A few points of elaboration and some additional information on my explorations of the Army veterans who joined the Negro National League during its first three seasons:
1) I don’t think I properly explained why it seems to me plausible that Heavy Johnson could have played a couple of games with the St. Louis Giants in 1920 and then disappeared, apparently back into the Army, only to emerge again in the spring of 1922. It’s the fact of the Army championships, which gave many soldiers a reason to be in St. Louis temporarily in late June and early July of 1920. Perhaps Johnson couldn’t get himself released from his military obligations (while his teammates Stewart and Moses Herring could), or perhaps he had no interest in a Negro League career at that time, and only played in those two games to pick up some extra cash. As a parallel, we have the case of Branch Russell, who was definitely in St. Louis in 1920, and who would join the Monarchs along with Johnson in 1922. He evidently stayed in the Army rather than pursue an NNL career right away—as did, apparently, Carl Glass. There was also 56-pound-weight tosser Ezekiel Carolina, who, at the same time and place, decided to forego a (very good) shot at going to the Olympics.
2) David Skinner tells me that Dobie Moore was a well-known participant in off-post football and track and field in southern Arizona in 1919. Similarly, Larry Lester reports in his recent book on the 1924 Black World Series that Moore specialized in the 440-yard relay and the long jump, and played wide receiver on the “service football team” (I’m not sure if this means a 25th Infantry team, or something else). In fact, I had initially thought that Dobie Moore might have been on the Southern Department’s 440-yard relay team in the Army championships, but it turned out to be the sprinter Richard Moore, who went to the Olympic trials. I would bet that Richard Moore participated in those off-post track and field competitions back in Arizona, too…
3) I’ve been able to push back the date of the debut of William “Wise” Johnson (a.k.a. “Big C”) with the Dayton Marcos to at least June 13, 1920. On that day Johnson appeared as a substitute in right field against Joe Green’s Chicago Giants.
For easy reference, here are the first five posts in this series:
Where’s Wilber?
From the Wreckers to the St. Louis Giants
Bubbles, Heavy, or the Big C?
The 1920 Army Championships
From the Army to the Negro Leagues
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