The name Oscar Charleston is not familiar to many. An absolute star in baseball’s Negro Leagues, Charleston’s best years came before there was much structure in the Negro Leagues. His prodigious power, spectacular defense and winning ways came before the more popular names of Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Buck O’Neill took the field. Oscar played for the likes of the Indianapolis ABC’s, Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords and even though he never played in Major League Baseball, he still drew comparisons to such legends as Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker. So, who was Oscar Charleston? Jeremy Beer recently released an incredible biography on Oscar titled, “Oscar Charleston, The Life and Legend of Baseball’s Greatest Forgotten Hero.” This bio, which won the Seymour Medal, which is awarded by the Society for American Baseball Research – SABR – for the best baseball history or biography published in the preceding year, covers so much of Oscar’s life, from his childhood, through his stints in the military, and of course his career. Jeremy shares much of Oscar’s life on this episode of SFH. We discuss such topics as the early days of the Negro Leagues, who the movers and shakers were in the Negro Leagues, Oscar’s forays to the Cuban League, the Hotel League, and how he fared on the diamond when he did get the chance to face Major League pitching. And, by the way, no matter who Oscar faced, he took them deep. The stories of Oscar’s power are legendary, his ability to track down balls and leap over walls to haul them back in are still celebrated today and the stories of his uncanny ability to come up with clutch hits will make you wonder why such a fabulous ball player is so unknown. After listening to Jeremy on this episode of SFH will certainly help you discover one of the greatest ball players ever and help you to understand why, in 1976, Oscar Charleston was elected into baseball’s Hall of Fame and leave you scratching your head as to why it took so long.
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