The Singing Baseball Team

It's the seventh inning stretch. Everyone is on their feet to sing, "Take Me Out To The Ballgame", but instead the fans are about to be entertained by a gospel quartet and hear a remarkable story of faith and perseverance about a school located 20 miles southeast of Jackson, Mississippi; the Piney Woods Country Life School, which was founded in 1909 by Dr. Laurence C. Jones, to provide academic, spiritual, and practical education to rural black children in Mississippi, and which would eventually include a junior college. Early on, the Cotton Blossom Singers from the school began traveling around the country to raise money. Beginning in the 1930s, the school also sponsored baseball teams, as part of the fund-raising efforts.

The Chicago Defender has reports of Piney Woods' games from as early as 1930. That year, the Piney Woods High School team defeated Tougaloo College, in both ends of a double-header, 17-4 and 4-3, behind the pitching of Payne and Glass. The catcher, Johnny Jordan, was also one of the early stars of the team.

By 1932, 135 hopefuls tried out for the Piney Woods' team. With all of that interest, the school would eventually sponsor three teams: The Giant Collegians, the Brown Cubs, and the Little Brown Cubs.

The next year, one of the highlights was a 13-4 win over the Montgomery Grey Sox, of the Southern Negro Baseball League. Talli was Piney Woods' winning pitcher. That same year, behind Conley and Glass, the Giant Collegians defeated the Jackson Bearcats, another Southern League entry, 10-2.

Even Hall-of-Famer and Mississippi resident, Willie Foster, rounding into shape in the early spring of '33, could not take the measure of the Collegians, dropping a 4-3 decision on the mound for Alcorn, against the Piney Woods' battery of Talli and Jordan, in the "nightcap" of a double-header. Dent was on the mound for the Collegians in the first game that day, which ended in a 5-5 tie. When the school term ended, the team, led by Captain "PeeWee" Frazier, headed to the Midwest to play 20 games in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

One of the stars of the team in 1934 was Howard Easterling, a Mississippi native. Easterling, who also played basketball at Piney Woods, would go on to become a Negro Baseball League All-Star, appearing in the East-West Classic five times during his 14-year professional career and batting .320 in the East-West contests. From 1940-47, interrupted only by military service, he was one of the stars of the famous Homestead Grays, who reigned as champions of black baseball during some of those years.

By the Fall of 1935, the school combined its teams and added some other players to form an all-star team called the St. Louis Blues. The Blues barnstormed through a major portion of the country. Their normal lineup was as follows:

Sherman Davis, 3b
Arthur Smith, 2b
Frank Trimble, ss
William Gray, lf
Sanford Barnes, 1b
Frank McIntosh, rf
Joe Caston, c
Homer Hollaway, cf
"Poison" I. V. Barnes, p

In 1936, the Blues' travels included the State of Washington. Then, in 1937-38, most of the players from the Blues played on a team out of Yakima, Washington, called the Washington Browns, and several of the players eventually settled down in that Central Washington community. The team had ended up in Yakima when a new sponsor, who lived there, was recommended, through a friend, to the team manager, Owen Smaulding, a Negro Leagues' Veteran and Seattle native who was acquainted with the area.

Howard Easterling joined the Browns in '38, and by the end of the '38 season, Willie Foster had taken over the reigns as the manager. After playing in the Washington State semi-pro tournament and contending against the bearded House of David in a series of games in and around Washington, the Browns headed for the Midwest. Their games that fall included a 23-6 win over the 9th Calvary in Junction City, Kansas.

From 1936 through 1938, the Giant Collegians continued successfully, parallel to the St. Louis Blues and Washington Browns. One of their '36 victories was over the Wisconsin Blues; the reigning Wisconsin semi-pro champions. The October 24, 1936, issue of the Chicago Defender published a photograph of the team, listing the following players: Fred Milton, Robert Taylor, Norton Dunkerson, James Thomas, Harris Edwards, Johnny Chambers, Leman Carter, Bernard Dewberry, Ardale Lewis, James Dunkerson, Hillary Hardison, Cornell Carter, Warren Watkins, Johnny Scott, Herman Montgomery, and Ernest Chapman (the photograph is not published here, since it was copied off of microfilm, which does not provide a clear image).

In 1937, Owen Smaulding was still managing the Collegians, who were again using the name, St. Louis Blues. A Defender article on April 10 invited players to try out for the team, offering a $100 scholarship to any college of their choice. Some of the hopefuls were "Cannonball" Simpson, "Rabbit" Henderson, "Ironman" Irving, and "Powerhouse" Pellin.ÁÁDuring some of the years, the Giant Collegians would play spring training games against the Chicago American Giants, for example, splitting four games against them in '36. In 1937, the Giants thumped Piney Woods, 12-2. The Piney Woods' pitcher that day, ÓÓCurtis Hollingsworth, would go on to play in the Negro Baseball Leagues (Birmingham Black Barons, 1946-50).

