Hank Presswood
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Henry Presswood (October 7, 1921 – December 27, 2014) was an
infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...
who played in the
Negro American League The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season. Negro American League franchises :''An ...
. He batted and threw right handed.Hank Presswood profile
''Baseball Reference''. Retrieved on February 11, 2019.
Born in
Electric Mills, Mississippi Electric Mills is an unincorporated community in Kemper County, Mississippi. It lies along U.S. Route 45 east of the city of De Kalb, the county seat of Kemper County. History The town of Electric Mills was established in 1913 and named after it ...
, Presswood played sandlot ball before joining the Mill City Jitterbugs club in 1936 and 1937 and later the Denkman All-Stars in
Canton, Mississippi Canton is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 13,189 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Madison County, and situated in the northern part of th ...
from 1938 through 1944.Hank Presswood article
''Baseball in War''. Retrieved on February 11, 2019.
Afterwards, Presswood served in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947 during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
conflict, then returned briefly to the Denkman All-Stars. Content with playing locally, it was not until after he received an offer to play in the Negro leagues. Presswood then was assigned to the
Cleveland Buckeyes The Cleveland Buckeyes were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1942 to 1950 in the Negro American League. The Buckeyes played in two Negro World Series, defeating the Washington Homestead Grays in 1945, and losing to the New York Cuba ...
in 1948 and immediately he was installed as their
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
, playing alongside such greats as
Webbo Clarke Vibert Ernesto "Webbo" Clarke (June 8, 1928 – June 14, 1970) was a Panamanian professional baseball player. Born in Colón, Clarke was a left-handed pitcher who made seven appearances for the Washington Senators of Major League Baseball. ...
, Sam Jethroe and Sam 'Toothpick' Jones. It was a great step for the 26-year old rookie while joining the lineup of the defending champions of the Negro American League, just one year after
Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...
, Larry Doby, Hank Thompson,
Willard Brown Willard Jessie Brown (June 26, 1915 – August 4, 1996), nicknamed "Home Run" Brown, was an American baseball player who played outfielder in the Negro leagues for the Kansas City Monarchs and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Brown ...
and
Dan Bankhead Daniel Robert Bankhead (May 3, 1920 – May 2, 1976) was the first African American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played in Negro league baseball for the Birmingham Black Barons and the Memphis Red Sox from 1940 to 1947, then played for th ...
had broken the color barrier in the Major Leagues. Presswood played with the Buckeyes until they folded in the 1950 season. Following a year off, he was picked up by the
Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 193 ...
, who were managed by the legendary
Buck O’Neil John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil Jr. (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout and became the first Afric ...
. Presswood played with the Monarchs as a
third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
from 1952 to 1953, in a time when Ernie Banks was their regular shortstop. O’Neil gave Presswood the nickname of 'Baby', which stuck with him well after his career was over. Besides, O’Neil also served as his mentor both on and off the field.Hank Presswood, 93, veteran of five Negro League seasons
''Baseball Happenings website''. Retrieved on February 10, 2019.
When his baseball days came to an end, Preswood settled in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
where he worked at the
Inland Steel Company The Inland Steel Company was an American steel company active in 1893–1998. Its history as an independent firm thus spanned much of the 20th century. It was headquartered in Chicago at the landmark Inland Steel Building. Inland Steel was an i ...
and played fast-pitch softball for the company team, retiring after 30 years of work. Preswood received his due recognition as an octogenarian in 2008, when
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), ...
staged a special draft of the surviving Negro league players, doing a tribute for those living Negro leaguers who were kept out of the Big Leagues because of their race.
Hall of Fame Baseball The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-re ...
player Dave Winfield hatched the idea to have this draft while MLB clubs each selected a former NLB player. As a result, Preswood was drafted by the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
as a shortstop/third baseman. Two years later in 2010,
The Topps Company The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, ...
honored him with a baseball card in their Allen & Ginter set, as he remarked about finally having a
rookie card A rookie card is a trading card that is the first to feature an athlete after that athlete has participated in the highest level of competition within their sport. Collectors may value these first appearances more than subsequent card issues. Athle ...
.2010 Topps Allen and Ginter Baseball
''Cardboard Connection''. Retrieved on January 27, 2019.
In his later years, Presswood became a spokesperson for the Negro leagues, attending numerous events and telling people baseball fans and hardball history enthusiasts with tales and remembrances of his playing days. He died in 2014 in Chicago at the age of 93.


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an
SeamheadsNegro Leagues Players Played Major Role In World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Presswood, Hank 1921 births 2014 deaths African-American baseball players United States Army personnel of World War II Baseball shortstops Baseball third basemen Cleveland Buckeyes players Kansas City Monarchs players People from Kemper County, Mississippi Baseball players from Chicago 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople