SMYRNA -- Author Dr. Harriet Kimbro-Hamilton will bring the history of the Negro Baseball League to life during a special talk from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Feb. 27 (Tuesday) in HSC 331 on the Motlow Smyrna campus.
Hamilton, who is the daughter of late Black baseball legend Henry Kimbro, recently penned the book, “Home Plate: Henry Kimbro and Other Negro Leaguers of Nashville, Tennessee.” The former Tennessee State University professor will honor the memories of 18 Black baseball heroes who called Nashville their home. Students and others can learn about Nashville legends such as James "Junior" Gilliam (Baltimore Elite Giants); Henry Kimbro (Nashville/Baltimore Elite Giants); Bruce Franklin "Buddy" Petway (Leland Giants); and Norman "Turkey" Stearnes (Nashville Elite Giants/Detroit Stars).
The event, which is free and open to everyone, is part of Motlow’s “Famous Communicator Speakers Series.” Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, contact Professor Charles Whiting at cwhiting@mscc.edu.
"I released my new book just in time for the 100th anniversary of the Negro Baseball League," said Hamilton, who published a book about her father in 2015. "I wanted the other families of those Negro Leaguers to have their loved ones documented and remembered as my father was in my first book. "'Home Plate' is a book that can be passed down through generations, so their legacies are never forgotten."
Hamilton was thrilled when Major League Baseball announced it was correcting a longtime oversight in the game's history by elevating the Negro Leagues from 1920 through 1948 to major-league status.
According to the History Channel, the league was launched in 1920, with Black baseball enjoying periods of success in the early 1920s and again after the Great Depression. The Nashville White Sox/Nashville Elite Giants, which were members of the Southern Negro League, made history by introducing some of the greatest baseball players of all time. The integration of major league baseball began with Jackie Robinson in 1947. After that, there was a slow but irreversible influx of talent to the majors, with the remaining Negro League teams generally folding by the 1960s.
"When the announcement from Major League Baseball came, I received so many texts and calls," said Harriet. "I felt like a kid at Christmas who was so excited about the present. What a great present to be given to all of the families of those Negro Leaguers."
Also featured in Harriet's book (and re-classified as Major Leaguers) are the late baseball legends Robert "James" Abernathy, Daniel Black, William "Soo" Bridgeforth, Sidney Bunch, Elliot Coleman, Wesley "Doc" Dennis, Edward Lee "Lefty" Derrick, Edward Martin, Clinton "Butch" McCord, Taylor Smith, Thomas "Tom" Wilson, and Jim Zapp.
The book features a foreword by Henry Kimbro's great-granddaughter (Harriet's great-niece) Jada Scott, and a chapter titled "My Adventures with Grandpa" that documents the unforgettable experiences of Harriet's son, Patrick Hamilton. A photo in "Home Plate" shows Harriet's great-niece, Brooklyn Scruggs, visiting the street sign of Junior Gilliam Way in front of the Nashville Sounds Baseball Stadium with her dog Blossom.
The Nashville Sounds donated the book to Metro Nashville Public Schools.
Dr. Harriet Kimbro-Hamilton served as an associate professor for Tennessee State University in Nashville until her retirement in 2020. During her athletic career, she served as head coach in various sports and athletic director of Fisk University. She also has served as a professor for Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The author also chaired the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Committee and served on the ABA-USA Committee that selected the 1984 USA Olympic Gold Medal Women's Basketball Team. In 2016, she received the Robert Peterson Recognition Award for her book, "Daddy's Scrapbook: Henry Kimbro of the Negro Baseball League, A Daughter's Perspective." She also has received awards from the Women's Sports Foundation; the National Association of Girls and Women in Sports (the Dr. Nell C. Jackson Award); Fisk University (Women of Prominence Award); and the Temple University League for Entrepreneurial Women (Hall of Fame inductee). She was inducted into the Fisk University Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
"Home Plate," which retails for $12, is available exclusively at www.Amazon.com. For more information, contact Harriet Kimbro-Hamilton at HenryKimbro14@gmail.com. To learn more about Nashville's important role in Negro League baseball, visit www.Facebook.com/HenryKimbro or www.Twitter.com/KimbroNlb.
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