Luke Easter--1954
Finally able to break through his
personal racial barrier at age 33,
Luke Easter enjoyed six seasons in
the big leagues. A legendary slugger
in the Negro Leagues, Easter would
dog injuries during his twilight years
to hit between 27 and 31 homers in
three successive seasons (1950-52),
while driving in between 97 and 107
runs.
Easter's titanic blasts were
legendary, be it in the Negro
Leagues, minor leagues or the big
leagues. As a rookie, his 477-foot
blast over the auxiliary scoreboard
was one of the longest in Cleveland
Memorial Stadium history, matched
only by Mickey Mantle.
One has to wonder how many home
runs Easter would have hit in the big
leagues had race not played a role in
defining rosters during the 1940s.
Have a Happy (Luke) Easter
everyone.
(4/12/09)
personal racial barrier at age 33,
Luke Easter enjoyed six seasons in
the big leagues. A legendary slugger
in the Negro Leagues, Easter would
dog injuries during his twilight years
to hit between 27 and 31 homers in
three successive seasons (1950-52),
while driving in between 97 and 107
runs.
Easter's titanic blasts were
legendary, be it in the Negro
Leagues, minor leagues or the big
leagues. As a rookie, his 477-foot
blast over the auxiliary scoreboard
was one of the longest in Cleveland
Memorial Stadium history, matched
only by Mickey Mantle.
One has to wonder how many home
runs Easter would have hit in the big
leagues had race not played a role in
defining rosters during the 1940s.
Have a Happy (Luke) Easter
everyone.
(4/12/09)