In 1938, the Giant Collegians barnstormed through the State of Washington. The Goldendale Sentinel, Goldendale, Washington, reported in its August 4 issue, that the Collegians had beaten the local team, 10-0. The lineup for the Collegians:

"Popeye" Saucier, cf
Kenzie Moore, 2b
John "PeeWee" Dunn, 1b
Hayes, rf
Ducky Payne, lf
Carter, ss
Miller, 3b
Tyler, c
McDonald, p

Willie Grant and Curtis Hollingsworth were other pitchers that were on the '38 roster. By 1945, Popeye Saucier, the Collegians' colorful center fielder, had broken into the professional ranks with the New Orleans Black Pelicans.

Hollingsworth was still with the Piney Woods' team when it came back through the State of Washington in 1940. Three other teammates from that squad, Bernell Longest (Chicago American Giants and Chicago Brown Bombers, '42-'47), Bilbo Williams (Chicago Brown Bombers, '42, and Baltimore Elite Giants, '43), and Leonard Johnson (Chicago American Giants, '47-'48), also played in the organized Negro Baseball Leagues. The 1940 trip through the State of Washington included a 9-4 win over the Everett Bluebirds. As reported by the Everett Herald, July 15, 1940, the Collegians' lineup was as follows:

John "PeeWee" Dunn, 1b
Bernell Longest, 2b
"Shotgun" Tyler, 3b
Bilbo Williams, c
Ducky Payne, lf
"Riflearm" Wallace, ss
Clarence Knight, rf
Curtis Hollingsworth, cf
Augustus Fort, p

The Giant Collegians, who were well-known for their excellent, entertaining baseball and their melodious quartets, were also recognizable by their distinctive mode of transportation--a large truck converted into a bus complete with sleeping quarters and kitchen. By becoming self-contained, they had solved the constant problem of segregated accommodations and restaurants. The bus even became the center of attention on one trip, recalls Sanford Barnes, when a group of circus thugs tried to overturn it, having taken offense at the players accompanying the local white team to the circus. To their credit, the local team returned that night and ran the circus out of town.

The glorious history of the Giant Collegians was interrupted by World War II, and not until 1950, did the school begin to reclaim its status as a top-notch baseball team. Leading the Crimson Clover League, in Mississippi, by August 12, 1950, Piney Woods had increased its wins to a total of 19, with Horace McMurtrey pitching a two-hitter in their most recent win. His usual battery mate was Bennie Jones, and one of the hitting stars was Carl Williams. Piney Woods won the league crown that year and then played an all-star team put together from the other league teams; Mendenhall, Sanatorium, Bassfield, Prentiss, Mt. Olive, and Monticello. Piney Woods defeated that all-star team, 11-6, on its home field. Dr. Laurence Jones, President of Piney Woods School, threw out the first pitch for that game.

The next year started with a close game, with Piney Woods prevailing 13-11 over Yazoo City. Bennie Jones and Ivory Bryant both contributed triples in that game. That same year they defeated Monticello, 14-4, before a large crowd at their home field. Marvin Bryant had a double and a triple in that win.

One of the highlights of 1952 was a game against the Jackson Cubs, a team that had played in the organized Negro Southern League the prior year. Piney Woods won their first game against the Cubs that year, behind the pitching of Fred Smith, a 16-year-old right-hander. The two teams met again on June 29. This time, the Cubs came from behind to win, 14-13, behind Cub stars James Williams, Jim Norwood, Cleo Horton, and Roosevelt Cheeks. Undaunted, Piney Woods went on to an undefeated record in the Crimson Clover League for '52.

In my office I have a framed replica of a Giant Collegians' poster, advertising a game to be played August 5, 1938, in Olympia, Washington. Pictured are the team, the bus, and Curtis Hollingsworth and PeeWee Dunn individually. At the bottom, the following is inscribed: "Defeated the House of David; Milwaukee Red Sox; Honolulu; Mexicans; Pittsburgh Crawfords; American Giants; New York Cubans; Madison Blues; Indianapolis A.B.C's; New Orleans Black Pelicans; Monroe Monarchs. Playing United States, Canada and Mexico, Winning Over 100 Games Each Year For Last 5 Years."

Certainly, for a group of young players, they faired extremely well against outstanding opponents. They also gave the fans much more than good baseball. They were entertaining, and their quartets and the story of Piney Woods School lifted the spirits. A poster of one of the teams sponsored by the school advertised them as A Clean (No Smoking), Jolly (No Gambling), Happy (No Drinking), Singing Ball Club (No Swearing). They stood above many as a team and in their conduct; they were the Giant Collegians--the Singing Baseball Team.