Robert Footes (birthdate unknown) was a

Negro league baseball 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 ...

catcher for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League. He played for several years in Chicago for the

Chicago Unions The Chicago Unions were a professional, black baseball team that played in the late 19th century, prior to the formation of the Negro leagues. Founding Organized as the Unions in 1887, the club was led by Abe Jones (1887–1889) and by W.S. ...

and

Chicago Union Giants The Leland Giants, originally the Chicago Union Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently during the first decade of the 20th century. The team was formed via a merge of the Chicago Unions and the Chicago Columbia Gian ...

. During that time, he formed a battery with

Big Bill Smith William T. "Big Bill" Smith (1869 – ?) was a Negro leagues catcher and manager for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League. He played for several teams, most of the seasons appear to be played for the Chicago Un ...

, Frank Butler, and Harry Buckner. In 1903, Footes moved on to the

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 ...

for a couple years.

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Baseball catchers Chicago Unions players Philadelphia Giants players Brooklyn Royal Giants players Year of birth unknown Place of birth missing Year of death missing Date of birth unknown {{US-baseball-bio-stub