William Matthews (minors02)

William Clarence Matthews

• Bats unknown, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 145 lb.
• School Tuskegee Institute, Phillips Andover Academy, Harvard University, Boston University

• Born January 7, 1877 in Selma, AL USA
• Died April 9, 1928 in Washington, DC USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

William Matthews was a black baseball and legal pioneer.

Matthews played baseball at the Tuskegee Institute and organized their first football team as well. He played all four seasons he was at Harvard University, hitting .400 and stole 22 bases as a senior and leading in average three years; one of his teammates was Eddie Grant. Matthews was labeled the top prospect and infielder on the team by a local newspaper. In 1905, he played for Burlington, VT in the Northern New York League. That year, Fred Tenney expressed interest in signing him for the Boston Beaneaters but segregationists killed the plan.

Matthews then studied law at Harvard and Boston University. He was legal counsel to Marcus Garvey and was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney General under Calvin Coolidge.

In 2014, he was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Related Sites

• Anthony Castrovince: "The player who nearly integrated baseball in 1905", mlb.com, April 13, 2021. [1]

Sources

• Black Ivy History
• College Baseball Hall of Fame
• Wikipedia