Cum Posey

Cumberland Willis Posey, Jr.

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 145 lb.
• School Penn State University, University of Pittsburgh, Holy Ghost College
• High School Homestead (PA) High School

• Born June 20, 1890 in Homestead, PA USA
• Died March 28, 1946 in Pittsburgh, PA USA

BR Manager page

Inducted into Hall of Fame in 2006

Biographical Information

Cum Posey attended Penn State University (1909-1910), the University of Pittsburgh (1913), and Holy Ghost College (1915). He led the basketball team at Holy Ghost in scoring and was the captain of the golf team. He later played pro basketball until 1925.

Posey was working as a mail clerk when the Homestead Grays were first formed in 1910 as a semi-pro team and he joined the team in 1911 as an outfielder. Posey took control of the team in 1912. Eventually, the team became the biggest attraction in independent ball, and many teams patterned themselves after the Grays. He was the owner of the team from 1911 to 1946.

Posey ended his playing career in 1929 (he had not played much in the few years since the team had joined the top ranks of black baseball) and devoted his time to managing the team, then turned over the bench manager's job to Vic Harris in 1937 to concentrate on the business end of the team.

In 1922, Posey secured the use of Forbes Field when the Pittsburgh Pirates were out of town. This helped to hold off the threat of the Pittsburgh Keystones who were also trying to raid the Grays' roster. The Grays entered the Negro American League in 1929, but returned to independent play when the league folded in 1930. He also served as secretary of the Negro National League. He is the father-in-law of Ray Brown.

Posey used night baseball long before the major leagues, and in 1940 he also secured the use of Griffith Stadium for some of his home games.

Posey died at Mercy Hospital in 1946 of lung cancer. He was elected to the Hall of Fame as part of the 2006 Special Committee on the Negro Leagues Election.

Notable Achievements

• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 2006

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1929	Homestead Grays	American Negro League	32-34	4th	Homestead Grays
1932	Homestead Grays	East-West League	20-11	2nd	Homestead Grays		Replaced Jud Wilson (22-20)
1933	Homestead Grays	Negro National League	15-14	3rd	Homestead Grays
1935	Homestead Grays	Negro National League	26-36	7th	Homestead Grays

Further Reading

• James E. Overmyer: Cum Posey of the Homestead Grays: A Biography of the Negro Leagues Owner and Hall of Famer, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2020. ISBN 978-1-4766-6394-4
• Shakeia Taylor: "Posey was peerless in Negro Leagues lore", "The Negro Leagues", mlb.com. [1]

Related Sites

• Cum Posey at the SABR Bio Project
• Hall of Fame Bio