Tag: Stefan Fatsis

  • Was pro baseball’s first African-American player passing for white? Vox 2015-04-11 Jenée Desmond-Harris William Edward White on the 1879 Brown baseball team. White is in the second row, seated and wearing a hat. (Source: Brown University Archives via Slate) A story about professional baseball’s little-known first black player (well, possible first black player) raises as…

  • Baseball’s Secret Pioneer Slate 2014-02-04 Peter Morris, Baseball Historian Haslett, Michigan Stefan Fatsis, Sports Writer William Edward White, the first black player in major-league history, lived his life as a white man. On June 22, 1937, Joe Louis knocked out James Braddock with a right to the jaw to become the world heavyweight champion. At…