James Henry Lyons (October 9, 1889 – February 8, 1961) was a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player in the

Negro leagues 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 ...

. He pitched and played

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

between 1910 and 1925. He played for the

Brooklyn Royal Giants The Brooklyn Royal Giants were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 1905 by John Wilson Connor (1875–1926), owner of the Brooklyn Royal Cafe, the team initially played against white semi-pro teams. ...

, Chicago Giants,

Lincoln Giants The Lincoln Giants were a Negro league baseball team based in New York City from 1911 through 1930. Founding The Lincoln Giants can trace their origins back to the Nebraska Indians, of Lincoln, Nebraska, from the 1890s. According to Sol White, ...

, St. Louis Giants, and

Detroit Stars The Detroit Stars were an American baseball team in the Negro leagues and played at historic Mack Park. The Stars had winning seasons every year but two, but were never able to secure any championships. Among their best players was Baseball Hall of ...

. He is the brother of Bennie Lyons, another baseball player who played for the West Baden Sprudels and

Indianapolis ABCs The Indianapolis ABCs were a Negro league baseball team that played both as an independent club and as a charter member of the first Negro National League (NNL). They claimed the western championship of black baseball in 1915 and 1916, and fini ...

. When the Negro National League formed in 1920, Lyons signed himself to the

. He played there for one year, then went back to play for the

Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" F ...

. While many baseball researchers list Lyons as a right-handed hitter or even a right-handed thrower, most newspaper accounts show he was a southpaw. Lyons served in the military during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Death

Lyons died in Chicago on February 8, 1961.

References

External links

an
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats
an
Seamheads
Sportspeople from Chicago 1880s births 1963 deaths Brooklyn Royal Giants players Lincoln Giants players Louisville Black Caps players Chicago American Giants players Bacharach Giants players Indianapolis ABCs players St. Louis Giants players Detroit Stars players Baseball players from Chicago American military personnel of World War I Baseball pitchers Negro league baseball managers African-American baseball managers Player-coaches African Americans in World War I Baseball players from Indianapolis {{Negro-league-baseball-pitcher-stub