Fran Matthews
Fran Matthews | |
---|---|
First baseman | |
Born: Cambridge, Massachusetts | November 2, 1916|
Died: August 24, 1999 Los Angeles, California | (aged 82)|
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
Negro league baseball debut | |
1934, for the Philadelphia Giants | |
Last appearance | |
1949, for the Boston Royal Giants | |
Teams | |
|
Francis Oliver Matthews (November 2, 1916 – August 24, 1999) was an American baseball first baseman in the Negro leagues. Matthews, whose father was from Barbados,[1] was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he attended the prestigious Rindge Technical School. By the time he graduated in 1935, Matthews ability as one of the best baseball players in the Greater Boston area led to him being recognized as the first black captain of the Rindge Baseball team.
From 1935 to 1946, Matthews played with several Negro league teams, mostly the Boston Royal Giants and the Newark Eagles and one game with the Kansas City Monarchs at Fenway Park in 1943. The wear of travel and the low salaries of the Negro leagues got to Matthews forcing him to decide to return to Boston in 1942 to work at the Watertown Arsenal. He never left baseball though. Matthews starred as one of three black players on the Watertown Arsenal Boston Park League team for many years.
Military service
[edit]Matthews enlisted in the United States Army in 1950, and was stationed in Germany in 1952. He served in the Vietnam War, where was wounded by shrapnel in his leg and received a Purple Heart. He also received a Bronze Star Medal. He completed his service in 1972 as a first sergeant.
References
[edit]- ^ "Fran Matthews". www.sabr.org. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from Baseball Reference and Seamheads
- SABR Biography
- Negro League Baseball Players Association
- 1916 births
- 1999 deaths
- Philadelphia Giants players
- United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War
- Newark Eagles players
- Kansas City Monarchs players
- Philadelphia Stars players
- American sportspeople of Barbadian descent
- United States Army non-commissioned officers
- 20th-century African-American sportsmen
- Baseball infielders
- Burials at Riverside National Cemetery
- Baseball first baseman stubs
- Negro league baseball infielder stubs