This is a note I received a couple of months ago from Bill Staples:
Gary,
I came across your entry dated Nov 3, 2006 , “Bubbles, Heavy, or the Big C?”
The 1920 box score between the Peoria Black Devils and St. Louis Giants caught my eye. I have been researching the career of pitcher/outfielder Ajay D. Johnson (b. 1/23/01) who played for the L.A. White Sox semi-pro team in California (April-September) from ‘25-‘28, he also pitched in the California Winter League with the Philadelphia Royal Giants, and with the same team during their famous tour of Asia (China, Japan, Korea & Hawaii) in 1927. Ajay was the #2 pitcher on the Royal Giants in wins, just behind Andy Cooper.
Ajay is a bit of a mystery, in that when he played with and against established Negro League players, he performed well—yet there is no evidence of him playing with a known team in the East. I suspect that he played with some Negro League team between 1920-23 (in 1923 he joined the LAPD, but continued to play semi-pro ball) ... but have not been able to locate any A. Johnson in the Negro Leagues ... until your posting of the Peoria Black Devils.
A few questions for you:
1) Have you seen any Black Devils box scores featuring A. Johnson as pitcher too (in addition to OF)?
2) Do you know if players from the Black Devils joined the Dayton Marcos? I see a few similar names on your page (Britt, Taylor, Johnson).
3) Have you cross referenced William McNeil's book [on the] California Winter League, to identify some of these players you discuss in this article? I see several names from the 1920-25 CWL seasons that suggests these are some of the same people, i.e. George Britton (aka Britt), Robert Scott, rf; John Hill, 2b. Might be worthwhile.Thanks in advance for any information you can share on the A. Johnson with the 1920 Black Devils.
Bill Staples
P.S. Ajay Johnson is the player standing next to Biz Mackey in this photo.
Bill also sent a later message:
A few comments on research conducted since my initial email:
- there is an Ajay Johnson in the WWI registration records. In 1918 this Ajay is in Illinois, not too far from Peoria. This Ajay is also from Texas, but does not list his birthdate, and says his birth year is 1896. Unclear if this is the same person.
- The manager of the 1920 Black Devils is named “Graves.” Might be a coincidence, but in 1917-18 the Defender refers to L.A. White Sox manager Lonnie Goodwin as “Lonnie Graves.” Goodwin worked for the railroad, as many pre-negro league players did, so it is quite possible he was involved in this story too.
If you search for Ajay Johnson in the Defender circa 1943 you will see articles on him when he was promoted to Lt. in the LAPD.
When Bill first wrote, I had only recently become aware of Ajay Johnson, due to his appearance on the passenger list for the SS Los Angeles on July 8, 1927, returning along with the other Philadelphia Royal Giants from their famous Japanese tour. First of all, Johnson is fascinating as another black player who, like Bill Jackman, operated outside the organized Negro Leagues. Secondly, he adds a new twist to some old problems about player identities in 1920. Just possibly, we might finally be able sort out “Wise Johnson” and “A. Johnson” of Peoria, “Johnson” the Dayton right fielder, and “Johnson” the St. Louis Giant in early July. We’ll see. Expect more posts on this in coming days.
In the meantime, if anyone has access to Peoria newspapers in 1919 and 1920, you might check to see what you can find out about the Black Devils.
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