Frank Grant
| Frank Grant | |||
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| Second baseman | |||
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Born: August 1, 1865 Pittsfield, Massachusetts |
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Died: May 27, 1937 (aged 71) New York, New York |
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| Negro Leagues debut | |||
| 1889, for the Cuban Giants | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| 1903, for the Philadelphia Giants | |||
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| Member of the National | |||
 Baseball Hall of Fame
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| Inducted | 2006 | ||
Ulysses Franklin "Frank" Grant (August 1, 1865 – May 27, 1937), nicknamed "The Black Dunlap", was an African-American baseball player in the 19th century. Early in his career, he was a star player in the International League, shortly before Jim Crow restrictions were imposed that banned African-American players from organized baseball.
He became a pioneer in the early Negro leagues, starring for several of the top African-American teams of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is widely considered to have been the greatest African-American player of the 19th century. In 2006, Grant was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He is the earliest Negro league player to have received that honor.
Grant was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He played semipro baseball in Pittsfield and in Plattsburgh, New York.
In 1886, Grant played for an Eastern League team based in Meriden, Connecticut. He signed with the Buffalo team in the International League, one level below the major leagues, later that season. Though most sources describe the official integration of organized baseball for several more decades, Grant was one of five black players who played in baseball's otherwise white minor leagues. When he debuted with the team, a Buffalo newspaper reporter referred to Grant as "a Spaniard". He hit .344 with Buffalo.
In 1887, the 22-year-old paced the IL with 11 home runs and 49 extra-base hits and led Buffalo with 40 stolen bases. In 1887, John Chapman, the Bisons' veteran manager, valued Grant's services at $5,000—quite a compliment when Chicago had recently sold superstar Mike Kelly to Boston for $10,000. During the 1887 season, he hit for the cycle in one game and stole home twice in another. Despite significant racial turmoil that year, Buffalo forced the IL to rescind a proposed color line to keep Grant in town.
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Wikipedia