| Pete Hill |
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Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , the 6', 1" , 215 pound Hill was considered the most important member of three of the most talented Negro League teams to ever play. From 1904 through 1907, he was the star Left Fielder for Sol White 's great-hitting Philadelphia Giants. While with the Leland Giants, Rube Foster considered Hill his "field general" and it was his job to be almost a "second manager." Also during this time, like many Negro League stars of the era, Hill spent some time in a few other leagues, mainly the Cuban Winter League . In 1910-11, he led the competitive league in Batting Average (.365). Soon after the great success of the Leland Giants (they went 123-6 against top Midwest competition), Foster decided to form the Chicago American Giants. It basically consisted of Foster's most beloved players from Leland, including Hill, who was made team Captain . In the first year of the Chicago team's existence, Hill came to be known around the league as one of its best hitters. Amazingly, that year he hit in 115 of 116 games; even if split down the center, that would have beaten Joe DiMaggio 's streak of 56 games. Also, by no means was the level of competition low that year. Some great white players that he faced that year included Eddie Plank , Chief Bender , Nap Rucker and Mordecai Brown . Owner of the Homestead Grays and famous black baseball player, manager and executive Cum Posey once called Hill "the most consistent hitter of his time." He also maintained that Hill could "hit both lefthanders and righthanders" equally well." (Hill was left-handed). Besides being a top-class hitter, Hill was known to have great power, although not enough Home Run and RBI numbers were recorded to know precisely just how great. While playing for Foster, the two had a very good friendship and in 1921, Foster asked Hill to become the player/manager of the Detroit Stars. Hill was then 41 years old, but agreed to take on the job. By his third year, Hill was respected by his players and did excellently as a player/manager as well, hitting .388 in 1921 to lead the Stars. Even more incredible, after this time Hill went on to play with three more Negro League clubs and spent a little more time in other leagues as well. After his playing career came to and end (he played his last game with the Milwaukee Bears), Hill attempted to follow in longtime friend Rube Foster's footsteps and take a baseball front office job. His final position in pro baseball was as the business manager of the 1924-25 Baltimore Black Sox. A 1952 Pittsburgh Courier poll named the best players in the Negro leagues, listing Hill as the fourth best outfielder behind Oscar Charleston, Monte Irvin and Cristobal Torriente. Cum Posey 's All-time All-Star team in 1944 included Hill in the outfield. A 1910 Chicago Defender article about Chicago players who would be stars in the majors if only they were white discussed Hill by describing him as one who "can do anything a white player can do. He can hit, run, throw and is what could be termed a wise, heady ball player." He died at age 71 in Buffalo, New York . He was elected to the Baseball Hall Of Fame in 2006 . EXTERNAL LINK |
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