Jimmie Humphries
Elijah James Humphries, known as Jimmie, was a longtime figure in minor league baseball. He played, managed and served as an executive at that level.
He played in 1908, from 1913 to 1916 and in 1918. A second baseman, he rarely hit for high averages, with his best season coming in 1916 when he hit .277 with 136 hits in 136 games for the Western Association's McAlester Miners.[1] Per the records available, he hit .251 with 379 hits in 424 games in his six-year career. He managed the Bonham Boosters in 1911, the Sherman Cubs in 1912 and 1913 and the McAlester Miners from 1915 to 1917, leading the team to a first place finish in 1917.
In 1919, Humphries was hired as the Oklahoma City Indians team secretary and in 1920, he briefly managed the team.[2][[1] He served as the team's business manager in the 1930s and 1940s and in 1948, he became the team's president. In 1951, he bought the franchise and became its owner until the team disbanded in 1958.[2] He moved the team to Corpus Christi, Texas to become the Corpus Christi Giants for 1958 and remained owner.[3][4] He later had a stake in the Texas League's Victoria Giants.[5] All told, he remained with the Oklahoma City franchise for 39 years, one of the longest careers with a single franchise in baseball history.[6]
He is also notable for signing African American pitcher Bill Greason in 1952, thereby breaking the color barrier in Oklahoma City. The signing also made Greason only the second black player to play in the Texas League.