Andrew (Rube) Foster

(September 17, 1879 – December 9, 1930)

Calvert native Rube Foster was a pioneer player, manager and executive in baseball’s Negro Leagues. The son of Rev. Andrew and Evaline Foster, he finished eighth grade in Calvert and pitched for the Waco Yellow Jackets and Fort Worth Colts from 1897 to 1902. Renowned for his fastball and screwball, he became a dominant pitcher on Midwest and Northeast championship teams, first with Frank Leland’s Chicago Union Giants and later on teams in Philadelphia, New York City, and Otsego, Michigan. Records show that he won more than fifty games in 1903 with the Cuban X Giants and in 1905 with the Philadelphia Giants. Foster wrote “How to Pitch” in Sol White’s Official Base Ball Guide: History of Colored Base Ball in 1907. His nickname “Rube” came from a great White pitcher of the day, G. E. “Rube” Waddell, whom Foster beat in an exhibition game. Foster became playing manager of the Leland Giants in 1907. Under his leadership, the team won 48 straight games and finished with a 110-10 record. His teams were known for successful bunting, base stealing, and hit and runs. In 1910, Foster organized his own team of all-stars and compiled a 128-6 record. His Chicago American Giants were a dynasty, winning eleven championships from 1911-22.

In 1920, Foster and owners of seven other clubs met in Kansas City, Missouri to form the first successful African-American professional baseball circuit; Foster was elected president. His American Giants won the Negro National League’s first three pennants. In 1926, Foster was admitted to Kankakee State Hospital in Illinois, where he stayed for four years before his death. Thousands of mourners attended his funeral in Chicago. Foster, the “Father of Black Baseball,” was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.

(2008)