Fats Jenkins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clarence "Fats" Jenkins (January 10, 1898 - December 6, 1968) was an African American left fielder in the Negro Leagues from 1920 through 1940. He ended his career around seven years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.
Jenkins was born in New York City. His best year, and one of his most well-documented, came with the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants in 1929; he batted .358 that season.
While solid statistics for Jenkins are hard to come by, a general consensus batting average for his career is thought to be .319 or so. While some put it lower than that, other Negro League historians, such as James Riley, put it higher. Riley claims Jenkins' lifetime batting average was closer to .331. It is interesting to note that while Jenkins' name is most often tied with the New York Black Yankees, in all his years there, no statistics were recorded for him; or at least none still remain today.
In his career, Jenkins made two East-West All-Star Games, led the league in stolen bases with nine for the Brooklyn Eagles, and also managed in the Negro Leagues. Jenkins had also previously played basketball professionally as a member of the New York Renaissance ("Rens"). In 1963, Jenkins was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the Rens, one of the five teams to be inducted as a group. He died at age 70 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
