Pumpsie Green, first black player for Red Sox, dies at 85
Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, the first black player in Boston Red Sox history, died on Wednesday in San Leandro. He was 85.
The Red Sox confirmed Green’s death on Wednesday and also held a moment of silence prior to their Wednesday night home game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
“Pumpsie Green occupies a special place in our history,” Red Sox principal owner John Henry said in a press release. “He was, by his own admission, a reluctant pioneer, but we will always remember him for his grace and perseverance in becoming our first African-American player. He paved the way for the many great Sox players of color who followed. For that, we all owe Pumpsie a debt of gratitude.”
Green entered as a pinch runner against the Chicago White Sox on July 21, 1959, to become the first black player to play in a game for Boston. The Red Sox were the last major league team to integrate.
A speedy but light-hitting utilityman, Green brought baseball’s segregation era to an end of sorts when he entered a game against the Chicago White Sox as a pinch runner for Vic Wertz on July 21, 1959 — more than a dozen years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Green joined the team on a lengthy road trip and had played nine games before taking the field at Fenway Park for the first time. Green said this year in an interview with NESN, the Red Sox TV network, that he remembered receiving a standing ovation when he came to the plate, batting leadoff.
“It was heart-warming and nerve-wracking,” he told reporters in 1997, when he returned to Boston to take part in ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s debut. “But I got lucky: I hit a triple off the left-center fence.”
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Source:: The Mercury News – Sports
‘Pawn Stars’ helped former Washington lineman Mark May recover missing Super Bowl rings
Former Washington Redskins lineman Mark May lost his two Super Bowl rings earlier this year after spending the night in a Phoenix-area hotel. He thought they were gone forever.
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Source:: AOL.com
Prosecutors Drop Sexual Assault Charges Against Kevin Spacey
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Massachusetts prosecutors dropped a sexual assault charge against actor Kevin Spacey on Wednesday.
Spacey was charged with indecent assault and battery for allegedly groping an 18-year-old busboy at a Nantucket bar in 2016. The Cape and Islands District Attorney said the decision to drop the case – which, the actor pleaded not guilty to – was made “due to the unavailability of the complaining witness.”
In June, Spacey’s defense team requested to examine the accuser’s phone, claiming text messages were deleted from the night of the incident, that could have proved Spacey’s innocence. The judge ordered the phone be given to the defense, but the accuser’s lawyer said the phone was missing. Earlier this month, the accuser dropped a civil suit against the actor shortly after it was filed. Then, during a pretrial hearing last week, the accuser pleaded the fifth after Spacey’s lawyer warned him that he could be charged with a felony for deleting evidence. As such, the judge said the case “may well be dismissed” if the accuser didn’t continue to testify.
Multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by Spacey began surfacing in 2017. One of which was from an actor who accused Spacey of making a sexual advance towards him when he was 14-years-old. Netflix cut ties with the former “House of Cards” star shortly after.
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
Source:: Newsy Headlines
