Chuck Harmon

Chuck Harmon was one of, if not, the first African American baseball player signed by the then Cincinnati Redlegs. His signing took place seven years after Jackie Robinson inked his contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He played for Cincinnati starting in April 1954, but only stayed for two seasons before moving to another team. A graduate from the University of Toledo, he was a two sport athlete but chose baseball over basketball after leaving the university; there are reports that Harmon tried out for the Boston Celtics team before settling on baseball. Harmon spent time in the Navy for the United States during the Second World War, and soon signed with the St. Louis Browns Negro League Baseball team in 1947; he would be traded back to St. Louis after two seasons, but played for the Cardinals instead. He was traded to Cincinnati in 1952 and made his debut at 30 years old, where he faced the same segregation all African Americans were dealing with at the time.

The racism towards him did not stop Harmon from contributing to his Redlegs team, where he played third base, first base, and outfield for the two seasons. While he only batted .244, his contributions for the team did not only take place on the field. After his almost 300 games in professional baseball, Harmon became a team scout for the Atlanta Braves and the Cleveland Indians, then moved on to take up various roles within the Cincinnati organization. He then went on to work in the Ohio First District Court of Appeals as an assistant. Never leaving the world of baseball, Harmon was often seen at Reds games, in the crowd interacting with fans while he was alive. Harmon passed away on March 19, 2019, and a plaque outside of the Great American Ball Park bears his name.

Fay, John, and Jeff Suess. "Chuck Harmon, the Reds' First African-American Player, Has Died at the Age of 94." Cincinnati.com. March 20, 2019. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/mlb/reds/2019/03/20/chuck-harmon-first-aftican-american-cincinnati-reds-dead-94/3222687002/.

Wcpo. "Chuck Harmon, First African-American Red, Hailed in Death." WCPO. March 20, 2019. https://www.wcpo.com/sports/baseball/reds/chuck-harmon-first-african-american-reds-player-dead-at-94.