Life as a Black MLB Player in the 1960's South

Ajouté : 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]You broke into the major leagues in 1968 with the Braves as a 19-year-old young man. Paint the picture of what it was like being a young black man in the South in the 60s.

[00:00:10]>> Well, first first I was hoping that I didn't get drafted by the Atlanta Braves and I was going to go to college to play basketball. My dad wanted me to go to University of Santa Clara, which I didn't really want to go to cuz that was another, you know, predominately white school just like the high school I had gone to. And my parents got separated that year. And so the Braves drafted me.

[00:00:30]I prayed the night before that I don't get drafted by the Atlanta Braves cuz I was in Vietnam was hot. Race riots, anti-conformity to about everything in our country. And u I got woke up that morning. Congratulations. You're member of the Atlanta Braves. And I said, "Lord, you didn't hear me." And >> you didn't hear me.

[00:00:51]>> And so and so they flew me and my mom to LA.

[00:00:55]>> I worked out at Dodger Stadium.

[00:00:56]>> Okay. And um I end up signing in in Digger Stadium simply because Hank Aaron promised my mother that that he would take care of me as if I was his son, you know, like uh >> was he there for the workout?

[00:01:09]>> Yeah.

[00:01:10]>> Well, actually the Braves were playing.

[00:01:12]>> Okay. The Dodgers.

[00:01:14]>> And so, you know, they put me on the bus, you know, I had little duff little bag.

[00:01:19]>> I sat next to Hank Aaron and Felipe Lou.

[00:01:21]Wow.

[00:01:22]>> Um um who else on that team? Uh Bobby Uker. um Joe Tory, they had some bad dudes that I had been reading about and here I was sitting on the bus with them as a as a 18 year old then. And then um I signed uh but you know the guys that took care of me were CTO Gaston who when I signed I went to Austin, Texas and my first stop was Little Rock, Arkansas and uh I was going to get off >> and and and CO said where you going? I said get me something to eat. He said no you ate. He said, "You sit down, man.

[00:01:56]You let one of the white dudes get your food for you because, you know, we can get off the bus." And here I was coming from >> Carmichael, California, >> where the only black family to all of a sudden I couldn't go or do what I wanted to do. But my roommate, my first roommate, >> Ralph Alligator Garcy, and he went to uh Gramling. And so he knew what it was about, you know, how to deal in the South.

[00:02:21]>> He helped me um and Cedo helped me. and uh you know Hank helped us all.

[00:02:26]>> Before we get to your your your friendship and brotherhood with Hank Aaron, what was it like? I mean, was it discriminating in restaurants, hotels?

[00:02:35]Did you guys face that where you couldn't stay in hotels with your with your white teammates? Was did you get some of that or No, >> no, I came um you know, Jackie changed a lot of that. Okay.

[00:02:47]>> You know what I mean? And uh when I came to the Dodgers, there were there were times and I had discussions with Jim Gileiam and uh uh um you know, Don Nukem about what Jackie would take and what he wouldn't take. And uh you know uh you know there were times when they were trying to have the Dodgers stay in a separate hotel. Jackie said, "No, we're not going to do it." And and Lee Scott, the traveling secretary, said, "No, man.

[00:03:10]We'll change the team." But a lot of times it takes somebody uh white to change it from one side to the next side. And so, you know, when I got there, I couldn't, you know, they would never room a white and a black player together if there was an odd number of uh of players. The only way you can get a Yeah. I mean, the only way you can get a separate single room is if there was odd number of white and black players.

[00:03:34]And so, uh you know, there were times when they wouldn't rent to us in different places. you know, namely, they wouldn't rent to us in Florida. So, we had to stay uh with a host family. They wouldn't rent to us in, you know, Greenwood, South Carolina, you know, when I was down there playing in ' 68.

[00:03:51]>> And so, uh, you know, we didn't have a TV in our place cuz we stayed behind mama's soul food kitchen.

[00:03:56]>> And and and so >> you ate good though.

[00:03:59]>> Oh, we ate good. And and see, we had cement floor. All the blacks and Latin stayed there together. and one of my teammates, Bob Dier from the South, you know, he's pretty cool dude. And so I go over to his whole family to watch TV.

[00:04:12]>> Okay.

[00:04:13]>> But the only thing is I I you know, they had the sundown law >> and I didn't know nothing about this sundown law. What you talking about? And so so at dark at 9:00, if you was black, you had to be off the off off the street.

[00:04:28]>> And that's a law.

[00:04:29]>> That's a law. And so Gunsmoke would come on and at quarter nine I had to leave. I never saw the end of Gunm Smoke.

[00:04:39]Next day, next day I as DDA what happened.

