John Watkins (baseball)

John McCreary "Pop" Watkins
Catcher / Manager
Born: (1857-05-18)May 18, 1857
Plantation near Durham, North Carolina
Died: February 22, 1924(1924-02-22) (aged 66)
Durham, North Carolina
debut
1874, for the Fox Hunters of South Carolina
Last appearance
1907, for the Cuban Giants
Teams

(as manager)

(as college team manager)

  • Hobson College, Irmo, SC (unknown years)
  • Shaw University (unknown years)
  • Manhattan College (1904)

John "Pop" Watkins (born 1859) was a Negro Leagues catcher and manager for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League.

Watkins played most of his career for the Cuban Giants, until he broke his leg playing for the Giants at Oil City, Pennsylvania in May 1907.[6] Since the Cuban Giants broke off into several teams, such as the Cuban X-Giants, the Genuine Cuban Giants, the Original Cuban Giants, and even the Famous Cuban Giants, researchers are still working out which players played for which teams, and how the teams split up.

He continued to manage several teams, some called "Pop Watkins Stars" or "Pop Watkins Giants."[4] Sometime after 1909, he would start the Havana Red Sox, a team which he managed until he died in 1924. During his career, he is said to have helped along the careers of George Dixon, Toussaint Allen, Phil Cockrell, Gifford McDonald,[4] Luke Archer, and Dennis Graham.

As a scout, Watkins is also alleged to have found many white players while scouting for the majors, including John McGraw, Hughie Jennings, John Hummel, Al Schacht, and Jack Dunn.

In the off-season, census records show Watkins may have sold sporting goods. And on his death certificate, it lists Watkins as a "baseball trainer."

References

  1. ↑ "Cuban Giants to Play Here" The Evening World, New York, NY, Thursday Evening, April 10, 1904, Page 10, Column 5
  2. ↑ "Genuine Cuban Stars and vs. Cedars" The Evening World, New York, NY, Thursday Evening, June 7, 1906, Page 10, Column 7
  3. ↑ "Terry McGovern Will Leave for Cuba Tomorrow" Albuquerque Evening Citizen, Albuquerque, NM, Saturday, December 8, 1906, Page 2, Column 2
  4. 1 2 3 "Would Meet All Comers." Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, IN, Saturday, June 5, 1909, Page 7, Column 3
  5. ↑ "Three Ball Stars With Havana Reds" Watertown Daily Times, Watertown, NY, Thursday Afternoon, August 21, 1919, Page A22, Column 6
  6. ↑ "Pop Watkins' 45th Year in Baseball" Watertown Daily Times, Watertown, NY, Wednesday Afternoon, July 30, 1919, Page 8, Column 6

External links

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