LUKE EASTER

I first read accounts of Luke Easter in The Sporting News in the late '40s. He was putting on shows for the San Diego Padres (Cleveland's farm team) by putting balls in orbit, a half-hour before game time. People in droves crowded in to see Big Luke - all 6-4 and one half inches of him, twisted like a dark steel ornamented pinball thrust, hammering balls, lighting all the 10,000 point lights, till the ballpark said TILT!

It was for real, as the Cleveland Indians found out. Bill Veeck, always one to find the right stuff, had Luke up for a '49 cup of coffee. 1950 found Luke and the Indians on the warpath. Doby, Rosen and Easter were the AL's answer to Campy, Gil and the Duke. Luke's last year with the Indians was 1953. Injuries cut down his playing time - they called it gimpy knees. The Tribe finished second to the Yanks, but Easter came to the plate only 211 times.

He hit a high .303 with seven homers, but didn't figure in the Indians future. God, what the DH would have done for this gentle giant. He played at least another 15 years, saving at least two franchises in the minor leagues with his presence! He was a "god of thunder in ebony." Buffalo and Rochester were "born again" franchises because of him.

There were marks throughout the land where his homers landed or were discovered. He was the "big bang" theory of the diamond. The strength that made history for early blacks in the majors.

Easter put a dent so high on the wood roof facing in right field at old Municipal Stadium that swallows get dizzy trying to attach mud there for a nest! It is recorded for posterity as the longest blow ever near Lake Erie.

Luke had a fun demeanor. Hot foots...cardshark...but everyone had respect for the kindly strongman. Only a gun could finish off such a legend - when in Euclid, Ohio, in '79, a robber tried to take money from Luke at a bank, and killed him. His age was listed at 65. That would have made him a 36 year-old rookie in 1950! [Editor's Note: baseball-reference.com has him listed as 34 in 1950] He had played in the old Negro Leagues with the best of 'em. His legacy/merit in the game is of HOF status, given his age of entry and as minor league savior in the '60s.