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September 21, 2017

“Fleet”: The Story of the First African American Catcher

Moses “Fleet” Walker was born on October 7, 1857 in Mount Pleasant, Ohio. His parents were Reverend Moses W. Walker, M.D. and Caroline Maria Simpson. Moses was the fifth oldest out of seven children. His family nicknamed him “Fleet” growing up in order to distinguish him from his father.1 Walker and the rest of his family were not considered an ordinary African American family. Due to his father being both a reverend and a physician, the Walkers were considered “free and educated blacks, with upper middle class economic advantages.”2 This would become one of the key reasons why Fleet never really witnessed racism in his childhood years.

The segregation of blacks from whites was the law in the former Confederate States. However, Walker grew up in Ohio, where segregation was practiced more informally. African American people were not allowed certain jobs and were not allowed to live in certain areas. However, Moses did not witness much of this growing up, because of his fathers’ status in society.3

Since Fleets’ father was a physician, he did not have to work growing up. This allowed him time to focus on school and on playing baseball in his free time. Fleet was a natural athlete and very intelligent. In school, he was expected to keep up his good grades and attend every day. He was introduced to baseball when he moved to Steubenville by a group of veterans from the Civil War period, who had actually helped Abner Doubleday in forming the game of baseball.4

Portrait photo of Moses Walker in his baseball uniform | Courtesy of mlb.com

When Fleet was ten years old, the National Association of Base Ball Players was created to form the very first baseball league. On December 11, 1867, 237 delegates met in Philadelphia to propose rules, salaries, and other considerations for their league.5 One of the major issues they had to deal with was whether they would allow multiple races into the league. Since this league was created in the North, they believed that the color line was necessary in order to have Southern States willing to join in on the league as well. Therefore, in the first set of rules for the league, their ruling read:

It is not presumed by your committee that any club who has applied are composed of persons of color or any portion of them and the recommendations of your committee in your report are based upon this view and they unanimously report against the admission of any club which may be composed of one of none colored person.6

Four years after this committee was created it was replaced by the National Association of Professional Baseball Players. They took out this rule and simply stated that it was a “gentlemen’s agreement” that blacks were not allowed in the league. As a child, Fleet was unaware that African Americans were not allowed in the League, as this became his childhood dream to turn baseball into a career.7

Growing up, Fleet played in integrated baseball teams, and he played the usual pick-up games in the neighborhood with his friends. When Fleet turned twenty in 1878, he and his family moved to Oberlin, Ohio due to a job promotion his father received. Here Moses started college at Oberlin College.8 When he started, there was no collegiate sports at Oberlin. However, in Fleet’s third year at Oberlin, it became the very first school to form a collegiate baseball program. Fleet’s first season was a success, and he earned recognition as “one of the best all-around college athletes in the land.”9 After his first season, Fleet left Oberlin to go to the University of Michigan to pursue a law degree and continue his baseball career there as a catcher. At Michigan, he and his brother both played for the team, but Fleet did exceptionally well. Fleet went on to play two years at the University of Michigan. He never ended up graduating because, at age twenty-five, Fleet was offered a professional baseball contract to play for the Toledo Baseball Club.10 At this time, in 1884, the league consisted of eight clubs in the Northwestern League. He accepted the contract and was the second player drafted into the league. Fleet made his major-league debut on May 5, 1884, and did outstanding in his first season. He led the team to win the very first league championship. With the creation of the league, they started to play teams from other parts of the country, and came up with what is now known as the World Series. Fleet and the rest of the Toledo Baseball Club were supposed to play the Chicago White Stockings for the championship. However, the manager of the White Stockings Adrian Anson refused to play if Fleet walked onto the field. This was the very first time Walker experienced racism in the Major Leagues.

Team photo of the 1882 University of Michigan Baseball team that Walker played on | Courtesy of Bleacher Report | Walker is located on the left-hand side of the photo under the man in a hat

Fleet was a catcher, and because he was African American, he was not allowed to catch with a glove, face mask, or chest protector. Reports said that Fleet’s hands were always blistered and bloody after games.11 This was one of many obstacles Fleet faced due to his race. Throughout his baseball career, Fleet was the target of fan abuse and from opposing players. Fans would throw food and other items, spit, and say harsh things to him while he would play. He also received threats from certain baseball clubs saying that if Fleet stepped foot in the stadium with a uniform on, men would be there ready to mob him. Due to the constant injuries from playing with no gear, Fleet never ended up playing in these cities.12

