Raleigh "Biz" Mackey | |||
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Catcher | |||
Born: Eagle Pass, Texas |
July 27, 1897|||
Died: September 22, 1965 Los Angeles |
(aged 68)|||
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Negro leagues debut | |||
1918, for the San Antonio Black Aces | |||
Last appearance | |||
1950, for the Newark Eagles | |||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Member of the National | |||
Baseball Hall of Fame | |||
Inducted | 2006 |
James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey (July 27, 1897 – September 22, 1965) was an American catcher and manager in Negro league baseball. He played for the Indianapolis ABC's (1920–22), New York Lincoln Giants (1920), Hilldale Daisies (1923–31), Philadelphia Royal Giants (1925), Philadelphia Stars (1933–35), Washington and Baltimore Elite Giants (1936–39), and Newark Dodgers/Eagles (1935, 1939–41, 1945–47, 1950).
Mackey came to be regarded as black baseball's premier catcher in the late 1920s and early 1930s. His superior defense and outstanding throwing arm were complemented by batting skill which placed him among the Negro leagues' all-time leaders in total bases, RBIs and slugging percentage, while hitting .322 for his career. Mackey was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Mackey was born in Eagle Pass, Texas to a sharecropping family that included two brothers. He began playing baseball with his brothers on the Luling Oilers, a Prairie League team, in 1916 in his hometown of Luling. He joined the professional San Antonio Black Aces two years later. When the team folded in 1920, his contract was sold to the Indianapolis ABC's in time for the Negro National League's first season. After three years under manager C. I. Taylor, in which he hit .315, .317 and .344, he was picked up by Hilldale when the Eastern Colored League was organized in 1923.