Foster, Rube

Foster, (Andrew) Rube

(1878–1930) baseball player, manager, executive; born in Calvert, Texas. Nicknamed "Rube" for outpitching Hall of Famer Rube Waddell, Foster rose through the ranks from star player (1902–17) to club owner, emerging as the dominant figure in black baseball after pitching and managing his 1910 Leland Giants, who dominated African-American baseball for the following decade, to a 126–6 record. Friend and confidant of major league managers including John McGraw, as a manager (1910–23) his skills achieved legendary proportions; several of his strategies became standard in major league ball. In 1920 he created the Negro National League, which placed black baseball on a solid footing for the first time and gained him the reputation of being "the Father of Black baseball." As president, his fifteen-hour days contributed to a nervous breakdown (1926) from which he never recovered. He was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. His half-brother, “Big Bill” (William Hendrick) Foster (1904–78), also compiled an outstanding pitching record in the black leagues (1923–37).

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.