Gilbert was inside and busted me! He opened the door with a big smile and said Hey if you're going to take a picture you might as well come on in!
He was dusting. Told me I should check out the bigger pool hall down the road that he used to own. We ended up talking for like an hour. He's one of those fascinating people you meet and then think about every once in while for the rest of your life.
Gilbert Hernandez Black:
He was a pitcher in the Negro League back in the 1950s. He played with Hank Aaron, I think Willie Mays and a whole bunch of others.
When he retired, among other things, he owned a big pool room in Connecticut. He loved playing pool, had stories about Minnesota Fats / Willie Mosconi. Back to baseball kinda - he knew Jackie Robinson well and used to play pool with his son Junior.
He said people can write to him for autographs he loves it!
Former Negro league ballplayer, Gilbert Hernandez Black:Because blacks were not being accepted into the major and minor baseball leagues, they formed their own teams and had made professional teams by the 1880s. Gilbert Hernandez Black witnessed the greatness of Willie Mays, Robert Clemente, Robin Roberts, Sal Maglie, "Big Jim" Hearn, Dave Caslow, Warren Spahn, Joe Adcock, Sibbi Sisti, Sam Jethroe, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Stan Musial, and so many more.
https://patch.com/connecticut/windsor/meet-former-negro-league-ballplayer-gilbert-hernandez-black
Known as "Gil," was born in 1934 in Manhattan, New York. He grew up several blocks away from the famous Polo Grounds and learned to love the game by watching the New York Giants practice. He moved to Stanford in 1950 and played ball for several prominent African-American teams, including the West Palm Beach Indians, a Florida State League affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves and the Indianapolis Clowns. Though he was gifted in many positions, he predominantly pitched in his career.
https://medium.com/@cmoyer/brewers-to-host-annual-negro-leagues-tribute-game-on-july-18
Gilbert Black:
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Unknown
Throws: Unknown
Full Name: Gilbert Hernandez Black
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=black-001gil
Born: 1934, New York, NY
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Height: 6' 3"
Weight: 205 lbs.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1037210021/gilbert-black-negro-leagues-autographed
Former Negro league ballplayer still loves game:In the 1950s, the 6-foot, 3-inch baseball player was a member of the West Palm Beach Indians, a Florida State League affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves. He also played for the Indianapolis Clowns, a professional baseball team in the Negro American League.
Growing up just two blocks from the Polo Grounds in Manhattan, Black said he learned everything about baseball by watching the N.Y. Giants practice.
If I went up to the upper deck, I would catch a lot of balls. One day I caught seven balls.
As a teenager, he moved to Stamford. After establishing a name for himself in baseball at Stamford High School, by 1955 he was playing for the West Palm Beach Indians.
Due to the strong segregation laws that existed at that time in Florida, it was extremely difficult while on the road to find hotels and restaurants that would accommodate blacks. This became so much of an inconvenience to the team that after just a few games, "myself and fellow player Jim Proctor, who was also black, were released," said Black, who is single. "While I was upset, I was confident I would find another team." And he did. By the following year, he was playing for the Indianapolis Clowns. The Clowns traveled in broken-down buses and were sometimes packed into cars.
You got $4 a day for meal money. One guy would buy the mustard, another would buy the bologna, and another the bread - and that's how we ate.
Due to segregation laws, there were many times Black and his teammates changed their clothing on the bus, since they weren't allowed to use showers or locker rooms in many hotels, he said. Yet, Black loved the game so much he never let anything get him down.
All you're thinking about is playing baseball. You get on the bus, go to sleep, and when you wake up you're in another town. People from everywhere are coming over to you like it's a circus. That was the best part.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Former-Negro-league-ballplayer-still-loves-game
Speaker session with former Negro League Baseball Player Gilbert Hernandez Black
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Ballplayer Gilbert Hernandez Black witnessed the greatness of Willie Mays, Robert Clemente, Robin Roberts, Sal Maglie, Big Jim Hearn, Dave Caslow, Warren Spahn.