[00:04:42]>> And and and and the host family would tell me, "Hey, look man, >> take off. Don't you be don't you be running too fast cuz the cops stop you, you know, thinking you stole something >> and you walk briskly but you get off the street." And uh you know and there were times in Streetport, there were times in in in uh you know, Richmond, Virginia when Ralph and I had to stay on on second or third street that you know at the motel where they where the where the numbers men, the pimps, the prostitutes, the you know I mean this is when everybody you know did their business >> and and but it made me grow up a lot. I saw a different side of life. I mean, it was it was a blessing actually that I, you know, I went through that because then when I came back to California, >> then I saw things a little differently and and it was tough to fool me by by the fact that you smiled in my face and and really >> I could feel how you really >> energy energy doesn't lie.

[00:05:45]>> Yeah.

[00:05:46]>> Although there was I mean obviously you said almost segregations within the team where black and white players didn't stay together. What was the chemistry like outside of that? Was it was the chemistry so good or did you have some teammates that still kind of sideyed you?

[00:05:57]>> Yeah, I mean there were some, but you know something, sports is a great >> blender.

[00:06:02]>> Yeah, blender. And you know, there were some dudes that that you know that were from the south big time and hadn't had any interaction with any black players or Latin players and end up being cool as hell.

[00:06:14]>> Interesting. And uh uh you know I I I learned you know during this whole time I went in Marine Reserves at the same time when Marines at 19 years old the same time >> cuz the Braves got tired of me. Uh you know I had to come home to go to American River College after that first year of ball >> ARC.

[00:06:34]>> Yeah. And and I went there because you had to carry 15 units per semester passable or else you were drafted.

[00:06:40]>> Oh. To >> into the war into the war into Vietnam.

[00:06:44]And so I came home and then uh uh you know the Braves told me, "Hey man, you're on a fast track because I came out in June and I led the team in hitting >> and I ain't had no spring training or nothing, but they didn't know that I was working out with the track coach and the baseball, you know, cuz I had to make it, >> right?"

[00:07:02]>> And so I had a choice between joining the National Guard and join the Marines.

[00:07:08]and I refused the National Guard because the National Guards, you know, was getting called out on on riots at that time.

[00:07:14]>> Okay.

[00:07:14]>> And so I said, "No, you know, I'm I'm going to join the Marines." And and which was also a great time in my life cuz it taught me, you know, it taught me, you know, teamwork, you know, I was always hunted and fish with my dad. You know, it taught me weaponry, >> you know, it taught me, you know, a lot of stuff.

[00:07:32]>> So drafted Marines for five straight years. You were away from baseball?

[00:07:37]>> No, I was I was You sign up for six years.

[00:07:40]>> Okay.

[00:07:41]>> And I signed up in the reserves and I went 6 months.

[00:07:44]>> Mhm.

[00:07:45]>> And uh you know, I was dressed blue otter man, which they give dress blues to whoever the baddest dude there was.

[00:07:52]But I told, you know, I just knew it was going to be me. I said, "Man, you just you might as well hand that off."

[00:07:57]>> Yeah. Yeah. And we ain't got to go through all this. You know what I'm saying? It didn't work like that. But that's what I thought in my in my in my mind. And so anyway, you come out 6 months and then I went straight to ball and then you do one weekend a month. You go be a Marine and then you do two weekends every summer.

[00:08:16]>> Okay.

[00:08:16]>> And so you know like I'd go to Quanico, I'd go to >> uh Pendleton and you know your MOS is whatever you're trained to do and I was in advanced motor uh uh uh T you know like I was auto mechanic.

[00:08:32]>> Okay. And uh so but when you change units like say in shreport I was in a MP unit so I had big duty uh that summer in Pendleton and you're you're guarding um Vietnam war criminals before they go to Levvenworth.

[00:08:48]>> Oh wow.

[00:08:49]>> Yeah. And so uh you're not supposed to talk to the prisoners or nothing. So I had night duty. So you're supposed to like shine the light, you know, on the fence and then say halting and shoot them in the butt if they going over the fence. So I said, guy told me, "You ain't got to do that, man. You just go to sleep and then kick the light every once in a while." Well, I kicked the light and it got it was up in the tree for about an hour.

[00:09:18]So the next day next day my punishment was no sleep.

[00:09:22]>> Oh. And so somebody goes, "Private Baker." I looked down.

[00:09:28]It's my homeboy from Riverside.

[00:09:31]I said, "Man, man, what you doing in here?" He goes, "Man, I I refuse to shake a tree." And boom, boom, boom.

[00:09:37]That's what he told me. So the next day, somebody else called me. It was a team.

[00:09:43]It was a It was It was a class clown from Riverside. So I took them shotgun shells out of my I said I ain't shooting nobody you know I act like I had them in my and so um you know that was some you know I was uh pretty to mess it was time for me and for the country um you know this one hate air spirit was strong this was I hang out in winterland and my dad he said I could go any place but he didn't want me going to Berkeley because of >> all the protesting >> yeah all the protests you know Joe Bayz Timothy Larry Angela Davis, uh, Sin Q, all that. But, you know, >> good thing they didn't have that tracking system on my >> You still made it out there, huh?

[00:10:25]>> Made it out there.

[00:10:26]>> He set up shop out there, huh?

[00:10:29]>> It was fun, too.

[00:10:30]>> Yeah.

[00:10:33]Yes, sir.