Although Fleet led the leagues, after having so many injuries, the Toledo Baseball Club released Walker in 1885. He then moved on to play for a minor league team in Cleveland. This team soon became banned because they broke the “blue law” of playing games on Sundays. Walker then moved to play in Waterbury, Connecticut in the Eastern Leagues. After playing one season, he moved again due to teammates not being cooperative with Fleet because of his race, to a team in Newark, New Jersey.13 On this team, he was signed with another African American player named George Stoney. After playing a season of sixty-nine games together, many fans and workers of the league started to make claims that blacks should be allowed to play everywhere. “They make the teams stronger and they bring in more business.”14 This was not the thinking of everyone, however, as the racism against Fleet continued. In a game against Chicago, the opposing players all walked off the field, leaving the game when they saw Fleet and Stoney warming up to play. Also, some of Fleet’s white teammates refused to take team photos if Fleet and Stoney were going to be in them. All the white pitchers on this team never listened to Fleet when he called pitches and threw whatever they wanted just to make Fleet look bad. This became a bit overwhelming, and many coaches in the league began to push to ban African Americans; and in 1885, they were all moved to an international league club in Syracuse. Fleet became the last known African American to play for the league in Syracuse. Blacks were no longer allowed in Major league clubs and had to be recruited into a minor-league team. Fleet was allowed to play for a minor-league club in Oconto, Wisconsin until his retirement in 1891.

Mural painted of Moses Walker in Saint Clairsville, Ohio | Courtesy of The Blade, a news website out of Ohio | Artists: Douglas Kampfer and Natalie Lanese | Completed October 2, 2015

Once retired, Fleet decided to buy a house in Syracuse to try and find work. Although he was very well educated, well known, and the son of a physician, the only work he could find was as a railroad worker. This really wasn’t how Fleet envisioned living out his life after baseball, but it was the only choice he had. In Syracuse, Fleet still experienced racism, both at work and around his neighborhood. On April 9, 1891, Fleet was having a drink after work in his neighborhood, when a white man approached him asking what he was doing in such a nice neighborhood and why he wasn’t out working somewhere. When Fleet ignored the man, he threw a rock at him and lunged at Fleet in attempt to assault him. In self-defense Fleet stabbed the man, killing him. Two months later all charges were dropped against Fleet, and he then moved back to Steubenville, Ohio.15 He then spent the remainder of his life managing an opera house with his brother before passing away on May 11, 1924 at the age of sixty-six.16

Fleet lived out the rest of his life with his family and away from a baseball field. Although Fleet is the very first African American baseball player and catcher, he is not really recognized as such because he played when the leagues were first forming in a time now called the “dead period.” This is the reason why Jackie Robinson is said to be the first African American in what is now called “modern baseball.” However, Fleet has been recognized in the Hall of Fame for his efforts in starting the league for players today. Moses “Fleet” Walker is very strong to have played as long as he did despite the racism he experienced throughout his career. He paved the way for players like Jackie Robinson and all that came after him to play in Major League Baseball.

  1. David W. Zang, Fleet Walker’s divided heart: The life of Baseball’s First Black Major Leaguer (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998), 169.
  2. Nudie E. Williams, “Footnote to Trivia: Moses Fleetwood Walker and the All-American Dream,” Journal of American Culture vol.11 (1988): 65.
  3. Edward R. Lee, “Moses Fleetwood Walker,” Blackfax vol.9 (1999): 37.
  4. Nudie E. Williams, “Footnote to Trivia: Moses Fleetwood Walker and the All-American Dream,” Journal of American Culture vol.11 (1988): 66.
  5. Nudie E. Williams, “Footnote to Trivia: Moses Fleetwood Walker and the All-American Dream,” Journal of American Culture vol.11 (1988): 65-72.
  6. Nudie E. Williams, “Footnote to Trivia: Moses Fleetwood Walker and the All-American Dream,” Journal of American Culture (2001): 65-72.
  7. Nudie E. Williams, “Footnote to Trivia: Moses Fleetwood Walker and the All-American Dream,” Journal of American Culture vol.11 (1988): 66.
  8. David W. Zang, Fleet Walker’s divided heart: The life of Baseball’s First Black Major Leaguer (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998), 169.
  9. Nudie E. Williams, “Footnote to Trivia: Moses Fleetwood Walker and the All-American Dream,” Journal of American Culture vol.11 (1988): 67.
  10. Edward R. Lee, “Moses Fleetwood Walker,” Blackfax vol.9 (1999): 37.
  11. Nudie E. Williams, “Footnote to Trivia: Moses Fleetwood Walker and the All-American Dream,” Journal of American Culture vol.11 (1988): 67.
  12. Nudie E. Williams, “Footnote to Trivia: Moses Fleetwood Walker and the All-American Dream,” Journal of American Culture vol.11 (1988): 67.
  13. David W. Zang, Fleet Walker’s divided heart: The life of Baseball’s First Black Major Leaguer (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998), 169.
  14. Nudie E. Williams, “Footnote to Trivia: Moses Fleetwood Walker and the All-American Dream,” Journal of American Culture vol.11 (1988): 68.
  15. Edward R. Lee, “Moses Fleetwood Walker,” Blackfax vol.9 (1999): 37.
  16. David W. Zang, Fleet Walker’s divided heart: The life of Baseball’s First Black Major Leaguer (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998), 169.

