(Sept. 7, 2017) Efforts to establish a memorial for Negro League baseball standout William Julius “Judy” Johnson were reinvigorated, following a presentation by Worcester County Historical Society President Charles Weaver during a Snow Hill Council work session, last Tuesday.
Plans could be dependent, however, on establishing exactly where Johnson was born. Conflicting reports suggest his birthplace was either Snow Hill or Newark, on Oct. 26, 1899.
Weaver, an avid baseball fan, said the idea to honor Johnson came from a student essay.
“I was inspired by this project from a high school senior at Stephen Decatur,” he said. “I picked it up from there, but I want to make sure that Cole Mumford gets the credit.
“[Johnson] was one of the best athletes to ever come out of Worcester County,” Weaver added. “I know that’s a bold statement.”
Not long after Johnson was born, most likely somewhere in Worcester County, Johnson’s father relocated the family to Wilmington, Delaware. There, the family patriarch operated a gym where the future baseball star started out – as a boxer.
“He was a counterpuncher [and] he could move,” Weaver said. “He was little [and] he was quick, but he didn’t want to play that – he wanted to play baseball.”
As a teenager, while serving as batboy for a baseball team managed by his father, Johnson aspired to move from the dugout to the diamond, Weaver said.
“He became a semi-pro player [in 1918], but [at] first he was rejected because he was small,” he said. “This guy was only 5 feet 6 inches and 120 pounds.”
Johnson, by the early 1920s, grew to 5 feet 10 inches and 145 pounds. He signed with the Hilldale Club of Philadelphia, earning $135 a month with his first professional contract, Weaver said.
It wasn’t long before the clutch-hitting, sure-handed third baseman became a team leader.
“From 1923 to 1929 Johnson led the Hilldales of Philadelphia as captain on the field,” Weaver said.
Beginning in 1923, Johnson’s offensive and defensive contributions helped Hilldale win three consecutive Eastern Colored League pennants.
“From 1923 to 1925 he [batted] .391, .369 and .392,” Weaver said. “That man could hit.”
Johnson helped cement his formidable reputation on the field during the inaugural Negro League World Series in 1924, when he led all hitters with a .364 series average, Weaver said.
“He had 16 hits in that world series … [including] six doubles, a triple and a home run,” Weaver said. “His slugging average was a whopping .614.”
Although Hilldale lost the best-of-nine series against the National League champion Kansas City Monarchs, Johnson’s team rebounded to claim the title in 1925.
Over the next decade, Johnson continued to post stellar stats. In 1929 he batted .416 and was named Negro League Player of the Year and league MVP, Weaver said.
In 1930 Johnson was a player-manager for the Homestead Grays, based near Pittsburgh, where he started rookie Josh Gibson at catcher. Commonly referred to as “the black Babe Ruth,” Gibson clobbered nearly 800 homeruns while compiling a roughly .359 batting average over his 17-year career.
“Josh Gibson … he’s got to be the strongest player ever to put on a glove and pair of spikes,” Weaver said. “He hit a ball approximately over 600 feet.”
In 1932, Johnson became team captain with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, where he played on perhaps the best Negro League team ever, Weaver said.
“They were known like the 1927 Yankees … this team was awesome,” he said. “They had Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Cool Papa Bell and the great Satchel Paige.”
In 1975 Johnson became the sixth Negro League player inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. He also served on a committee that nominated several of his peers, including Paige and Gibson.
During his Hall of Fame appointment, then Commissioner Bowie Kuhn compared Johnson’s prowess at the hot corner to contemporary legend Brooks Robinson.
“Johnson’s Hall of Fame plaque says he is the best third baseman in the Negro League era,” Weaver said. “He would [make] barehanded pickups and turn bunts into double plays.”
Besides his gaudy statistics, Weaver said Johnson deserves recognition for his positive demeanor, for which many baseball fans called him “Mr. Sunshine.”
“Despite discrimination, despite Jim Crow laws, despite being hassled every day because he was a black man, he always had a smile,” Weaver said. “He always thought the sun was shining somewhere when he was on a ball field.”
Unbeknownst to Weaver, Snow Hill Mayor Charlie Dorman said the town first explored a memorial for Johnson in 2013, based on suggestion from resident Ron Brittingham.
At that point, Dorman and Trish Goodsell, assistant town manager, began researching Johnson’s history. It was then that they discovered differing accounts of his birthplace.
“We called the historical society and said we need help, but we haven’t heard from [them],” Dorman said.
Unsure how to proceed, Dorman said town officials began talks with Dr. Clara Small, who retired from Salisbury University in 2013 after nearly four decades as a history professor. Following a community meeting in 2015, the town contracted with Small, who wrote three books about the history of African-Americans on the shore, to write a book that would include a chapter dedicated to Johnson.
“We hired her as a consultant to try to write the black history [of Snow Hill] and this was included,” he said.
Goodsell said Small is still doing research and hopes to have a status update in November.
“We wanted to make this work and asked for everybody’s help, but never got it,” Dorman said. “Now this young man wrote the letter, which is terrific, and we want to help.”
Although the memorial concept has yet to be fleshed out, Weaver, who is a member of the Society for Professional Baseball Research, said he would spearhead fundraising efforts.
“It won’t be a taxpayer problem,” he said. “I’m not looking for money here.”
Dorman said the town would lend its full support to the campaign.
