I’ll be out of the country until the 22nd; in the meantime, here are a few interesting finds from World War I draft registration cards:
Cyclone Joe Williams, listing his employer as James J. Keenan, and his place of employment as Olympic Field:
Edgar Wesley, slugging first baseman for the Detroit Stars. Note that Wesley, three years before the founding of the Negro National League, lists his occupation as “Professional Base Ball Player,” employed in Hot Springs, Arkansas:
Cannonball Dick Redding, signed with his mark:
John Beckwith, at age 17 18 incarcerated in the Illinois State Reformatory. As you may have noticed, the state reformatory’s name is stamped in the space for his place of employment; I shouldn’t have assumed he was incarcerated there, especially since he was actually 18 at the time, which I also somehow messed up. He gives an address that belongs to Dean Beckwith, mentioned below as his nearest relative.
UPDATED 4:45 pm, 5/27/2007
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