View source for Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project

{{Blacklisted-links|1=
*http://nlbgmp.bravesites.com/
*:''Triggered by <code>bravesites\.com\b</code> on the global blacklist''|bot=Cyberbot II|invisible=true}}
'''The Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project''' is an effort started by [[Peoria, Illinois]] [[anesthesiologist]] Jeremy Krock and with support of the [[Society for American Baseball Research]] to put a proper [[headstone]] on the graves of former [[Negro league baseball]] players.
==History of the Project==
Founded in 2004, the Project started when Dr. Krock contacted members of the [[Society for American Baseball Research]] after he discovered there was no [[headstone]] on the grave of [[Jimmie Crutchfield]], a player who grew up in Krock's childhood home of [[Macon County, Missouri|Ardmore, Missouri]].<ref name="espn">[https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=6136800 "Negro Leagues project marks history" ESPN's Outside the Lines" ESPN Network, Last Update on February 20, 2011]</ref>
[[File:Crutchfield.jpg|thumb|Crutchfield's grave, 2017]]
After [[Jimmie Crutchfield|Crutchfield]], the Project went on to place headstones on the graves of notables like [[John Donaldson (pitcher)|John Donaldson]], [[Candy Jim Taylor]],<ref name="lesterlist">{{Cite web |url=http://www.larrylester42.com/assets/Krock-Gravemarker-Project.pdf |title="Negro Leagues Grave Marker Project" Ongoing website updates by Larry Lester, Baseball Historian |access-date=2012-01-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301084134/http://www.larrylester42.com/assets/Krock-Gravemarker-Project.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-01 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Ted Trent|Theodore "High Pockets" Trent]],<ref name="times" /> [[Steel Arm Johnny Taylor]], [[Sam Bankhead]], [[Bobby Robinson (baseball)|Bobby Robinson]], [[Bill Gatewood]],<ref name="times" /> James Edward "Sap" Ivory, Robery "Fuzzy" Garrett, [[Frank Grant (baseball)|Frank Grant]]<ref name="cbsradio">[http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/06/15/negro-league-star-frank-grant-finally-gets-tombstone-in-clifton-nj/ "Negro League Star Frank Grant Finally Gets Tombstone In Clifton, NJ" CBS Radio, WCBS 880 AM, New York, NY Website Posting on June 15, 2011]</ref> and [[Dink Mothell]].<ref name="nbc">[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/43815227 "Negro Leagues' heroes finally get their tombstones" NBC Nightly News, July 19, 2011]{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
Some of the cemeteries where the group has installed stones include [[Burr Oak Cemetery]] in [[Cook County, Illinois]], [[Springdale Cemetery]] in [[Peoria, Illinois]], East Ridgelawn Cemetery in [[Clifton, New Jersey]],<ref name="cbsradio" /> Mt. Zion Cemetery in [[York County, Pennsylvania]],<ref name="stephens">[http://fox43.com/2017/05/30/baseball-historians-pull-back-curtain-on-wizard-of-york/ "Baseball historians pull back curtain on Wizard of York" Fox43 News, York, PA, May 30, 2017 Retrieved June 1, 2017]</ref> and [[Greenwood Cemetery (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)|Greenwood Cemetery]] and [[Allegheny Cemetery]]<ref name="gibson">[http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2011/08/12/awards-to-honor-legacy-of-negro-league-baseball-great/ "Awards To Honor Legacy Of Negro League Baseball Great" KDKA, CBS News, Pittsburgh, PA, August 14, 2011]</ref> which are both in [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]].
While the grave marker project depends mostly on small contributions, the group has also received sizeable donations from people like [[Chicago White Sox]] owner [[Jerry Reinsdorf]],<ref name="espn" /> former player and manager [[Don Zimmer]],<ref name="espn" /> and former 8th [[Commissioner of Baseball]] [[Fay Vincent]]. In fact, [[Fay Vincent|Vincent]] noted he had met [[Jimmie Crutchfield]] and liked him. Vincent has gone on to say the [[Baseball color line]] which led to good black athletes being excluded from [[Major League Baseball]] was ..."one of the great insults to a community."<ref name="espn" />
The project has managed to seed other gravesite work in the community and in the burial industry. For instance, the wife of [[Jimmie Crutchfield]] lay beside him and was also unmarked until the [[Cemetery]] donated a marker for Julia Crutchfield. Olivia Taylor, the wife of [[C.I. Taylor]] is also on the list for a [[headstone]]. Often a [[headstone]], such as the marker for [[Bill Gatewood]]<ref name="times">[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/sports/baseball/01tombstone.html "For Negro League Players, a Measure of Recognition" New York Times, June 30, 2010]</ref> was donated by the [[headstone]] [[engraving|engraver]], which automatically advances the donated money to the next [[Negro league baseball]] player [[headstone]].
