Robert Paul Gilkerson (February 10, 1886 – March 21, 1944) was an American

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

second baseman in the 1900s and 1910s, and later owner of the

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

Gilkerson's Union Giants Gilkerson's Union Giants were an independent Negro semi-pro baseball team headed by Robert Gilkerson in the 1920s and 1930s. The team was noted as having played in 1920 and 1930 to 1931. Notable players * Ted "Double Duty Radcliffe" * John Donalds ...

club. A native of Newtown, Virginia, Gilkerson played for the

Illinois Giants Illinois Giants were a barnstorming Negro league baseball team in the 1920s. The Illinois Giants are noted as having played in 1910 and 1919 to 1929. Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe joined the team in 1920 Events January * January 1 ** Pol ...

in 1909, and for the

Leland Giants The Leland Giants, originally the Chicago Union Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently during the first decade of the 20th century. The team was formed via a merge of the Chicago Unions and the Chicago Columbia Gia ...

in 1913. In 1917, he bought W. S. Peters' Chicago baseball club, and ran his barnstorming

through the 1930s. Gilkerson died in Spring Valley, Illinois in 1944 at age 58.

References

External links

*Baseball statistics and player information fro
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball Stats
an
Seamheads
1886 births 1944 deaths Illinois Giants players Leland Giants players 20th-century African-American people Kansas City Giants players {{negro-league-baseball-bio-stub