TOLEDO, Ohio — When it comes to Major League Baseball's long history, Jackie Robinson is widely known as the man to break its color barrier. However, there's another player who continues to get overlooked for that title and his name is Moses Fleetwood Walker.
"They are nothing compared to what Moses Fleetwood Walker was doing back then," television producer Byron Motley said.
A writer for the documentary "The League," Motley has spent a lot of time studying African American baseball players. Walker, who played in Toledo in the 1880s, has proven to be a Toledo revolutionary. His stellar play on the baseball field remains mind-blogging to historians.
"He caught the ball barehanded, so he was far ahead of his time," Motley said. "Must have been an outstanding ballplayer to catch a fastball with his hand."
A native of Steubenville, Ohio, Walker began his career at Oberlin College before turning some heads at a much bigger school.
"He played at the University of Michigan the last game of the year and beat them," Toledo Mud Hens historian John Husman said. "He made such an impression, along with a couple of other players that they were invited to go to Michigan and play there."
Walker's talent continued to get him noticed and eventually he landed with the Toledo Blue Stockings as a 26-year-old.
"That first team won a pennant in the Northwestern League, one of the few pennants that Toledo has won ever since 1883," Husman said. "He was a big part of the reason why."
The following season, the Blue Stockings joined the Major League-sanctioned "American Association" which in turn made Walker the first African American baseball player to play in the majors.
Weldy Walker, Fleetwood Walker's brother, played alongside him during the 1884 season marking the second Black player to compete in the major leagues.
So if they are the true color barrier breakers, then why does this moment of history not get highlighted?
"Well, that's hard to say because it was so long ago," Husman said. "There are people still alive, including myself, who remember Jackie Robinson."
Sixty-three years of separation between Walker's unprecedented achievement and Robinson's certainly plays a factor in the narrative. Technology over that time span evolved as well helping push toward more notoriety.
"A lot of the players I've spoken to don't know anything about Moses Fleetwood Walker, only a few have even heard of who he was," Motley said. "Most of the players from that era are not well-known or talked about."
Walker lasted one season at baseball's highest level due to racial discrimination. He then spent the final five years of his career playing in the minors.
April 15, 1947, is a day that is cemented for changing the sport as the MLB annually recognizes Jackie Robinson Day. But here in Toledo, that mark had already been set. An important memory that Husman continues shedding light on so that future generations understand what truly took place first.
"It's our claim to fame and it's historically accurate," Husman said. "It was a milestone event for Toledo."
Walker's memory in the Glass City remains alive throughout downtown. A mural is painted on a building wall located between St. Clair and Depot streets, while a historical marker stands in front of Fifth Third Field.
In 1991, Fleetwood Walker was inducted into the Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame.
