William Pennington Young (October 28, 1896 – November 30, 1968), nicknamed "Pep" or "Pimp", 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 ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

who played for the Homestead Grays in the 1920s.

Early life and collegiate career

Young was born and grew up in Orange, New Jersey and attended Orange High School, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. Young attended Lincoln University, and starred on the school's basketball team with his older brother,

Ulysses S. Young Ulysses S. "Lissy" Young (1894 – April 22, 1927) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as head football coach at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania from 1923 to 1926, compiling a ...

.He also played baseball and was named a Negro All-American at quarterback on the Lions' football team. Young graduated in 1917 as class valedictorian.

Professional sports career

Upon graduation, the brothers played professional basketball in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

for promoter Cumberland Posey's Loendi Big Five. Young was part of the team when they won four consecutive Colored Basketball World Championships from 1919 through 1923. Young was also signed by the Homestead Grays, also owned by Posey, to play catcher. While playing for the Grays he was known for his unorthodox batting stance. He would go on to manage the Cleveland Stars in 1932.

Political career and later life

After his athletic career, Young worked for Lockhart Iron and Steel Co. in personnel and labor relations. He also became active in

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

politics and was appointed the Secretary of Labor and Industry for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by Governor William Scranton. As a delegate and floor leader for the

1964 Republican National Convention The 1964 Republican National Convention took place in the Cow Palace, Daly City, California, from July 13 to July 16, 1964. Before 1964, there had been only one national Republican convention on the West Coast, the 1956 Republican National Conven ...

, Young was one of the organizers of the protest of African American delegates against the nomination of

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...

. He was attacked during the protest by pro-Goldwater delegates, who lit his suit on fire. Young died in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

in 1968 at age 72.

References

External links

*Baseball statistics and player information fro
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball Stats
an
Seamheads
1896 births 1968 deaths American football quarterbacks Homestead Grays players Lincoln Lions baseball players Lincoln Lions football players Lincoln Lions men's basketball players Negro league baseball managers State cabinet secretaries of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Republicans Orange High School (New Jersey) alumni Sportspeople from Orange, New Jersey Baseball players from Essex County, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Baseball coaches from New Jersey Basketball players from New Jersey African-American baseball coaches African-American basketball coaches 20th-century African-American sportspeople Baseball catchers {{Negro-league-baseball-catcher-stub