Lemuel Hawkins

Lemuel Hawkins (October 2, 1895 – August 10, 1934) was an American first baseman in Negro league baseball. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs, Chicago Giants[2] and Chicago American Giants from 1921 to 1928. He was 5'10" and weighed 185 pounds.[3]

Lemuel Hawkins
First baseman
Born: (1895-10-02)October 2, 1895
Macon, Georgia
Died: August 10, 1934(1934-08-10) (aged 38)
Chicago, Illinois
Batted: Left Threw: Left
debut
1921, for the Kansas City Monarchs
Last appearance
1928, for the Chicago American Giants
Negro National League statistics
Batting average.265
Home runs3
Runs scored268
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Hawkins was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1895.[3] He served in World War I and was also the first baseman for the successful 25th Infantry Division baseball team posted at Schofield Barracks at Wahiawa, Hawaii [4] and Ft. Huachuca, Arizona. He, along with teammates Oscar Johnson, Dobie Moore, Bullet Rogan, and Bob Fagin, joined the Kansas City Monarchs in the early 1920s.[5][6][7][8]

Career

Hawkins was the Monarchs' everyday first baseman from 1921 to 1927 and played for the Monarchs team which won the 1924 Colored World Series.[9][10] According to George Sweatt, Hawkins and teammate Bill "Plunk" Drake were good friends. "[They] were the craziest guys," Sweatt recalled. "When we'd go to a different town, they'd just walk through the halls all night, fooling around. That's all they did!"[11] Between the 1923 and 1924 baseball seasons, it was reported that Hawkins spent the winter driving a taxicab.[12]

Hawkins played for the Chicago American Giants in 1928. He finished his career in the Negro National League with a .265 batting average, three home runs, and 268 runs scored in 2,126 plate appearances.[3]

Later life and legacy

In July 1931, Hawkins was with three other men in a car when they were searched by police in connection with a holdup. One of the other men pulled a gun and was shot to death by the officers, and Hawkins was held on an automobile theft charge.[13][14]

In August 1934, Hawkins and a partner attempted to hold up a beer truck. A scuffle took place, and Hawkins was accidentally shot to death by his partner.[8]

Hawkins is one of four Negro league baseball players who were honored with plaques at Luther Williams Field in Macon in 2016.[15]

References
  1. "Rogan May Pitch Against Chinese Team on Sunday" Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Honolulu, Hawaii, Wednesday, October 7, 1916, Page 15, Columns 1 and 2
  2. "Champion Monarchs Open Season With Victory" The Kansas City Advocate, Kansas City, Kansas, Friday, May 29, 1925, Page 3, Columns 1 to 5
  3. "Lemuel Hawkins Negro League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  4. "How Company A, 25th Infantry, Won Regimental Pennant" Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Honolulu, Hawaii, Sunday, April 20, 1916, Page 12, Columns 1 and 2
  5. McNeil, William F. (2005). Cool Papas And Double Duties: The All-Time Greats Of The Negro Leagues. McFarland. p. 105.
  6. Porter, David L. (2000). Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: G-P. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 757.
  7. Seymour, Harold (1991). Baseball: The People's Game, Volume 3. Oxford University Press. p. 591.
  8. "Slain Bandit is Ex-Ball Player". The Afro American. September 15, 1934.
  9. Dixon, Phil S. (2009). John "Buck" O'Neil: The Rookie, the Man, the Legacy 1938. AuthorHouse. p. 48.
  10. Lester, Larry (2006). Baseball's First Colored World Series: The 1924 Meeting of the Hilldale Giants And Kansas City Monarchs. McFarland.
  11. Holway, John (2010). Voices from the Great Black Baseball Leagues: Revised Edition. Courier Dover Publications. p. 22.
  12. "Rogan and Players Report to Join Champion Monarchs" Chicago Defender, National Edition, Chicago, IL, March 15, 1924, Page 10
  13. "Kansas Bandit Slain". St. Joseph News-Press. July 20, 1931.
  14. "Slain Man is Identified". Lawrence Journal-World. July 21, 1931.
  15. "Negro League baseball players from Macon to be recognized Saturday". Macon.com. February 5, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
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