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Recent Comments

107 comments

  • Eugenio Gonzalez

    Before reading the article, I had never heard about Moses ”Fleet” Walker. The article’s compelling narrative maintains the reader’s attention with the pathway of Moses ”Fleet” Walker. It is disappointing that ”Fleet” had to play as a catcher without a glove or mask. I did not know that ”Fleet” was the first African American to play professional baseball; it is unfortunate that ”Fleet” does not get recognition or credit for his accomplishments.

  • Katarina Sanchez

    As a baseball fan, I found this article extremely entertaining! I felt like the intro of the article captured how most children growing up during that period probably didn’t understand the reasoning behind segregation, thus showing how innocent a child can be. Despite segregation and hate from others, Fleet continued his dedication to his dream of being a professional baseball player. It is sad to know that his work isn’t recognized more by the baseball community but it is relieving to know he is in the hall of fame. Thank you for educating others by sharing his story, and showing the history of the struggles of being a minority.

  • Griffin Palmer

    The article does a good job of telling Fleet’s childhood and how it would bring about many opportunities for him that most black people wouldn’t be given. One of these opportunities would be to play professional baseball due to his recognition from playing college which was already something most black people didn’t have the opportunity to have. Fleet would become a significant figure in allowing other races to play in not only baseball but sports as a whole.

  • Iris Reyna

    The article was written very well and the author hooked you in with a strong intro. I was intrigued by this article because it’s inspiring to see that even though he was faced with racism he didn’t stop following his dream. My entire family and I are baseball fans and we always thought that Jackie Robinson was the first African American baseball player. Now we know that wasn’t so true. He fought for what he wanted even when the obstacles of racism were in his way he deserves to be remembered—good job on the article.

  • Isabel Soto

    This article is such a great article and very inspiring story. this story gives fleet an opportunity to be in the spotlight for his incredible talent. I just can’t imagine how he felt being treated totally differently from all the other baseball players because of his skin color. I think it was really cruel that they didn’t let him wear any protective gear. You did such a great job with how you structured the article it turned out very eye-catching to read.

  • Maria Luevano

    This was such an interesting article! Like most, I was unaware of Walker’s significance in baseball and thought Robinson was the first African American player. The article structure was great and really understood the timeline of his career/life. I am surprised he went so long without any encounters with racism but happy to hear a different beginning to a young African American story.

  • Sierra Christa

    I loved this article! Thank you for giving a light and a voice to someone who many people, including myself, did not know about. It makes me extremely sad to learn he was not even granted basic protective gear while playing, that was cruel. However, I loved seeing him not give up on his dreams. Despite all the ups and downs in his career, he never gave up baseball even if that meant going to a new team or even league, he followed his passion.

  • Gabriella Galdeano

    This article was very well written, and time flew as I read it. I am not very knowledgeable about baseball, and previously I thought that Jackie Robinson was the first African American baseball player. I am glad that I now know that he was the first for the Major Leagues and Fleet Walker was the first African American baseball player as the Major Leagues were being formed. Fleet Walker deserves more recognition for being so inspiring. He demonstrated that people should always continue to do what they love despite being oppressed.

  • Rosalyn Ledesma

    I feel kind of cheated because as I was reading your article, I thought Fleet’s story would have a happy ending, where he rose to fame and was loved despite all the racism during this period. However, I don’t feel too bad because Fleet indeed prove how dedicated and hardworking he was towards being in the baseball legaue. Most people forget about their childhood dreams and never pursue them, but Fleet never forgot nor did he back down when everyone else threw obstacles in his way, or food at him. And that’s what makes his story so inspiring and admirable, and rightfully deservant of the spotlight. Truly a wonderful article!

  • Ian Poll

    Fleet has been through a lot, from targeted fan abuse to threats and injures from not having protective equipment. It seems that he was simply born at the wrong time, he had an excellent sense of dedication and determination, but other people didn’t support his role in baseball and in his other matters. It’s great that he has been recognized in the Hall of Fame for what he did in baseball, but it is unfortunate that he lived in a period that baseball has forgotten.

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