Moses J. Yellow Horse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Moses Yellow Horse |
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| Pitcher | |||
| Born: January 28, 1898 Pawnee, Oklahoma |
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| Died: April 10, 1964 (aged 66) Pawnee, Oklahoma |
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| debut | |||
| April 15, 1921, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| October 1, 1922, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 8–4 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.93 | ||
| Strikeouts | 43 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Moses J. "Chief" Yellow Horse (born January 28, 1898 – died April 10, 1964) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in Major League Baseball during the 1921 and 1922 seasons. Yellow Horse was from Oklahoma and was a Native American of the Pawnee tribe. He was the first full-blooded American Indian to play in the major leagues.
Contents
Early Life and Baseball Beginnings
Moses Yellow Horse was born in 1898 in what was then called Indian Territory. This area is now part of Oklahoma. His parents, Clara and Thomas Yellow Horse, were both full-blooded Pawnee Native Americans.
Moses went to the Chilocco Indian Agricultural School. This is where he first started playing baseball. In 1917, he was an amazing player for his school team. He won 17 games and didn't lose any!
Playing Professional Baseball
After leaving school, Yellow Horse began his professional baseball career. He pitched for the Little Rock Travelers in a minor league called the Southern Association. In 1920, he helped his team win their first championship.
Joining the Pittsburgh Pirates
In 1921, Moses Yellow Horse joined the Pittsburgh Pirates. This was his big chance to play in Major League Baseball! His first game was on April 15. He came into the game as a relief pitcher (a pitcher who comes in after the starting pitcher). The Pirates won that game 3–1.
Later that year, Moses hurt his arm and needed surgery. This injury made him miss two months of playing. The next year, he injured his arm again, supposedly from a fall. Because of these injuries, Yellow Horse mostly played as a relief pitcher for the Pirates. Over his two years with the team, he won 8 games and lost 4.
While playing for the Pirates, Yellow Horse became good friends with another player named Rabbit Maranville. This friendship was very important to Moses.
Minor League Career and Later Years
Because of his arm injuries, Moses Yellow Horse could no longer pitch in the major leagues. So, he went back to playing minor league baseball. In 1923, he played for the Sacramento Senators. He suffered another serious arm injury the next year.
He continued to play for a few more years. His last professional game was on May 1, 1926.
Native American Baseball Pioneers
Moses Yellow Horse is believed to be the first full-blooded Native American to play in Major League Baseball. However, other players with Native American heritage played before him. These included:
- Louis Sockalexis (who played for the Cleveland Spiders from 1897–1899)
- Charles Albert "Chief" Bender (who mostly played for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1903–1917)
- John "Chief" Meyers (who mostly played for the New York Giants from 1909–1917)
Moses Yellow Horse and Dick Tracy
Chester Gould, the person who created the famous Dick Tracy comic strip, was also born on the Pawnee reservation. Gould used Moses Yellow Horse as inspiration for a character in his comic strip named Yellow Pony. The character's name and strong body were the main things they had in common.
Images for kids
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Moses "Chief" Yellow Horse
