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Hank Aaron (Eau Claire 1952) was born on February 5, 1934, in Mobile, AL. He played shortstop for the Indianapolis Clowns for about 3 months in 1952.. Please see his bio in "Northern League Players who played in the Majors".
Joe Atkins (Fargo-Moorhead 1950: .236, 5 HR, 19 RBI) was born in 1922 in Pittsburgh. A thirdbaseman/outfielder, he played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1946 and the Cleveland Buckeyes in 1947 (.330, 10 HR which led the league). Joe was a good all-around player who had average speed who was a free swinger with good power. He played in the minor leagues until 1954 when he had an 8 game trial with Ottawa in the PCL. He also played in Latin American Leagues.
Julie Bowers (Eau Claire 1952) was a reserve catcher for the New York Black Yankees from 1947-50. According to the book "I Had a Hammer", he played for the Eau Claire Bears in 1952.
Ollie Brantley (Bismarck 1962: 2.81, 7-2; 1963: 4.03, 7-6; 1964: 1.50, 6-3) was born in 1932 in Lexon, AR. He played for the Memphis Red Sox from 1950-53. For the next 17 years he played with a dozen different teams in a dozen different leagues including the PCL
Ike Brown (Duluth-Supr 1962: .232, 5, 43; 1963: .244, 9, 59) was born on April 13, 1942 in Memphis and died on May 17, 2001. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs in 1960. Please see his bio in "Northern League Players who played in the Majors"
Bill Bruton (Eau Claire 1950: won the league's Rookie of the Year Award with his .288 average, 5 home runs and 58 RBI) was born on December 22, 1925, and died on December 5, 1995. He played for the Philadelphia Stars in 1949. Please see his bio in "Northern League Players who played in the Majors".
Bill "Ready" Cash (Superior 1952) was born on February 21, 1919, in Round Oak, GA. He caught for with the Philadelphia Stars from 1943-50 and the minor leagues from 1950-52. Bill was a rugged receiver with a strong arm and perfect throw to second. In 1943, he hit .321 and then generally in the high .200s. He was named to the All-Star teams in 1948 and 1949 (called a complete game shutout). In 1946, he was scheduled to be a member of Satch Paige's All-Star team that barnstormed against the Bob Feller All-Stars, however, he broke his thumb and could not play. After baseball, Ready became a machinist in Philadelphia at Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing until his retirement.
Joe Caffie (Duluth 1951, 1952) was born on February 14, 1931, and played for the Cleveland Buckeyes in 1950. He hit .203. Please see his bio in "Northern League Players who played in the Majors"
Paul Casanova (Minot 1960) was a member of the Indianapolis Clowns from 1960 to 1962. Please see his bio in "Northern League Players who played in the Majors".
Gene Collins (Superior 1952: .267, 3 HR, 22 RBI; 1953: 2-2) was an outfielder and pitcher who was born on January 7, 1925, in Kansas City, MO. He played with the Kansas City Monarchs for five years (1947-51). As a pitcher the left-hander was strong and had an excellent fastball, a good curve and an outstanding move to first. As an outfielder he was a hustler with good range and an outstanding arm, good speed, but only mediocre at bat. His best year pitching was '48 when he was 9-3 with a 2.23 ERA. He played in the minor leagues from 1951-61 and was used more in the outfield and less as a pitcher the older he got.
Horace Garner (Eau Claire 1951: .359, 15 HR, 90 RBI, 44 sb - led league in hitting) was born in 1925. He played for the
Indianapolis Clowns in 1949 and then entered organized baseball. A free swinger, he played until 1961 with 10 teams in
the South Atlantic League and the Three I league. The outfielder hit over .300 for 8 seasons.
Sam Gee (Sioux Falls 1949:.135, 1 RBI); 1953: .154) was a shortstop/outfielder. He played for the New York Cubans in
1948 and the Detroit Stars in 1955. He played minor league ball from 1947-49 and in 1953. His best year was in 1948 for
Olean in the PONY League where he hit .321.
Sam Hill (Duluth 1957: .312, 2 HR, 62 RBI; 1958: .265, 1 HR, 18 RBI) was an outfielder who was born in 1929. He
played with the Chicago American Giants from 1946-48 and the Memphis Red Sox in 1952 and 1958. He hit .303 with
good power in 1948 to earn a trip to the East-West All-Star game as the right fielder for the West club. A good contact
hitter with average speed, he played minor league ball in 1954, 1957 and 1958 hitting in the mid .260's to mid .270s.
Len Hunt (Aberdeen 1956: .317, 12 HR, 72 RBI; 1957: .255, 0 HR, 2 RBI) was born in 1929 and was a left handed hitting
average-fielding outfielder with a fair arm and was a good bunter. He hit .347 for the Kansas City Monarchs in 1949 and
then only played part of the year with them in 1950 before signing to become a minor league player. In his first 4 years of
organized baseball (1950, 1953-54, 1956) he hit .332, 313, .389/.325 with two teams and .317. His last year was 1957 as
Len never got a chance higher then class A.
John Kennedy (St. Cloud 1953:.262, 3 HR, 42 RBI, 33 SB) was born on November 23, 1934, in Sumter, SC. He played
with Birmingham from 1954-1956. Please see his bio in "Northern League Players who played in the Majors".
Dick Newberry (Duluth 1951: .289, 9, 66; 1952: .307, 2, 58; 1953: .326, 5, 93; 1954: .330, 5, 51) was born in 1926. The
shortstop/secondbaseman played with the Chicago American Giants in 1947 and then with Duluth from 1951-54
demonstrating good speed and power.
Maurice Peatros (Fargo-Moorhead 1950: .316, 1, 52) was born in 1930 and played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1945
and the Homestead Grays in 1947. In the minors, the outfielder/firstbaseman played from 1949-1953 for 5 clubs. He
always hit near or higher then .290. Maurice was a first baseman who failed to show much with the Grays in 1947 and in
1949 began his minor league career. There he displayed only an average amount of power and speed but had a high walk
ratio.
Curtis Pitts (Aberdeen 1951: .235, 1, 9) was a catcher and shortstop. In 1950, he was a regular catcher splitting the the
season between the Cleveland Buckeyes and the Chicago American Giants hitting a composite .175. He returned to the
American Giants for a short time in 1951 before entering organized ball where he only played for one season.
Buddy Reedy (Minot 1962: .274, 0, 21) was born in 1929 and played for the Baltimore Elite Giants as an
infielder/outfielder in 1950 and 1951. He had good speed and some power as he hit .299 in 1950. From 1952-62 he played
with 12 minor league teams hitting over .300 five times. Buddy never played higher then class A.
Ray Robinson (Aberdeen 1955: 3.44, 5-3) played for the Newark Eagles in 1938 and 1941, the Cincinnati Buckeyes in 1942 and the Philadelphia Stars in 1947. He was used mostly against lesser teams when he began his career in 1938. In and out of competitive baseball, he made his home in Richmond, VA. In 1955 and 1956 he finished his career in the minor leagues with 3 teams - none higher then class C.
Franklin Williams (Grand Forks 1956-1958: .304, .296, .340) played for the Mobile Black Bears in 1954, the Memphis Red Sox in 1959 and the Kansas City Monarchs in 1960. He was an infielder and outfielder who played in 2 Negro League All Star Games including the one in 1960..
<This is a partial list>
Sources:
The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James A Riley, pub: Carroll & Graf
The Professional Baseball Player Database - 4.0 by Pat Doyle
The Negro Leagues Book edited by Dick Clark and Larry Lester, pub: SABR
Brian Wood
Jules Tygiel
Maxwell Kates
Topps Company