EXTRA INNINGS A Life Lesson from Charley Pride During the long days of picking cotton in the stifling heat of the Delta, 13-year-old Charley Pride dreamed of a better life. Hard times dogged Charley’s sharecropper family with 11 children, living in a little three-room house. He loved to play or pick his Sears guitar along with the ’s radio program. Baseball was his passion, though, and when he heard that Jackie Robinson had broken baseball’s color barrier in 1947, he resolved that baseball would be his ticket out of the . When he was 16, Charley started playing sandlot baseball, then began his pro career pitching for the , a Negro League team. A better opportunity came in 1953 when he signed to play for the Boise, Idaho, Yankees, a Class C farm team of the . Unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder injury which led to his release. He knocked around the Negro Leagues again and was traded several times (one trade was for a used bus!), honing his guitar skills on the long bus rides. Back in Memphis he recorded a record, but the studios weren’t interested, so he signed to play Class C baseball for the Montana Timberjacks. While there he received an invitation to try out for the but failed to make the team. Tiring of constant roadblocks, Charley opted to go to work for a Montana mining company and play semi-pro ball for their team. He picked up extra cash by singing and playing guitar for company events, churches, and clubs around Helena, Montana, even singing the National Anthem at ball games. In 1963 the NY Mets gave him a tryout, but manager Casey Stengel cut him, putting an end to his dream of pitching in the Major Leagues. Stopping at a Nashville studio on the bus ride back to Montana, Charley’s rich baritone voice caught the attention of guitarist who convinced RCA to sign him. Atkins then helped Charley anticipate potential obstacles of being a black singer in the racially charged . His race wasn’t an issue, however, as people quickly accepted him, and Charley rocketed his way to international stardom. After receiving too many music awards to list here and selling 70,000,000 Gospel and Country records, in 2000 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He also received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Grammy award. Tap your toes to one of his gospel songs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZp6WJiFl_s In 2008, to commemorate the history of the Negro Leagues and to right a historical wrong, held a draft of Negro League players who were still alive. Each team selected one player to represent the many others who, because of their color, were denied the chance to play in the Major Leagues. The Rangers selected Charley Pride. Now at 82 years of age, he not only is a diehard fan of the Rangers but is a part-owner of that American League team! Mets manager Casey Stengel nailed it when, after he cut Charley from his tryout with the Mets, told him: “Have you ever thought that no matter how hard you tried to get into the major leagues, although you are a good ballplayer, you’re not here on this planet to play baseball; you’re here to sing”. Charley was crushed, but this last roadblock to baseball became the pathway to his brilliant music career. It may be that the roadblocks we encounter are God’s way of leading us to discover our place in life. Pete Aman 7/6/20