Chappie Johnson
Encyclopedia
George "Chappie" Johnson (1876 – August 17, 1949) was an African-American baseball
catcher
and field manager in the Negro leagues. He played for many of the best teams around 1900 and 1910 and he crossed racial boundaries as a teacher and coach.
Johnson was born and raised in the village of Bellaire, Ohio
, on the upper Ohio River
. He debuted with the Page Fence Giants
in 1896, last played for a major team in 1919 (the eve of the organized Negro Leagues), and continued as a manager through 1939. He and died at 72 or 73 in Clemson, South Carolina
.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
and field manager in the Negro leagues. He played for many of the best teams around 1900 and 1910 and he crossed racial boundaries as a teacher and coach.
Johnson was born and raised in the village of Bellaire, Ohio
Bellaire, Ohio
Bellaire is a village in Belmont County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,278 at the 2010 census. The village is located along the Ohio River...
, on the upper Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. He debuted with the Page Fence Giants
Page Fence Giants
One of the top black baseball teams of the 1890s, the Page Fence Giants were based in Adrian, Michigan and named after the Page Woven Wire Fence Company. The team was sponsored by the company's founder, J. Wallace Page....
in 1896, last played for a major team in 1919 (the eve of the organized Negro Leagues), and continued as a manager through 1939. He and died at 72 or 73 in Clemson, South Carolina
Clemson, South Carolina
Clemson is a college town located in Pickens County in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 11,939 at the 2000 census and center of an urban cluster with a total population of 42,199...
.