Robert Higgins

Robert Higgins

• Bats Left, Throws Left

• Born 1867
• Died Unknown

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Robert Higgins was one of the earliest black professional baseball players. He was signed at age 20 to play for the minor league Syracuse Stars, a team which also featured Fleet Walker and deaf player Ed Dundon. In 1887 he went 20-7 for the team with a 2.90 ERA. He also hit .294 and stole 28 bases in 41 games, playing outfield on occasion. He had a 2.56 ERA for Syracuse in 1888, when they won the International League title; he was the club's #2 hurler after Con Murphy. He hit .225 that season. In 1889 he went to Memphis where he operated a barbershop for years. He played for the Cuban Giants in 1896, his only turn with a Negro League club.

It is said that some of the white team players gave him trouble, and eventually Higgins decided the racism was too much and left the business.

In 2023, he was added to the Syracuse Mets Wall of Fame.

Sources

• Sol White's History of Colored Baseball
• The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley
• The International League: Year-by-Year Statistics by Marshall Wright