Oscar Charleston

Oscar McKinley Charleston (October 14, 1896 - October 5, 1954) was an American center fielder and manager in baseball's Negro Leagues from 1915 to 1945. Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces Year 1896 ( MDCCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the Outfielder in Baseball who plays defense in center field - the baseball fielding position In Baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager (or more formally the field manager) this individual controls matters Part of the History of baseball in the United States series The Negro leagues were American professional Baseball leagues Champions World Series: Boston Red Sox over Philadelphia Phillies (4-1 Awards and honors Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Detroit Tigers over Chicago Cubs (4-3 All-Star Game

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Charleston joined the Army at 15 and served in the Philippines. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP Returning to America, Charleston immediately began his baseball career with the Indianapolis ABC's in 1915. The Indianapolis ABCs were a Negro League baseball team that played both as an independent club and as a charter member of the first Negro National League (NNL He served as a player and/or manager for the ABCs, Chicago American Giants, Lincoln Stars, St. Louis Giants, Harrisburg Giants, Philadelphia Hilldales, Homestead Grays, and Pittsburgh Crawfords. Chicago American Giants were a Chicago based Negro League baseball team formed by player-manager Andrew "Rube" Foster. The St Louis Giants were a Negro League baseball team that competed independently from as early as 1906 to 1919 and joined the Negro National League (NNL for the The Harrisburg Giants were a US professional baseball team in the Negro Leagues. The Homestead Grays were a professional Baseball team that played in the Negro Leagues in the United States. The Pittsburgh Crawfords were a professional Negro League baseball team based in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.

An intense, focused, intelligent man, Charleston was among the most renowned players of his time, a tremendous power and contact hitter and one of the finest defensive center fielders of all time. His career batting average was . Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively 353 and he regularly finished among league leaders in both home runs and stolen bases. In Baseball, a stolen base occurs when a Baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the Pitcher is delivering the ball to Home plate He was also known for his combative nature, getting into many brawls, including at least one memorable fight with an array of Cuban soldiers. The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la

In 1932, Charleston became player-manager of the Pittsburgh Crawfords and presided over perhaps the best Negro League team of all time. The Pittsburgh Crawfords were a professional Negro League baseball team based in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. His roster included Hall of Famers Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, and Judy Johnson. Joshua Gibson ( December 21, 1911 - January 20, 1947) was an American Catcher in Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige ( July 7, 1906 He appeared in the Major League All-Star Game in both 1952 and 1953. William Julius "Judy" Johnson ( October 26 1899 - June 15 1989) was an American Third baseman in Negro league The team went 99-36 and Charleston himself batted . 363.

In addition to his tremendous play in the Negro Leagues, Charleston excelled in exhibition play against all-white major league teams, batting . 318 with 11 home runs in 53 games. Contemporary observers compared his play to that of Tris Speaker and Babe Ruth. Tristram E Speaker ( April 4, 1888 - December 8, 1958) nicknamed “Spoke” (a play on his last name and “Grey Eagle” (for his prematurely George Herman Ruth Jr (February 6 1895 &ndash August 16 1948 also popularly known as " Babe " " The Bambino " and " The Sultan of Baseball historians generally consider him one of the greatest players in history. He died at age 57 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə

Charleston was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds over New York Yankees (4-0 Johnny Bench, MVP In 1999, he ranked Number 67 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, one of five players so honored who played all or most of their careers in pre-1947 black leagues, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Champions Major League Baseball World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves (4-0 Mariano Rivera, MVP In 1998 The Sporting News compiled a list of Baseball's Greatest Players Baseball writer Bill James in his New Historical Baseball Abstract ranked Charleston as the fourth best ball player of all time. George William “Bill” James (born October 5, 1949, in Holton Kansas) is a Baseball writer historian and statistician whose work has been

External links

• baseballhalloffame.org – Hall of Fame biography page