One of the most renowned players of his time, Charleston is credited with a lifetime .353 career average with a .576 slugging percentage over his long career that spanned 1915 through 1941.
Not only was he one of the top players of his generation regardless of league, he also was one of the top managers.
In 1932 Charleston was player-manager for perhaps the greatest team In Negro League history, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, who had among their players Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Judy Johnson!
In 1976, Cooperstown rightfully elected the all-time great to the Baseball Hall of Fame, capping off the extraordinary career that regrettably didn’t get a chance to show it’s talent on a Major League level, but nevertheless did NOT go unnoticed.
For more on Charleston’s career, and that of all the other greats that played in the Negro Leagues, please do yourself a favor and just Google the league and it’s players for amazing stories, history and events. It’s all easily found and a great foundation to build off of for further reading.
