Charles Byron Harmon (April 23, 1924 – March 19, 2019) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB), who played for the

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

(1954–1956),

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1956–1957), and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(1957). He batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

Early life

The tenth of twelve children, Chuck Harmon was schooled as an athlete at Dunbar Elementary by legendary

Franklin Wonder Five The Franklin Wonder Five was a 1920 basketball team from Indiana's "Hoosier Hysteria" era. With basketball king in Indiana, the team from Franklin was dubbed the "Wonder Five". This small town about 20 miles south of Indianapolis produced a tea ...

basketball player Burl Friddle, Harmon played for the Washington High School Hatchets, who won two consecutive Indiana state basketball championships in 1941 and 1942. His brother Bill also played for the 1941 team. Harmon served in the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

during World War II spending all 3 years stateside at the

Great Lakes Naval Training Station Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only boot camp, located near North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center ...

, playing baseball.

College career

Harmon and longtime teammate and friend Art Grove then reunited with Friddle to play for the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...

, where they helped an all-freshman squad (that included

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

's Davage Minor) advance to the championship game of the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT), losing to St. John's. Grove and Minor went on to play professional basketball. After a three-year stint in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

, Harmon returned to the University of Toledo, where he served as the Rockets' co-captain in both the 1947–48 and 1948–49 seasons. Harmon was also a baseball star for the Rockets. During the summer of 1947, Harmon briefly played professional baseball with the

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 ...

Indianapolis Clowns The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball team in the Negro American League. Tracing their origins back to the 1930s, the Clowns were the last of the Negro league teams to disband, continuing to play exhibition games into the 1980s. Th ...

, using the alias "Charlie Fine" to preserve his collegiate eligibility.

Professional basketball

For its 1950–51 season, the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) was integrated. Harmon tried out for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

but was cut along with Isaac "Rabbit" Walthour, another black star, although Chuck Cooper did make the Celtics squad. Harmon finished that season as player-coach of Utica in the American Basketball League, becoming one of, if not the first, African-American to coach an integrated professional basketball team.

Professional baseball

On April 17, 1954, he became the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to play for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

' franchise, known during the mid-1950s as the ''Redlegs''. Pinch-hitting for pitcher

Corky Valentine Harold Lewis "Corky" Valentine (January 4, 1929 – January 21, 2005) was an American professional baseball pitcher who worked in 46 career games in Major League Baseball as a member of the 1954 and 1955 Cincinnati Redlegs. Born in Troy, Ohio, ...

against

Lew Burdette Selva Lewis Burdette, Jr. (November 22, 1926 – February 6, 2007) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Boston / Milwaukee Braves. The team's top right-hander during its years in Milw ...

, Harmon flied out in the seventh inning of a 5–1 loss to the Milwaukee Braves at

County Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also used for Green Bay Packer ...

. In that game he came to bat after another

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

Nino Escalera Saturnino Escalera Cuadrado (December 1, 1929 – July 3, 2021) was a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and scout whose playing career extended for 14 seasons (1949–1962). The outfielder and first baseman appeared for one f ...

, an Afro-Latin American from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

who pinch hit immediately before Harmon to become the first black player to appear for the Cincinnati franchise. Harmon got his first hit on April 25, 1954. Starting and leading off for the Reds at home in Crosley Field in a 3–2 win over the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, Harmon singled in the first inning off

Howie Pollet Howard Joseph Pollet (June 26, 1921 – August 8, 1974) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the 1940s and 1950s. A three-time All-Star in 1943, 1946 and 1949, he twice led the National League in earned run avera ...

. He later doubled and scored on an error, and drew one walk. His final game was the site of his first,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

's County Stadium on September 15, 1957 where, appearing as a pinch runner for the

, he scored his final run on a double play. Harmon hit over .300 during five consecutive

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

seasons but never approached such numbers in the majors. He also played for the Cardinals and Phillies. In between, Harmon played winter ball in

with the Leones de Ponce and Criollos de Caguas clubs in the 1953–54 and 1955–56 seasons, respectively, while appearing with the Puerto Rican champion Caguas in the 1956 Caribbean Series. In a four-season major league career, Harmon was a .238 hitter with seven

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 59 RBI in 289

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. After his Major League career ended, he played four seasons in the minors, from 1958 to 1961 in

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leagues for five teams. Following his playing career, Harmon worked as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

in baseball, and the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

in basketball. Later he worked as an administrative assistant for the Hamilton County Court System in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He remained active in ''SWAP'' (Seniors With A Purpose) and other youth-related services.

Personal life

In 1977, Harmon was inducted as part of the inaugural class of the University of Toledo Athletic Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in . In 1997, Golf Manor, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati) renamed one of its streets "Chuck Harmon Way" after its longtime resident. In addition, in cooperation with the Cincinnati Reds, a renovated ball field was named in his honor in the multi-use municipal Volunteer Park. On April 20, 2004 (the 50th anniversary of Harmon's debut as the Cincinnati Reds' first African-American player), the Reds honored him during Chuck Harmon Recognition Night at

Great American Ball Park Great American Ball Park is a baseball stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It served as the home stadium of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB), and opened on March 31, 2003, replacing Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium), the R ...

. The pregame ceremonies included the unveiling of a special historic plaque, which now hangs near the entrance of the ballpark. Harmon was married for 62 years to his wife, Daurel "Pearl" Harmon, who died in November 2009, two days before her 83rd birthday. They had three children. Harmon died March 19, 2019.

References

External links

Chuck Harmon
at Baseballbiography.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Chuck 1924 births 2019 deaths African-American baseball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Braves scouts Baseball players from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana Burlington Flints players Charleston Senators players Cincinnati Redlegs players Cleveland Indians scouts Criollos de Caguas players Gloversville-Johnstown Glovers players Hawaii Islanders players Indianapolis Clowns players Leones de Ponce players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente infielders Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente outfielders Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Miami Marlins (IL) players Olean Oilers players Omaha Cardinals players People from Washington, Indiana Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Salt Lake City Bees players Toledo Rockets baseball players Toledo Rockets men's basketball players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Utica Pros players United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people