James "Pete" Booker (1886 – September 22, 1922) was an American baseball catcher and first baseman in the pre- Negro leagues.

Career

Booker played for Chicago teams Leland Giants,

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" Fo ...

, and

Chicago Giants The Chicago Giants were a professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois which played in the Negro leagues from 1910 to 1921. History The team was founded by Frank Leland after he and his partner, Rube Foster, split up the Leland Giant ...

."Frank Lelands' Chicago Giants Base Ball Club" Fraternal Printing Company, 1910
/ref> Sportswriter and fellow player Jimmy Smith put Booker on his 1909 "All American Team.""The Base Ball Spirit In The East." Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, Indiana, Saturday, December 25, 1909, Page 7, Columns 1 and 2
/ref> He moved to the Lincoln Giants in 1911 and played there for three seasons, continuing in the east and playing with 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. ...

and

Philadelphia Giants The Philadelphia Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1902 to 1911. From 1904 to 1909 they were one of the strongest teams in black baseball, winning five eastern championships in six years. The team was organized by Sol Whi ...

until 1913. He then moved back to Chicago. In 1920, then 34-year-old Booker was captain and catcher of the Underwriters' Baseball Team in Chicago. The semi-pro team traveled around the Upper Midwest."Underwriters' Baseball Team" Chicago Defender, Chicago, Illinois, Saturday, March 27, 1920, Page 11, Column 2"
/ref> Booker died in Chicago in 1922, and is buried at Mount Glenwood Cemetery in Glenwood, Illinois.

References

External links

1886 births 1922 deaths 20th-century African-American people Leland Giants players Philadelphia Giants players Chicago American Giants players Baseball players from Richmond, Virginia {{US-baseball-first-baseman-stub