marilyn Robinson remembers her school days when her dad was more famous to others than to her. But all of her teachers knew the former Negro League baseball player.
âOne day my dad was coming to school,â Robinson said, recalling her father Stanley Jonesâs visit to Bessemerâs Dunbar Elementary School. âHe was coming to see my teacher and she got so excited to be able to see somebody famous.â
Years later, Robinson raised the eyebrow of a professor at Lawson State Community College.
âI said my dad went to Wenonah High School,â she recalled. âHe said, âWho’s your dad?â I told him my dad is Stanley Lee Jones and he played with the Birmingham Black Barons. He was so excited. He remembered my dad. He went and told other professors, ‘Hey, I’ve got Stanley Jones’ daughter in my class. ”
Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
For The Birmingham TimesÂ
 James âJakeâ Sandersâs voice was hoarse but that didnât stop him from expressing his joy that Major League Baseball now views the Negro Leagues as major league.
âThatâs the greatest thing that could have ever happened for the Negro League ballplayer because we have been left out of everything,â said the 86-year-old former outfielder whose Negro League career in the 1950s included stints with the Kansas City Monarchs, Raleigh Tigers, Birmingham Black Barons, New Orleans Bears and Detroit Stars. âThatâs the best thing that could have ever happened.â
Major League Baseball announced in mid-December that it is reclassifying the Negro Leagues as a major league.
FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
The case of Willie Mays’ missing HR: Will he get credit for Negro League blast? [San Francisco Chronicle]
Dec. 21 The magical number 660 overlaps generations of Giants fans.
Everyone knowing at least a little about Giants franchise history knows 660 is Willie Mays’ home run total.
What if the number jumped to 661?
Negro Leagues statistics from 1920 to 1948 soon will be classified among statistics of major-leaguers, and 1948 was Mays’ rookie season with the Birmingham Black Barons.
It had been believed Mays had no home runs that year, at least based on statistical websites. Upon further review, he did hit a homer in 1948, according to newspaper clippings and a record of the Negro American League final stats.
The case of Willie Mays missing HR: Will he get credit for Negro League blast?
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Willie Mays, star outfielder for the San Francisco Giants, arrives on Feb. 4, 1962 at a San Francisco public playground equipped for a workout on his own. Mays, who recently signed a Giants contract for an estimated $90,000 largest in Giants history, said he wanted to limber up some as spring training is just around the corner. (AP Photo/Robert Houston)Robert Houston / Associated Press 1962
The magical number 660 overlaps generations of Giants fans.
Everyone knowing at least a little about Giants franchise history knows 660 is Willie Mays’ home run total.
Former Birmingham Black Barons player grateful MLB recognizing Negro League stats
Negro League players now recognized as major leaguers By Josh Gauntt | December 17, 2020 at 11:25 PM CST - Updated December 18 at 6:42 AM
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - A former Negro League player is calling a recent decision by Major League Baseball an honor. Up until this week, MLB didnât officially consider the Negro League as a major league.
William âBillâ Greason had a pretty mean curve ball and could strike you out in a heartbeat with his fastball.
âIf I got two strikes on you, it was over,â Greason said.
Greason, now 96, reminiscing of the days when he played for the Birmingham Black Barons which is a part of the Negro League. Before that, he was a member of the Montford Point Marines , Americaâs first group of African Americans to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. He ended up on Iwo Jima.