Jimmy Bonner facts for kids
James Everett Bonner (born September 18, 1906, died May 10, 1963), also known as Jimmy Bonner, was an American baseball player. He made history by playing for the Dai Tokyo team in the Japanese Baseball League.
Jimmy Bonner was the very first African American to play professional baseball in Japan. This happened 11 years before Jackie Robinson famously broke the "color barrier" in Major League Baseball in the United States.
Early Life
Jimmy Bonner was born in Mansfield, Louisiana. He was one of five children. When he was young, his parents divorced. His mother later remarried. By the time Jimmy was 13, he was working as a delivery person for a drugstore.
Baseball Career
Jimmy Bonner started playing baseball in junior high school. By 1932, he was a versatile player for the Shreveport Black Sports. He was 5 feet 10 inches tall and could use both hands well. He threw with his right hand but batted with his left.
Later in 1932, he moved to West Oakland, California. He married Lillian Victor there. In 1934, he played for the San Francisco Colored Giants. In 1935, he joined the Oakland Black Sox.
In 1936, Jimmy became a pitcher for the Berkeley Grays. This team was part of the Berkeley International League. This league had many different types of teams from the Bay Area. He earned the nickname "Satchel" because he pitched so well. Once, he struck out 22 batters in just one game!
Playing in Japan
On September 8, 1936, a Japanese-American businessman named Harry H. Kono asked Bonner to play baseball in Japan. He wanted him to join the Dai Tokyo Baseball Club. This team was part of the new Japanese Baseball League.
Some Japanese teams needed more talented players. So, they started looking for players from the United States. On September 18, Bonner traveled to Japan by ship. He arrived on October 5.
His salary was 400 yen each month. This was much more than the average 140 yen for a typical Tokyo Giants player. Japanese newspapers were excited about his arrival. They wrote headlines like "Black Pitcher Rushes onto the Scene."
Bonner played in several positions, including pitcher and first baseman. His defense in Japan was not always strong. However, he was very good at batting. He had a batting average of .458 in 24 at-bats.
In mid-November, Bonner left the team after only a month. Historians have different ideas why he didn't pitch as well in Japan. One reason might be that the "strike zone" was smaller. This was because Japanese men were generally shorter. Also, the baseballs used in Japan were smaller and more slippery than American balls.
Later Life
After returning to the United States, Bonner worked as a porter for the Pullman Company. He also kept playing baseball semi-professionally. He joined the U.S. Army in 1943. After the war, he went back to working for Pullman. He worked there until he passed away in 1963.
