What? Rube Foster was white? And black?

[pholmer]

I am playing a game which starts in 1911. One player on my team is Rube Foster, a black pitcher. (For those who don't know, Foster is a legendary figure in the Negro Leagues, more as a manager than a player, and is in the HOF.) So, in my game I play to the 1913 Rookie Draft where I find something unusual.

Among the 1913 rookies is Rube Foster, same photo as my Rube Foster, but about 9 years younger. To find out if there are two Rube Fosters I go to Baseball-reference.com, type in the name, and get this picture of a white guy named Rube Foster. The website has no image of any other Rube Foster. I check my OOTP photos folder and the black RF from my game is the only RF there.

Well, this makes no sense, so I go to seamheads.com and verify my info on the RF from my game. I look at the white RF info again and follow a link to a bio. White RF (real name George) pitched for the Red Sox from 1913-17 and made quite a splash by winning 2 World Series games in 1915 while batting .500 in the series and getting the game-winning hit in one game. His Historical ID is fosteru01.

Black RF (real name Andrew) began his baseball career in 1902 and played for various Negro Leagues teams until 1917. That's probably why he wasn't in the Baseball-Reference.com database; he never played in a league considered a "Major" league. He may be listed as a manager, though. His Historical ID is fosteru02. And yes, he is in Baseball-Reference.com as a manager.

I am attaching a thumbnail photo of white RF and another photo (and I think better) picture of black RF, in case anyone wants to add them to your photos folder. I also don't want anyone to think that by using the terms white and black BF, I am showing any disrespect to these players. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was simply a clear and direct way of ensuring any reader would be able to follow my story without wondering "Who's on first?" (The two headshots below will appear correctly on the player's page. They are labeled correctly and should not overwrite any other photo.)

[italyprof]

The funny thing is, they actually kind of look alike skin coloration aside. Sort of the same nose and facial expression in the photo.

Also, turns out there have been both a white and black George Foster as well if I read your post correctly.

Great research.

[pholmer]

Thanks. Yes, I thought of that too. When I was thinking about how to label their pictures, I thought, "I can use their first names" but as soon as I thought "George Foster", I knew that wouldn't work. Also, most people wouldn't know to look for George or Andrew Foster when searching for Rube.

It's interesting that both their playing careers apparently ended the same year, 1917. It makes me wonder if they were aware of each other, even played against each other. And that in turn takes my fanciful brain to the "Who's on First" comedy skit of Abbott and Costello.

Costello:Who's pitching for the white team?
Abbott: Rube Foster.
Costello: Who's pitching for the colored team? (Remember it's 1917)
Abbott: Rube Foster.
Costello: What? You mean the same guy is pitching for both teams? How can he do that?
Abbott: He switches uniforms every half inning.
Costello: What happens when he comes up to bat?
Abbott: They bring in the designated pitcher.
Costello: Who's that?
Abbott: The guy who used to be on first.
And off we go.