Jimmy Claxton

Who was Jimmy Claxton?

James Edgar Claxton was a black American-Canadian baseball pitcher, and the first black man to play organized white baseball in the twentieth century.

Born to American parents in the mining town of Wellington, British Columbia, Canada, Claxton made his way to the Bay Area, where he played for a local semi-pro team before coming to the attention of the Oakland Oaks. On May 28, 1916, Claxton temporarily broke the professional baseball color line when he played two games for the Oaks of the Pacific Coast League.

Claxton was introduced to the team owner by a part Native American friend as a fellow member of an Oklahoma tribe. A candy company — the Zee-Nut candy company — quickly produced a baseball card for Claxton. Within a week, a friend of Claxton revealed that he had both African American and Native American ancestors, and was promptly fired. It was nearly thirty years before another black man played organized white baseball.

Claxton played for the 1932 Cuban Stars.