Negro League Baseball Discussion Forum: Former Players – Information Exchange: Luke Easter
By Paul Spindler (Pspind) on Saturday, May 29, 1999 – 02:57 pm:
A former Negro League player is very important to me. I am white, and grew up in a white suburb. I felt no animosity to Blacks while growing up, but had virtually no cantact.An unfortunate handicap over which I had no control. My hometown baseball team, the Rochester Red Wings, hired Luk Easter, who by then must have been in his 40's, with bad legs, as thir 1st baseman. He was a wonderful man, and a heroic hitter, specializing in monsterous home-runs and clutch hits late in close games.
He was my hero before I knew he was black, and when I went to a game and saw him, I had to come to grips with my isolation. He became a more cherished hero as I learned about his big heart and how his best years were spent before he was allowed in the Majors. He was one of the first to make the injustice real to me. As a grown man, I cried when I heard of his untimely death trying to defend his co-workers' money from a robber. When I played softball, I chose his number, 36, as mine.
He is a legend in Rochester, and in the Red Wings Hall of Fame (one of the charter members). I've never heard much about his career in the Negro Leagues, though. Any sources or leads?
By Jack Saunders (Jack) on Thursday, June 24, 1999 – 11:52 pm:
Lucous (his real first name) Luke Easter played for the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League in 1949, and was the greatest Left Handed power hitter I have ever seen. Like McGwire today, people would come early to see him launch gigantic shots during batting practice and then duplicate them later in games. I once spoke to Al Rosen who was a teammate of Easter on the Cleveland Indians later on and he agreed that Luke hit them farther than anyone he had ever seen. And Luke was passed his prime when he got to the big leagues. Like the previous writer I am white, but it is a shame Luke was a man before his time. He, McGwire AND Sosa SHOULD BE REMEMBERED IN THE SAME SENTENCE, They are by me!