Loading...
 

J.C. McHaskell

Julius C. "J. C." McHaskell ,1 born July 31st, 1902 in Pine Bluff, AR2 , was a Negro League baseball player from about 1926-1929.

Biography

McHaskell was the son of Robert McHaskell and Mary (nee Dodd) McHaskell.3 He was born and raised near Pine Bluff, AR, but moved to Jonesboro, AR by 1920.

McHaskell was a small,4 light-hitting first baseman with a short career in the Negro Leagues. He may have begun his baseball career with the Jonesboro (AR) All-Stars in 1925.5 In 1926, he joined the nearby Memphis Red Sox and continued with the club through 1929 despite his poor performance as a hitter. His playing career was abruptly ended following two separate incidents leading to serious injury. The first occurred on either May 30th or 31st, 19296 when McHaskell was shot in the left foot by Memphis teammate Robert Poindexter following a hard 14-3 loss to the St. Louis Stars.7 8 The incident occurred at the Grand Central hotel in St. Louis, MO when Poindexter, aggravated by his own pitching performance and the deriding of his teammates, took offense at a remark from McHaskell and shot him. The injury was recovered quickly, and McHaskell returned to playing soon afterward.9 The second incident came after the 1929 season when McHaskell's left foot was maimed in an elevator accident while working for Swift and Co. in Pine Bluff, AR. The resulting infecting required the amputation of the foot, ending McHaskell's baseball career.10 11

McHaskell lived in Pine Bluff for several more years, working at a oil mill.12 In 1939, McHaskell managed the Morrilton Sluggers baseball team.13 By 1940, he moved to St. Louis and worked as a porter.14

McHaskell died in March, 1970 in Detroit, Mich.15

Excerpts

"St. Louis, Mo., June 6. --(ANP)-- J. C. McHaskell, first baseman and valuable asset on the Memphis Red Sox baseball team, was shot in the left foot by Robert Poindexter, 29-year-old ace pitcher of the Tennessee aggregation, Thursday night. The shooting occurred at the Grand Central hotel, where the baseball team resided during their engagement of four games here with the St. Louis Stars. When the two members of the Memphis Red Sox were talking over the game played with the Stars Thursday before a capacity crowd of fans when the Stars walloped Memphis, 14 to 3, the discussion greatly displeased Poindexter. "Robert was somewhat low-spirited over his punk pitching, and I tried to sympathize with him," McHaskell explained at the City hospital No. 2, to an . . . Associated Negro Press correspondent. "I told him tomorrow (Friday) was Ladies' day at the Stars park and he should do better with the girls all there. "Somehow he took offense at that. He thought I was 'joshing' him, so he pulled out his pistol and shot me in the foot." Pitcher Poindexter was arrested and held at the Police headquarters charged with assault to kill. Realizing his injury was not serious, McHaskell waived his right to prosecute his assailant and Poindexter was released. Thursday, Decoration Day, Poindexter was sent to the mound during the second half of the fourth inning to relieve Broadnax, the first pitcher, Poindexter had ten runs charged against him. His pitching gave the St. Louis team an easy victory with a score of 14 to 3. Harry Kenyon, playing manager of the Memphis Red Sox, said his ball club was been greatly hampered due to the injury sustained by McHaskell, whom he regards as an exceptionally dependable and consistent infielder. McHaskel [sic] is 25 years old and a native of Pine Bluff, Ark., where he has a wife and two children. During the winter season McHaskell says he is busily engaged at home town as a physical director, training football and basketball teams for the colored school. Dr. Nesbitt, president of the Memphis club, came to St. Louis Saturday to determine whether or not Pitcher Poindexter will be retained with his organization. Poindexter's conduct unearthed information from his team mates that he has served a penitentiary term for slaying a man in Washington, D. C. He came to the Red Sox from the Black Barons club of Birmingham, and claims New York City as his residence. As the whether Poindexter's further relationship with the Memphis team will affect the morale of the players is a question being considered by the owners."16

Stats

Statistics at Baseball-Reference.com.

Statistics at Seamheads.com
1 McHaskell's first name is given in the 1930 U.S. Census, but he seems to be exclusively known elsewhere as "J. C."
4 McHaskell was 5'8'' according to his Missouri WWII Draft Card.
5 Arkansas Gazette, 6/9/1925, p.10
6 Newspaper accounts make clear that the shooting occurred after the game between the Memphis Red Sox and the St. Louis Stars on May 30. However, it's not totally clear from the same accounts whether the shooting occurred late Thursday, May 30, or early Friday, May 31.
10 Chicago Defender, 11/16/1929
11 Some sources indicate that McHaskell's injuries required the amputation of both of his legs. (Early Exits: The Premature Endings of Baseball Careers, Brian McKenna, 2007, p.70). However, no amputation is noted on McHaskell World War II draft card.
13 Chicago Defender, 3/11/1939