Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia | State Line Booker T's

State Line Booker T's

The Booker T's were a semi-professional Negro baseball team based near the Arkansas-Missouri state line on Highway 61, five miles north of Blytheville, AR, from 1935-1937.

History

The Booker T's were created in 1935 by Harry Bailey, a notorious white businessman who owned and operated numerous establishments along "the curve" on Highway 61 on the Arkansas-Missouri state line. Bailey was a large and charismatic man with a reputation for violence and frequent trouble with the law. Among his legitimate ventures on the state line were a filling station, liquor store and restaurant. He also sponsored various types of local entertainment including boxing matches and baseball games. However, Bailey's establishments were best known as hangouts for gangsters and other shady characters, as well as for bootlegging and illegal gambling. In 1932, Bailey was charged by the federal government with conspiring with local law enforcement to violate prohibition laws and was sentenced to four years in prison.1 He was given an early release in 1934 and allowed to resume his operations along the state line. The following spring, Bailey added a ballpark to his properties and formed the Booker T's, an all-black baseball team.2 The Booker T's competed against both regional black teams and local white teams and even played a late-season game while riding donkeys.3 Among Bailey's recruits for the 1935 team was Frank McAllister, a 17-year old star pitcher from Forrest City, AR who later went on to pitch for many seasons in the major Negro leagues with the St. Louis Stars franchise. Another attraction for the Booker T's was Bill Ball, a one-armed outfielder from Luxora, AR on the 1936 team. Nevertheless, the Booker T's experienced what the local press called "indifferent success."4 Meanwhile, Bailey struggled to develop a white team to play at his state line ballpark. In 1936, he organized an independent white team called the State Line Giants, but returned his attention to the Booker T's when the Giants disbanded midseason.5 In 1937, Bailey went so far as to hire former major leaguer Gus "Happy" Foreman to head the operations of both his white and Negro teams. Although Foreman initially strengthened the Booker T's lineup and secured a schedule of notable opponents, he soon left the state line to manage the Zulu Cannibal Giants. Bailey seemingly dissolved his baseball operations some time thereafter, likely due to his ongoing legal troubles. In April 1938, he was arrested for first degree murder, though a judge later dismissed the charge.6 In October 1941, he was charged with second degree murder and later sentenced to 10 years in prison as a result.7 However, he served only a few months of this sentence before he was again allowed to return to his home at the state line, having been given a temporary release, parole and a commuted sentence by Arkansas Governer Homer Adkins.8 9 On March 8th, 1945, Bailey suffered a fatal wound during an altercation at his restaurant on the state line. He had attempted to use his own gun as a club during the fight when it was dropped, picked up by another, and fired three times at Bailey. He died on March 13th in a Memphis hospital.10

Schedule/Results

Date	Location	Opponent	W-L	R	RA	Notes
5/26/1935	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Lutes (AR)	W	7	0	11
6/21/1935		Senath (MO) Red Birds	W			White team.12
7/1/1935	Senath, MO	Senath (MO) Red Birds	T	5	5	White team.13
7/4/1935	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Fisher Body (Memphis, TN)				14
7/13/1935	Osceola, AR	Claybrook Tigers	L	2	6	15
7/14/1935	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Senath (MO) Red Birds	W	7	3	White team.16
7/16/1935	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Indianapolis (IN) Sterling Greys	W	8	0	17
7/21/1935	Campbell, MO	Campbell (MO) Chicks	L	1	2	White team.18
7/24/1935	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Hayti (MO) All-Stars				19
7/25/1935	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Senath (MO) Red Birds				White team.20
8/8/1935	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Marie (AR) Greyhounds	W	6	2	21
8/9/1935	Osceola, AR	Lincoln Stars (Memphis, TN)				22
8/11/1935	Osceola, AR	Lincoln Stars (Memphis, TN)				23
8/18/1935	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Memphis Blues (Mounds, IL)				24
8/25/1935	Mounds, IL	Memphis Blues (Mounds, IL)				25
9/?/1935		Memphis Red Sox	L	2	3	26
9/15/1935	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Jonesboro (AR)				27
9/15/1935	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, Mo	Steele (MO)				Played on Donkeys.28
6/21/1936	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Memphis Stars	L	3	6	29
6/22/1936	Legion Park, Caruthersville, MO	Caruthersville (MO) Greyhounds	L	4	9	30 31 32
6/28/1936	Legion Park, Caruthersville, MO	Caruthersville (MO) Greyhounds	L	4	5	33 34 35
7/12/1936	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Lincoln Stars (Memphis, TN)				36
8/23/1936	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Holcomb (MO) All-Stars	W	11	10	37
8/30/1936	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Memphis Mud Hens	W	5	4	White opponent.38
10/11/1936		Memphis Mud Hens	L	1	3	White opponent.39
10/18/1936	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Memphis Mud Hens	T	2	2	White opponent.40
10/25/1936	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Memphis Mud Hens				White opponent.41
3/21/1937	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Memphis Red Sox				42
4/11/1937	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Memphis Mud Hens				White opponent.43
4/18/1937	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Brooklyn Giants (Memphis, TN)	L	1	6	44 45
5/2/1937	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	House of David				White opponent.46
5/4/1937	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Canadian Clowns				White opponent.47
6/21/1937	State Line Ball Park, Hermondale, MO	Memphis Mud Hens				White opponent48

Players

1935

Player	Birth	Death	Notes
Biggs			49
Cy Buck			50
Willie "Son" Cherry	8/2/1902	Jan 1985	Manager51
Jackson			52
Frank McAllister	4/29/1918 in Forrest City, AR	5/5/1987 in Cairo, IL	53