| Playing with Passion: Profiles of Negro League baseball players. |
Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe
Position: Pitcher/Catcher and Manager
Career: 1928 – 1950
orn July 7, 1902 in Mobile, Alabama, Ted was nicknamed “Double Duty” by New York sportswriter Damon Runyan after watching Ted catch the first game of a doubleheader and then pitch the second game. It is uniquely fitting that Double Duty appeared in six East/West All-Star games—three as a pitcher and three as catcher.
During his 22 year career, Radcliffe played on more than 15 teams including three of the greatest teams in black baseball history across three consecutive seasons— the St. Louis Stars in 1930, the Homestead Grays in 1931 and the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1932. His versatility produced impressive numbers for those seasons, including batting averages of .283, .298 and .325 with corresponding pitching records of 10-2, 9-5, and 19-8. With the St. Louis Stars he was the regular catcher for the first half of the season, but when the pitching staff wore thin, he stepped in and proved to be one of the top hurlers on the championship squad.
With his flamboyant personality, Ted was second only to Satchel Page as one of the crowd pleasers of his day.
*Players' biographies are excerpted from copyrighted materials and used with permission of the Negro League Baseball Players Association (www.NLBPA.com)