“We started it and dropped the ball, but I’m certainly glad somebody’s picked it up,” he said. “We’ll help you do whatever you’re going to do.”
Plans could be dependent, however, on establishing exactly where Johnson was born. Conflicting reports suggest his birthplace was either Snow Hill or Newark, on Oct. 26, 1899.
Weaver, an avid baseball fan, said the idea to honor Johnson came from a student essay.
“I was inspired by this project from a high school senior at Stephen Decatur,” he said. “I picked it up from there, but I want to make sure that Cole Mumford gets the credit.
“[Johnson] was one of the best athletes to ever come out of Worcester County,” Weaver added. “I know that’s a bold statement.”
Not long after Johnson was born, most likely somewhere in Worcester County, Johnson’s father relocated the family to Wilmington, Delaware. There, the family patriarch operated a gym where the future baseball star started out – as a boxer.
“He was a counterpuncher [and] he could move,” Weaver said. “He was little [and] he was quick, but he didn’t want to play that – he wanted to play baseball.”
As a teenager, while serving as batboy for a baseball team managed by his father, Johnson aspired to move from the dugout to the diamond, Weaver said.
“He became a semi-pro player [in 1918], but [at] first he was rejected because he was small,” he said. “This guy was only 5 feet 6 inches and 120 pounds.”
Johnson, by the early 1920s, grew to 5 feet 10 inches and 145 pounds. He signed with the Hilldale Club of Philadelphia, earning $135 a month with his first professional contract, Weaver said.
It wasn’t long before the clutch-hitting, sure-handed third baseman became a team leader.
“From 1923 to 1929 Johnson led the Hilldales of Philadelphia as captain on the field,” Weaver said.
Beginning in 1923, Johnson’s offensive and defensive contributions helped Hilldale win three consecutive Eastern Colored League pennants.
“From 1923 to 1925 he [batted] .391, .369 and .392,” Weaver said. “That man could hit.”
Johnson helped cement his formidable reputation on the field during the inaugural Negro League World Series in 1924, when he led all hitters with a .364 series average, Weaver said.
“He had 16 hits in that world series … [including] six doubles, a triple and a home run,” Weaver said. “His slugging average was a whopping .614.”
Although Hilldale lost the best-of-nine series against the National League champion Kansas City Monarchs, Johnson’s team rebounded to claim the title in 1925.
Over the next decade, Johnson continued to post stellar stats. In 1929 he batted .416 and was named Negro League Player of the Year and league MVP, Weaver said.
In 1930 Johnson was a player-manager for the Homestead Grays, based near Pittsburgh, where he started rookie Josh Gibson at catcher. Commonly referred to as “the black Babe Ruth,” Gibson clobbered nearly 800 homeruns while compiling a roughly .359 batting average over his 17-year career.
“Josh Gibson … he’s got to be the strongest player ever to put on a glove and pair of spikes,” Weaver said. “He hit a ball approximately over 600 feet.”
In 1932, Johnson became team captain with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, where he played on perhaps the best Negro League team ever, Weaver said.
“They were known like the 1927 Yankees … this team was awesome,” he said. “They had Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Cool Papa Bell and the great Satchel Paige.”
In 1975 Johnson became the sixth Negro League player inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. He also served on a committee that nominated several of his peers, including Paige and Gibson.
During his Hall of Fame appointment, then Commissioner Bowie Kuhn compared Johnson’s prowess at the hot corner to contemporary legend Brooks Robinson.
“Johnson’s Hall of Fame plaque says he is the best third baseman in the Negro League era,” Weaver said. “He would [make] barehanded pickups and turn bunts into double plays.”
Besides his gaudy statistics, Weaver said Johnson deserves recognition for his positive demeanor, for which many baseball fans called him “Mr. Sunshine.”
“Despite discrimination, despite Jim Crow laws, despite being hassled every day because he was a black man, he always had a smile,” Weaver said. “He always thought the sun was shining somewhere when he was on a ball field.”
Unbeknownst to Weaver, Snow Hill Mayor Charlie Dorman said the town first explored a memorial for Johnson in 2013, based on suggestion from resident Ron Brittingham.
At that point, Dorman and Trish Goodsell, assistant town manager, began researching Johnson’s history. It was then that they discovered differing accounts of his birthplace.
“We called the historical society and said we need help, but we haven’t heard from [them],” Dorman said.
Unsure how to proceed, Dorman said town officials began talks with Dr. Clara Small, who retired from Salisbury University in 2013 after nearly four decades as a history professor. Following a community meeting in 2015, the town contracted with Small, who wrote three books about the history of African-Americans on the shore, to write a book that would include a chapter dedicated to Johnson.
“We hired her as a consultant to try to write the black history [of Snow Hill] and this was included,” he said.
Goodsell said Small is still doing research and hopes to have a status update in November.
“We wanted to make this work and asked for everybody’s help, but never got it,” Dorman said. “Now this young man wrote the letter, which is terrific, and we want to help.”
Although the memorial concept has yet to be fleshed out, Weaver, who is a member of the Society for Professional Baseball Research, said he would spearhead fundraising efforts.
“It won’t be a taxpayer problem,” he said. “I’m not looking for money here.”
Dorman said the town would lend its full support to the campaign.
“We started it and dropped the ball, but I’m certainly glad somebody’s picked it up,” he said. “We’ll help you do whatever you’re going to do.”