Wareham Community Comes Together to Honor Joe Campinha
Sunday evening on Spillane Field, the Wareham Gatemen recognized the first Cape Verdean professional baseball catcher, Joe Campinha, for being one of the pioneers who helped break the color barrier in baseball s minor leagues. Yes, he was a very important part of that struggle, said Campinha s daughter, Dr. Josepha Campinha-Bacote, President and Founder of Transcultural C.A.R.E. Associates. Insightfully, Campinha-Bacote talked about the inequities of American society, back then and continuing to today. The struggles are similar, she said.
When asked to describe her dad, she said, He never missed one day of work. He pushed us all hard and insisted, say if I got an A on my report card, he d say, Next time make that A an A+.
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.
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.