Dave Hoskins

David Taylor Hoskins (August 3, 1925 – April 2, 1970) was an American professional baseball player: a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 26 games for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball during the 1953 season and 14 games during the 1954 campaign.

Hoskins was the first African American to play in the minor league Texas League, pitching for the Double-A Dallas Eagles in 1952. He faced much the same kind of hostility that Jackie Robinson did when he first broke into the majors five years earlier. Though players loved him, some fans cursed and taunted him, especially outside Dallas. At first, he was not allowed to play in Shreveport when the Eagles traveled there to play the Shreveport Sports. [1]

Hoskins won 22 games for the Dallas Eagles in 1952 with a 2.12 earned run average. The pitcher made the All-Star team and also hit .328, an outstanding average for a pitcher. Six years later, he won 17 more games for the renamed Dallas Rangers in the same circuit.

Hoskins made the big-league Indians in 1953, going 9-3 with a 3.99 ERA. The following year, he had an ERA of 3.04, as the Indians won the American League pennant. But he developed a sore arm and would not return to the Major League again.

Hoskins' professional career began in the Negro Leagues with the Homestead Grays, and continued from 1949 to 1960 in minor and Major League baseball. In ​139 ¹⁄₃ major league innings, Hoskins allowed 131 hits and 48 bases on balls. He struck out 64.

Hoskins died in Flint, Michigan in 1970 at 44 years of age.