ACrank
09-15-2006, 03:18 PM
Negro League star Crosby dies
By Ron Leonardi
ron.leonardi@timesnews.com
Baseball tribute nights are all about reminiscing, and Walter Crosby seemed to be enjoying his share of memories during a June 2005 SeaWolves game honoring him on Negro League Appreciation Night at Jerry Uht Park.
And those memories were plentiful for the Erie resident and former Negro League star catcher with the Cleveland Buckeyes in the 1940s.
Crosby, 255 Short St., died Wednesday at Beverly Healthcare-Western Reserve in Erie. He was 85. Funeral arrangements will be announced by Law Funeral Home, 1861 Buffalo Road.
While watching the SeaWolves that night last year, Crosby recalled his playing days with Negro League greats Satchel Paige, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Josh Gibson and Erie's Sam Jethroe.
The discussion eventually turned to his legacy in a sport he began playing while growing up in Mississippi.
"I would like people to remember me as a pretty good ballplayer," Crosby said. "I could hit, throw fairly well and I hustled. I tried to learn all I could. You liked money, but you played for the love of the game. That's what I did. If you don't love the game, you aren't going to be any good."
Erie School Board member Gary Horton, 54, a Negro League historian, was a longtime friend of Crosby. Horton grew up in the same West 11th Street neighborhood where Crosby lived and described the former Negro League star as "one of Erie's quiet, unsung heroes."
"Erie had some better-known Negro League players like Sam Jethroe, Willie Grace and Lovell Harden, who got all the attention, but Walter was as good as any of them," Horton said.
Crosby began playing semi-pro baseball at age 16 and enjoyed most of his success as a member of the Cleveland Buckeyes, one of the Negro League's powerhouse teams of the '40s.
Crosby also played with the Erie Pontiacs, a predominantly black baseball team that played in the Glenwood and Lake Shore leagues in the '40s and '50s. Crosby, Jethroe and Erie resident Willie Grace, another former Negro League star, played together with the Pontiacs in the early '50s.
Erie resident Fred Rush Jr., 62, has fond memories of Crosby and those teams. His father, Fred Rush Sr., played first base with the Pontiacs in that era when the team played most of its games at Bayview and Glenwood fields and large crowds were the norm.
"We're losing a lot of American history, not just black history, when guys like Walter Crosby pass," Rush said.
"These guys are special. They came to Erie and worked hard and gave a lot athletically and civically. All those guys carried themselves with great dignity. There was a camaraderie you don't see much anymore."
Crosby landed a spot on the Buckeyes' roster in the early '40s through the help of Grace, then a star player with the Cleveland team. Grace eventually settled in Erie after his playing days were over. Grace is 88.
Crosby played with the Buckeyes until 1944, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served two years at Fort Benning, Ga. His Army service prevented him from playing on the 1945 Buckeyes team that won the Negro League championship.
"He left baseball in the prime of his career to serve his country," Horton said. "He made Erie his home, raised his family and watched all those other guys get all the attention and I never heard him complain. I've always known him as a gentleman - quiet and unassuming. He was as good as they come and he was a guy who gave his all. He was a good man, and sometimes that's all you can say about someone."
After his discharge from the Army, Crosby settled in Erie and lived here for more than 60 years. He worked for National Forge Co. for many years, retiring about 20 years ago.
Arthritis in both knees and one hip had made walking difficult for Crosby in recent years, but it didn't stop him from taking an occasional stroll or attending a couple SeaWolves games every year.
"You think back to what you did, and it makes you feel good," Crosby said last year. "You think back to the good old days. Those were the days, because you could do it."
(to the mods and admins - please forgive me as i dont know this boards policy on posting articles - if this is excessive the following should be a link to the article in question)
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060915/BASEBALL01/609150457
By Ron Leonardi
ron.leonardi@timesnews.com
Baseball tribute nights are all about reminiscing, and Walter Crosby seemed to be enjoying his share of memories during a June 2005 SeaWolves game honoring him on Negro League Appreciation Night at Jerry Uht Park.
And those memories were plentiful for the Erie resident and former Negro League star catcher with the Cleveland Buckeyes in the 1940s.
Crosby, 255 Short St., died Wednesday at Beverly Healthcare-Western Reserve in Erie. He was 85. Funeral arrangements will be announced by Law Funeral Home, 1861 Buffalo Road.
While watching the SeaWolves that night last year, Crosby recalled his playing days with Negro League greats Satchel Paige, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Josh Gibson and Erie's Sam Jethroe.
The discussion eventually turned to his legacy in a sport he began playing while growing up in Mississippi.
"I would like people to remember me as a pretty good ballplayer," Crosby said. "I could hit, throw fairly well and I hustled. I tried to learn all I could. You liked money, but you played for the love of the game. That's what I did. If you don't love the game, you aren't going to be any good."
Erie School Board member Gary Horton, 54, a Negro League historian, was a longtime friend of Crosby. Horton grew up in the same West 11th Street neighborhood where Crosby lived and described the former Negro League star as "one of Erie's quiet, unsung heroes."
"Erie had some better-known Negro League players like Sam Jethroe, Willie Grace and Lovell Harden, who got all the attention, but Walter was as good as any of them," Horton said.
Crosby began playing semi-pro baseball at age 16 and enjoyed most of his success as a member of the Cleveland Buckeyes, one of the Negro League's powerhouse teams of the '40s.
Crosby also played with the Erie Pontiacs, a predominantly black baseball team that played in the Glenwood and Lake Shore leagues in the '40s and '50s. Crosby, Jethroe and Erie resident Willie Grace, another former Negro League star, played together with the Pontiacs in the early '50s.
Erie resident Fred Rush Jr., 62, has fond memories of Crosby and those teams. His father, Fred Rush Sr., played first base with the Pontiacs in that era when the team played most of its games at Bayview and Glenwood fields and large crowds were the norm.
"We're losing a lot of American history, not just black history, when guys like Walter Crosby pass," Rush said.
"These guys are special. They came to Erie and worked hard and gave a lot athletically and civically. All those guys carried themselves with great dignity. There was a camaraderie you don't see much anymore."
Crosby landed a spot on the Buckeyes' roster in the early '40s through the help of Grace, then a star player with the Cleveland team. Grace eventually settled in Erie after his playing days were over. Grace is 88.
Crosby played with the Buckeyes until 1944, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served two years at Fort Benning, Ga. His Army service prevented him from playing on the 1945 Buckeyes team that won the Negro League championship.
"He left baseball in the prime of his career to serve his country," Horton said. "He made Erie his home, raised his family and watched all those other guys get all the attention and I never heard him complain. I've always known him as a gentleman - quiet and unassuming. He was as good as they come and he was a guy who gave his all. He was a good man, and sometimes that's all you can say about someone."
After his discharge from the Army, Crosby settled in Erie and lived here for more than 60 years. He worked for National Forge Co. for many years, retiring about 20 years ago.
Arthritis in both knees and one hip had made walking difficult for Crosby in recent years, but it didn't stop him from taking an occasional stroll or attending a couple SeaWolves games every year.
"You think back to what you did, and it makes you feel good," Crosby said last year. "You think back to the good old days. Those were the days, because you could do it."
(to the mods and admins - please forgive me as i dont know this boards policy on posting articles - if this is excessive the following should be a link to the article in question)
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060915/BASEBALL01/609150457