Laurence Benjamin Bleach (July 16, 1912 – March 15, 1991) 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 1937.
Early life and career
A native of
Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick () is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-largest urban area on the Georgia coastline after Sa ...
, Bleach attended the
University of Detroit, where he excelled in
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, becoming the
Titans' first African American captain; he later played for the
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...
.
[Mathews, Lori (March 19, 1991)]
"Obituary"
''Detroit Free Press''. p. 12. Retrieved July 3, 2021. Titans head coach
Lloyd Brazil called Bleach "the best all-around basketball player I've ever coached". Bleach also played baseball very briefly in 1937 for the
Detroit Stars of 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 ...
.
Bleach died in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
in 1991 at age 78.
References
Further reading
* Standard Union staff (April 10, 1931)
"Textile, 9; New Utrecht, 1" ''The Brooklyn Standard Union''. p. 11
* Daily Eagle staff (June 14, 1931). "Textile High Defeats Madison, 10-2, to Win P.S.A.L. Crown
Bleach's Double Scores Pair" ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle''. p. 35
* Age staff (November 14, 1931)
"Y Seniors Defeated by Bronx Manor Five" ''The New York Age''. p. 6
* Kremenko, Bernard (January 10, 1932)
"Textile High Quint Halts Jefferson's Victory March" p. 91
* Cowan, Russ (December 23, 1933)
"Thru the Sport Mirror" ''Detroit Tribune''.
* Free Press staff (January 31, 1936
"Titans Count On This Trio in First Real Test of Basketball Campaign" ''Detroit Free Press''. p. 19
* Saunders, Lonny (July 4, 1936)
"Alpha Team Defeats Naricema" ''The Detroit Tribune''. p. 6
* Free Press staff (December 12, 1937)
"Ex-Titan Star in a New Role as a Detective" ''Detroit Free Press''. p. 56
* Johnson, Ben (November 30, 1980). "They Were Stars with Nowhere to Go". ''Detroit Free Press''. pp. 1H
9H
External links
an
Seamheads
1912 births
1991 deaths
Detroit Mercy Titans men's basketball players
Harlem Globetrotters players
Detroit Stars (1937) players
20th-century African-American sportspeople
Baseball infielders
Sportspeople from Brunswick, Georgia
{{Negro-league-baseball-infielder-stub