Jesse Douglas

Jesse Warren Douglas

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 170 lb.

• Debut 1940
• Final Game 1945
• Born March 27, 1916 in Longview, TX USA
• Died January 6, 1979 in Los Angeles County, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Jesse Douglas spent 14 seasons in professional baseball, primarily as a middle infielder in the Negro Leagues.

Douglas broke in with the 1937 Kansas City Monarchs, then was with the New York Black Yankees in 1938. After a year away, he was with Kansas City in 1940, still a bench player. He became a starting outfielder for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1941 and hit .326, then was a backup for the 1942 Black Barons. He missed the '43 season.

Douglas joined the Chicago American Giants in 1944 and hit .280 as their starting shortstop. His seven triples tied Tommy Sampson for 4th in the Negro American League. In 1945, he was at second base for Chicago and batted .303. His 7 triples tied Avelino Cañizares for second in the NAL, behind only Sam Jethroe.

In 1946, the Texan moved to the Mexican League, hitting .270/.330/.334 for the Mexico City Red Devils and Monterrey Industrials. He fell to .228/.321/.265 with 15 steals for Mexico City in 1947. After not playing in 1948, he was back with the American Giants in 1949, then split 1950 between Chicago and the Memphis Red Sox.

Jesse starred in the 1950 East-West Game. At age 34, he was making his only East-West Game, aided by the exodus of players to Organized Baseball that weakened the Negro Leagues. Douyglas hit third and played second base for the West. He went 3 for 4 with a run, two RBI and two steals to lead the way to a 5-3 win. His 2-run single off Joe Black in the third put the West ahead, 2-1.

Douglas played in the Panamanian League in 1950-1951. He was with Spur Cola for the 1951 Caribbean Series, hitting .227 as their starting third baseman. He did steal three bases, tying Fernando Pedroso for the Series lead. He spent the summer of '51 with the New Orleans Eagles and with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (.262, .317 SLG in 72 G).

Douglas played in the Manitoba-Dakota League in 1953-1954. He also was in Mexico briefly in 1954, putting up a .315/.419/.404 line in 23 games for the Yucatan Lions. He surfaced two more times, with the 1956 Mexicali Eagles (.322/?/.394 in 48 G) and 1958 Yakima Braves (6 for 29 at age 42) to end his long career.

Sources

• The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley
• The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway
• Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History by Jorge Figueredo
• Black Baseball's National Showcase by Larry Lester
• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros

Related Sites

• BR Minors page