Nathaniel Peeples (June 29, 1926 – August 30, 2012) was a professional baseball outfielder in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He played 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 ...

and in minor league baseball.

Early life

Peeples was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. He attended LeMoyne-Owen College.

Negro league career

He played for the

Memphis Red Sox The Memphis Red Sox were an American Negro league baseball team that was active from 1920 to 1959. Originally named the Barber College Baseball Club, the team was initially owned and operated by Arthur P. Martin, a local Memphis barber. In the la ...

(in 1948),

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 ...

and

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. The ...

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 ...

.GeorgiaEncyclopedia article
/ref>

Minor league career

Peeples spent ten seasons in the minor leagues, from 1951 to 1960. He began his career in the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

system, playing there from 1951 to 1953. He joined the

Milwaukee 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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

system in 1953 and remained there until 1959. He briefly joined 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 ...

system in 1959 and last played in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

in 1960.

Notable seasons

In 1954, Peeples played briefly for the

Atlanta Crackers The Atlanta Crackers were Minor League Baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1966. History Atlanta played its first ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...

. Though he played only two games with the team, his stay was notable for he became the only African American to ever play in the Southern Association. The ripples of racism still permeated the South in those days, however, and – facing pressure from other league clubs – the Crackers sent him to the

Jacksonville Braves The Jacksonville Braves were a minor league baseball team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. The Class A affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves Major League Baseball team, they played in the South Atlantic League (the "Sally League") from 1953 to ...

of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, prematurely ending his stay with the Atlanta squad after a two-week stint.The Integration of Major League Baseball: A Team by Team History
/ref> Other sources say it was Peeples' lack of ability that earned his demotion to Jacksonville. In 1957, with the

Corpus Christi Clippers The Corpus Christi Clippers was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Corpus Christi, Texas between 1910 and 1959. Corpus Christi teams played as members of the Southwest Texas League (1910–1911), Gulf Coast League (1926), ...

of the

Big State League The Big State League was a mid-level, Class B level circuit in American minor league baseball that played for 11 seasons, from 1947 through 1957. Its member clubs were exclusively based in Texas. The Corpus Christi Clippers (1955-1956), Texark ...

, Peeples hit .314 with 25 home runs, 116 runs scored and 99 RBI, leading the league in the latter two categories and finishing second in home runs, behind Don Miles' 28. The following year, with the

Austin Senators The "Austin Senators" is the name of various minor league baseball teams based in Austin, Texas, United States which played on-and-off between 1898 and 1964. Different incarnations of the Senators have played in the Texas League (1888–1890, 1905, ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, he hit .259 with 21 home runs, 79 RBI and 23 stolen bases, finishing second in the league in steals, behind

Rod Kanehl Roderick Edwin Kanehl (April 1, 1934 – December 14, 2004) was an American second baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the New York Mets (1962–1964). Beloved by Mets fans, his attitude was exemplary ...

Death

Peeples died at the age of 86 in Memphis, Tennessee.

References

External links

an
Seamheads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peeples, Nat Minor league baseball players Indianapolis Clowns players Kansas City Monarchs players Memphis Red Sox players 1926 births 2012 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people