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Joel Buchanan Archive of African American History: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/ohfb Samuel Proctor Oral History Program College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Program Director: Dr. Paul Ortiz 241 Pugh Hall PO Box 115215 Gainesville, FL 32611 (352) 392-7168 https://oral.history.ufl.edu AAHP 151B Charles Moore African American History Project (AAHP) Interview conducted by Irene Cardozo on March 21, 2011 54 minutes | 27 pages Abstract: Charles Moore attended A.L. Mebane High School in Alachua, Florida and then went to Florida A&M University. While there, hehad a roommate in college whose father, Eugene White, played baseball in the Negro League. He relates some of the stories that he heard from Mr. White, and some of the other aspects of Negro League history that he learned over the years. He also talks about baseball in the general north/north-central Florida area, and the significance the game had in communities there. Mixed in, he also talks about how he experienced baseball growing up, both as a player and as a fan keeping up with the Major Leagues. He also describes his high school teaching and coaching career of thirty-three years in Florida. [Keywords: African American History; Alachua County, Florida; Baseball; Negro League] For information on terms of use of this interview, please see the SPOHP Creative Commons license at http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AfricanAmericanOralHistory. AAHP 151B Interviewee: Charles Moore Interviewer: Irene Cardozo Date: March 21, 2011 C: This is Irene Cardozo and I’m interviewing Mr. Charles Moore today on March 21, 2011. We’re here at the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program. Hi Mr. Moore. M: How you doing? C: Good. So let’s start off. Will you tell me some stories or whatever about you growing up and going to Mebane High School. M: Well, I went to Mebane from K through 12—no I’m sorry. Not K. I didn’t start out in the kindergarten. I started out in first grade. Back then kindergarten hadn’t gotten started then and it was first grade through twelfth grade at Mebane. And it was a very, very enjoyable time there. Very enjoyable time there, yes. C: You mentioned to us that your best friend from college’s dad played for the Old Negro Leagues and you got to play under him? M: Yes. C: So could you tell us a little about him, and how it was, the experience? M: He was a great man, and when I started when I was in college my roommate, college roommate, I met his dad. His dad was telling me the history about himself and he played in the Old Negro League back with Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige, and all those guys. And he was telling me a lot of interesting things about how they would have to ride the bus into a town, and by them being Black during that time, they may not get fed. They were going to check into a motel, hotel and they may tell them, “Well, we don’t accept Blacks.” And they would have to sometimes sleep on the bus when they was going to play baseball. But he was telling me about it; it was such an enjoyable time. His name is Eugene White. AAHP 151B; Moore; Page 2 They call him Stank White, Eugene Stank White. His son is Doug White, Douglas White, he’s the Athletic Director, Head Basketball Coach at Raines High School. He’s retired this year. He’s joining me ‘cause I’m retired. [Coughs] Excuse me. Just talking me with Mr. White, Mr. White was telling me about some of the ball players and he said that they had some great baseball players back in the Old Negro Leagues that never got a chance to go into the Major Leagues. And I can’t call off the names of these guys now, but one of the guys, Josh Gibson, they say that in his career he hit over eight hundred and something-plus home runs. C: Wow. M: And they were saying that he hit what they call nowadays tape measure shots. Well they say he hit some that was longer than tape measure shots, home runs. Great baseball player, he was a catcher. And he was telling us about guys like Cool Papa Bell, who they say probably was the fastest guy to ever play baseball. And guys like Cool Papa Bell and Satchel Paige and there’s others, right now for some reason I can’t reel them off the top of my head. But it was just—to me it was interesting. I got a chance to play on—he had like a summer baseball team over in Jacksonville called The Jacksonville Majors and I got a chance to play for him and play with him because he was still playing at the time. When he was fifty, in the middle of the late fifties and still playing baseball, and could hit. He could really hit the baseball. C: Very nice. So you mention in the previous interview that growing up you guys used to play pick-up baseball games. Can you tell me about that? AAHP 151B; Moore; Page 3 M: I was born and raised right outside of Gainesville in an area that’s known as the Monteocha area. And as a little boy they always had baseball teams. And when I grew up—well as a little boy I always said, “When I grow up, I’m gonna play on that baseball team.” And lo and behold, when I grew up, I think I was like maybe thirteen, fourteen years old, I started playing baseball out in the country. And every little community had a baseball team. Every little community. We had one in Monteocha area, they had one in Alachua, they had one in High Springs, they had one in Hawthorne, they had one in Waldo, they had one in Newberry. Archer had a baseball team. Jonesville had a baseball team. And these were all in Alachua County. Then the surrounding areas had baseball teams. Starke had one, Lawtey had one, Lake Butler had a baseball team, Macclenny. Lake City had a baseball team. Live Oak had a baseball team. Cross City had one, Chiefland, Williston, they had one down in what they call—little settlement outside between Williston and Ocala called Blichton. They had one in Ocala. They had two in Reddick. In the Reddick area they had two, and all of these communities—Putnam Hall—all of these communities had baseball teams. And back during those days it was mainly all Black. Every now and then you would have a White or Hispanic that lived in that area that would play. But it was basically all Black. And let me tell me something, it would be crowded. I mean it would be crowded at one of those baseball games. People would come out and they would support it and they would cheer it on and it was just people down there, they were enjoying themselves and just watching a good baseball game. And we had some good baseball players too. AAHP 151B; Moore; Page 4 C: About how far would these fans drive to get there? M: They would drive far. I can give you an example. I can’t tell you the exact year but we, the Monteocha team, went down to in Volusia County, De Leon Springs in Volusia County, that’s right outside of DeLand. We had a convoy of about fifty automobiles going down there. C: Wow. M: And they would travel to support you, and they would support you when you played at home. And when we played at home, the other teams always brought a lot of fans also. Just think about it now, fifty automobiles in a convoy going to a baseball game on a Sunday evening. And that was a lot. The automobile just didn’t have one person. The automobiles were loaded with people, and that’s just how they supported it. C: And growing up, what sports were you involved in? M: Oh, played baseball, football, and basketball. In high school. I went to Santa Fe Community College. I played baseball and basketball at Santa Fe Community College. In fact, I was the first Black athlete at Santa Fe Community College. That was the first—I played on their first baseball team, the first baseball team at Santa Fe, and I was the first one there. But then another guy came in named Robert Kelsey, he came in but he came in after I did. So I guess I got the distinction of being their first Black athlete at Santa Fe Community College. Then the following year Santa Fe formed a basketball team. I was on that also. C: Very nice. You’re athletic. When you went to FAMU you also played sports there? AAHP 151B; Moore; Page 5 M: I went on a baseball scholarship to FAMU, and I was there, I played two years. [19]71, actually, I went there in [19]71, the fall of [19]71, and I played the spring of [19]72 and the spring of [19]73. Because I had two years at Santa Fe Community College, I only had two years at FAMU, out of my four years of my eligibility. But I got a chance at FAMU to play with Hall of Famer Andre Dawson. C: Oh nice. M: The hulk. I got a chance to play with him, yes. C: So, going into the actual Negro Leagues, what were some of the Leagues that were established? I notice you have the names on the back of your shirt.

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