Ted Radcliffe was more than just a pitcher, catcher, and manager; he was also a man who was part of setting a new direction in baseball history by helping to integrate semi-professional leagues.
Ted Radcliffe’s Early Career
Theodore Roosevelt Radcliffe was born in Mobile, Alabama. At an early age, Radcliffe became interested in baseball. Along with his brother Alex Radcliffe and Leroy “Satchel” Paige (also Negro League players), Radcliffe tossed around a homemade baseball made out of rags and tape.
At seventeen, Radcliffe and his brother moved to Chicago. A year later, in 1920, he signed with the semi-pro team the Illinois Giants. A few years later, he began playing with the Gilkerson’s Union Giants.
Radcliffe’s Professional Baseball Career
It was not until 1928 that Radcliffe made it into the Negro National League when he began playing for the Detroit Stars. Radcliffe’s time with the Stars lasted for only two years. Radcliffe, however, would make it a habit to change teams often. He, like many other players, was motivated to play for the team that offered the most money.
Thus, the teams he played for included the St. Louis Stars, Homestead Grays, Pittsburgh Crawfords, Columbus Blue Birds, New York Black Yankees, Brooklyn Eagles, Cincinnati Tigers, Memphis Red Sox, Birmingham Black Barons, Chicago American Giants, and the Louisville Buckeyes. By the time Radcliffe retired, he had played for 30 different teams.
Despite his movement to various teams, Radcliffe was able to make a name for himself with his ability to play as both a catcher and a pitcher. This ability was quickly noticed, and earned him the nickname “Double Duty.” Damon Runyon, a sportswriter, was responsible for the nickname. In 1932, he saw Radcliffe play in the Negro League World Series doubleheader as a catcher in the first game and as a pitcher in the second game. From thereafter, the name stuck.
Radcliffe did not limit himself to just playing baseball. He also became a manager. He managed and played for the Jamestown Red Sox of North Dakota in 1934, the Memphis Red Sox in 1937 and 1938, the Chicago American Giants in 1950, and the Elmwood Giants in 1951. As a manger, he also took part in integrating baseball. In the semi-pro leagues, he signed black and white players to Southern Minny (Minnesota) and the Michigan-Indiana League.
Some of the highlights of his career include 4,000 hits, 400 homeruns, and a .303 batting average. He won the Negro American League MVP award in 1943 at the age of 41. At forty-nine, he batted .459 and had a 3-0 pitching record and when he was fifty, he batted .364 with a 1-0 pitching record.
Ted Radcliffe’s Retirement Years
Radcliffe retired in 1954, at the age of fifty-two years old. He was inducted into the “Yesterday’s Negro League Baseball Players Wall of Fame” in 1997 at the County Stadium in Milwaukee. In 1999, he became the oldest player to appear in a professional game when he threw the first pitch for the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League. Beginning in 2002, each year until his death he threw the ceremonial first pitch for the Chicago White Sox.
On August 11, 2005, Radcliffe died in Chicago. According to the 1952 Pittsburgh Courier, Negro League experts considered him the 5th greatest catcher and 17th greatest pitcher in Negro League history.