Baseball historian Larry Lester works with Dr. Krock and with other researchers of the [[Society for American Baseball Research]], they have compiled a list of about 3,600 players, their birth dates and death dates, where they are buried, and if they have headstones.<ref name="nbc" /> Much of the research comes from the Negro Leagues Research Committee, an arm of the [[Society for American Baseball Research]].<ref name="ghosthunter" />
==List of Players Given Headstones by the Project==
*[[Jimmie Crutchfield]] (2004 - Burr Oak Cemetery)
*[[John Donaldson (pitcher)|John Donaldson]] (2004 - Burr Oak Cemetery)
*[[Candy Jim Taylor]] (2004 - Burr Oak Cemetery)
* Robert Garrett (Umpire) (2005 - Burr Oak Cemetery)
* [[Ted Trent|Theodore "High Pockets" Trent]] (2005 - Burr Oak Cemetery)
*[[Dan Burley|Daniel G. Burley (Sportswriter)]] (2005 - Burr Oak Cemetery)
* [[Guy Ousley|Guy C. Ousley]] (2005 - Burr Oak Cemetery)
* [[Jack Marshall (baseball, born 1908)|William James "Jack" Marshall]] (2005 - Burr Oak Cemetery)
* [[Rosey Davis (baseball)|Roosevelt "Rosie" Davis]] (2005 - Burr Oak Cemetery)
* [[Paul Hardy (baseball)|Paul Hardy]] (2005 - Burr Oak Cemetery)
* Othello Strong (2005 - Burr Oak Cemetery)
* Franklin L. Mann (2008 - Burr Oak Cemetery)
* [[Lester Lockett]] (2008 - Oak Wood Cemetery)
* [[Gabe Patterson|Gable Patterson]] (2009 - Greenwood Cemetery)
* [[Robert Gaston]] (2009 - Greenwood Cemetery)
* [[Sam Bankhead]] (2009 - Greenwood Cemetery)
* [[Bobby Robinson (baseball)|Bobby Robinson]] (2010 - Restvale Cemetery)
* [[Bill Gatewood]] (2010 - Memorial Park Cemetery)<ref name="columbia">[http://www.larrylester42.com/assets/Images/Events/Steve-Walentik-Columbia-Tribune-Gatewood.pdf "A Legacy Written in Stone" The Columbia Daily Tribune, Columbia, MO, Wednesday, June 30, 2010, Page B1]{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* James "Sap" Ivory (2010 - Elmwood Cemetery) <ref name="si">[http://www.larrylester42.com/assets/Images/Events/SI-Sap-Ivory-article.pdf "Late Negro Leaguers' Legacies Finally Set in Stone" Sports Illustrated ".com" Taken From Associated Press Article, Posted July 15, 2010]{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* [[Frank Grant (baseball)|Frank Grant]] (2011 - East Ridgelawn)<ref name="ghosthunter">[https://web.archive.org/web/20140517121838/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1188475/1/index.htm "Baseball's Ghost Hunter" Sports Illustrated, July 25, 2011, Page 64]</ref>
* [[Dink Mothell]] (2011 - Mount Hope Cemetery)
* [[Sol White]] (2012 - Frederick Douglass Memorial Park)<ref name="newsday2018">[https://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/grave-marker-project-1.16927092 "On a mission to give final dignity to Negro Leagues players" Last Update February 24, 2018]</ref>
* [[Walter Ball (baseball)]] (2012 - Lincoln Cemetery)
* [[Bruce Petway]] (2012 - Lincoln Cemetery)
* [[Pete Hill]] (2013 - Holy Sepulchre Cemetery) <ref name="hill">[http://www.hardballtimes.com/speak-their-names/ "Speak Their Names" February 20, 2017. Retrieved Thursday, May 18, 2017]</ref>
* Olivia Taylor (2013 - Crown Hill Cemetery) <ref name="hill" />
* [[Ted Page (baseball)|Ted Page]] (2013 - Allegheny Cemetery)
* [[Ted Strong]] (2013 - Lincoln Cemetery)
* [[Bill Francis (baseball)|Bill Francis]] (2013 - Lincoln Cemetery)
* [[Home Run Johnson]] (2014 - Lakeside Cemetery)<ref name="hrjohnson">[http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/immortalizing-a-little-known-legend-20140624 "Immortalizing a little-known legend" The Buffalo News, June 25, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2014.]</ref>
* [[Connie Morgan]] (2014 - Mount Lawn Cemetery)
* Fred Goree (2014 - Lincoln Cemetery) <ref name="hill" />
* [[William Binga]] (2014 - Crystal Lake Cemetery)<ref name="binga">[http://www.twincities.com/rosario/ci_26040011/ruben-rosario-honoring-minnesotas-long-gone-negro-league Honoring Minnesota's long-gone Negro League players", by Rubén Rosario, at TwinCities.com, June 26, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.]</ref>
* [[Clarence Williams (baseball player)|Clarence "Waxey" Williams]] (2016 - Atlantic City Cemetery)
* [[Jack Johnson (second baseman)|Topeka Jack Johnson]] (2016 - Mount Auburn Cemetery)
* [[Weldy Walker|Weldy Wilberforce Walker]] (2016 - Union Cemetery)
* [[Gus Brooks]] (2016) <ref name="hill" />
* [[Dan McClellan (baseball player)|Dan McClellan]] (2019 - [[Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania)|Eden Cemetery]])
* Charles Alexander Mills (2019 - St Peters Cemetery)
