Sol White

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King Solomon White (June 12, 1868 - August 26, 1955) was an American professional baseball infielder, manager and executive, and one of the pioneers of the Negro Leagues. An active sportswriter for many years, in 1907 he wrote the first definitive history of black baseball.

Born in Bellaire, Ohio, White's playing career lasted from 1887 to 1910, followed by several additional seasons of managing. He played a major role on many of the greatest teams throughout that era, and also in the 1902 formation of the Philadelphia Giants and the later development and operation of various leagues.

The 1907 book Sol White's History of Colored Baseball was the first volume to discuss black baseball. White's History begins with the organization in 1885 of the first professional colored baseball team, discusses the brusque removal of all black players from predominantly white teams during the next four years, and then traces the growing strength of "colored base ball" into the early years of the twentieth century. This short book-within-a-book is history, but it can also be described as an almanac, a scorecard, an archive, a who's who of African-American baseball up to 1907.

White died at age 87 in Central Islip, New York. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

[edit] External links

Sol White is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame

• Baseball Hall of Fame
• [1] Sol White's History of Colored Base Ball with Other Documents on the Early Black Game, 1886-1936, by Sol White. Compiled and with an introduction by Jerry Malloy (reprinted 1995, Univ. of Nebraska Press)