On the blog today, we give former Negro leagues legend John Beckwith a card in my long-running 1972 sub-set, my way of celebrating what was the 25th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's MLB debut in 1947:
The
slugging infielder was one of the most powerful players to ever play in
the Negro Leagues, swinging his 38-ounce bat and consistently batting
over .300, including his 1925 season where he batted .404.
Babe
Ruth once quipped, " Not only can Beckwith hit harder than any Negro
ballplayer, but any man in the world," as evidenced by blasts such as
his 460-foot bomb at Griffith Stadium, which would have actually
traveled further had it not been for the 40-foot sign that stopped it.
Beckwith
ranks among career leaders in Negro League history in batting average,
home runs, runs batted in and slugging percentage, hitting .349 with 76
homers, 461 RBIs and a very nice .583 slugging percentage between 1920
and 1935.
For some more info on the all-time great, check out his Wiki-page here:
