Lemuel Hawkins (October 2, 1895 – August 10, 1934) was an American

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

in Negro league baseball. He played for 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 19 ...

, Chicago Giants and

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 ...

from 1921 to 1928. He was 5'10" and weighed 185 pounds."Lemuel Hawkins Negro League Statistics & History"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved June 9, 2012.

Early life

Hawkins was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1895. He served in

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 ...

and was also the first baseman for the successful 25th Infantry Wreckers baseball team posted at Schofield Barracks at Wahiawa, Hawaii "How Company A, 25th Infantry, Won Regimental Pennant" Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Honolulu, Hawaii, Sunday, April 20, 1916, Page 12, Columns 1 and 2
/ref> and Ft. Huachuca, Arizona. He, along with teammates Oscar Johnson,

Dobie Moore Walter "Dobie" Moore (February 8, 1896 - August 20, 1947) was an American shortstop and right-handed batter in the Negro leagues who played his entire career with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League. His career ended after only ...

Bullet Rogan Wilber Joe Rogan, also known as "Bullet Joe" (July 28, 1893 – March 4, 1967), was an American pitcher, outfielder, and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro baseball leagues from 1920 to 1938. Renowned as a two-way player who cou ...

, and Bob Fagin, joined the

in the early 1920s."Slain Bandit is Ex-Ball Player"
''The Afro American''. September 15, 1934.

Career

Hawkins was the Monarchs' everyday first baseman from 1921 to 1927 and played for the Monarchs team which won the

1924 Colored World Series The 1924 in baseball, 1924 Colored World Series was a best-of-nine match-up between the Negro National League (1920–31), Negro National League champion Kansas City Monarchs and the Eastern Colored League champion Hilldale Club, Hilldale. In a te ...

. According to

George Sweatt George Alexander "Sharky" Sweatt (December 7, 1893 – July 19, 1983) was an American second baseman in Negro league baseball. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs and Chicago American Giants from 1922 to 1927. Life During his youth, Sweatt w ...

, Hawkins and teammate Bill "Plunk" Drake were good friends. "

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

were the craziest guys," Sweatt recalled. "When we'd go to a different town, they'd just walk through the halls all night, fooling around. That's all they did!" Between the 1923 and 1924 baseball seasons, it was reported that Hawkins spent the winter driving a taxicab. Hawkins played for the

in 1928. He finished his career in the Negro National League with a .265

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, three

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 268 runs scored in 2,126 plate appearances.

Later life and legacy

In July 1931, Hawkins was with three other men in a car when they were searched by police in connection with a holdup. One of the other men pulled a gun and was shot to death by the officers, and Hawkins was held on an automobile theft charge."Slain Man is Identified"
''Lawrence Journal-World''. July 21, 1931. In August 1934, Hawkins and a partner attempted to hold up a beer truck. A scuffle took place, and Hawkins was accidentally shot to death by his partner. Hawkins is one of four Negro league baseball players who were honored with plaques at Luther Williams Field in Macon in 2016.

References

External links

an
Seamheads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Lemuel 1895 births 1934 deaths Chicago Giants players Kansas City Monarchs players Chicago American Giants players Baseball players from Macon, Georgia Deaths by firearm in Illinois 20th-century African-American sportspeople United States Army personnel of World War I