* [[Saul Davis]] (2019 - Rosehill Cemetery)
* Henry Bridgewater (2020 - St Peters Cemetery)
* Peter "Creole Pete" Robertson (2020 - Pinelawn Memorial Park)
* [[S.K. Govern]] (2021 - [[Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania)|Eden Cemetery]])
* William Lindsay (2021 - Forest Grove Cemetery)
* [[Frog Lindsay|Robert Alexander "Frog" Lindsay]] (2021 - Forest Grove Cemetery)
* William "Ashes" Jackson (2021 - Forest Grove Cemetery)
* Sylvester Chauvin (2022 - Calvary Cemetery)
* Elias "Country Brown" Bryant (2022 - Frederick Douglass Cemetery)
* Newton Henry "Newt" Allen (2022 - Union Baptist Cemetery)
* Comer Lane "Hannibal" Cox (2022 - St. Peter’s Cemetery)
* Robert "Killer" Palm (2022 - St. Peter’s Cemetery)
* Robert Paul Gilkerson (2022 - Miller Cemetery)
* [[Frank Warfield]] (2023 - Mount Auburn Cemetery)
==List of Players Given Headstones by Coordinators Outside the Project==
[[File:TAYLOR-Jonathan-Boyce-Grave Peoria 20240328 0663.png|thumb|Grave of "Steel Arm" Johnny Taylor at [[Springdale Cemetery]], March 2024]]
* [[Steel Arm Johnny Taylor]] (2007 - Springdale Cemetery) Organized by Pekin Coalition for Equality
* [[Lester Lockett]] (2008 - Oak Wood Cemetery) Courtesy of Chris Bohus
* [[Home Run Johnson]] (2014 - Lakeside Cemetery) Funding efforts led by Henry W. Henry, Jr.<ref name="hrjohnson"/>
* [[Clarence Williams (baseball player)|Clarence "Waxey" Williams]] (2016 - Atlantic City Cemetery) Coordinated with the Friends of Waxey Williams
==Future Grave Markers Currently Receiving Funding==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Cecil Kaiser]]
* Henry Bridgewater
* [[Sell Hall|Sellers McKee Hall]]
}}
==Honors and awards==
In 2011, the [[Josh Gibson]]<ref name="gibson" /><ref name="kdka">[http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2011/08/14/celebration-of-negro-leagues-held-downtown/ "Celebration Of Negro Leagues Held Downtown" KDKA, CBS News, Pittsburgh, PA, August 14, 2011]</ref> foundation honored Dr. Krock and the people behind his Grave Marker Project. [[Josh Gibson|Gibson]] himself was buried in an unmarked grave for nearly three decades.
Krock has received numerous awards from [[Society for American Baseball Research]], including a 2011 [[Fay Vincent]] Most Valuable Partner Award at the [[Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference]]. Krock also gives an annual report at this conference.
==Burr Oak Cemetery Controversy==
On July 9, 2009 Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart alleged that four workers at [[Burr Oak Cemetery]] dug up more than 200 graves, dumped the bodies into unmarked mass graves, and resold the plots in a scheme that went back at least five years.<ref name="cnn">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/09/illinois.cemetery.scheme/index.html |title="4 charged with digging up graves, reselling plots". CNN. July 9, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-10. |website=[[CNN]] |access-date=January 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314131946/http://articles.cnn.com/2009-07-09/justice/illinois.cemetery.scheme_1_graves-dart-burr-oak-cemetery?_s=PM:CRIME |archive-date=March 14, 2012 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> [[Burr Oak Cemetery]] has become well known as one of the few cemeteries that has historically focused on the needs of the [[African American]] community, it is the final resting place of many black celebrities, including Chicago blues musicians, athletes, and other notables.
Chicago's [[Cook County Sheriff's Office]] created a website to give anyone in the world the ability to search 43,555 photos in a database of marked, identified graves at the Burr Oak Cemetery. While it is unknown if any [[Negro league baseball]] players' graves were involved in the [[Burr Oak Cemetery]] scandal, researchers continue work to determine if this is true.
==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links==
* [https://nlbgmp.com/ The Official Website of the Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project]
* [http://www.burroak.net/ Cook County Sheriff's Office Burr Oak Cemetery Information Website]
* [http://www.larrylester42.com/grave-markers.html Baseball Historian Larry Lester's "The Krock Watch"]
* [http://johndonaldson.bravehost.com Ongoing Research Site for John Donaldson]
* [https://sites.google.com/site/dinkmothell/ The Carrol Ray "Dink" Mothell Research Site]
[[Category:Negro league baseball]]
[[Category:Society for American Baseball Research]]