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Images 6-16-06
"Back in the Day"
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CHARLES JOHNSON
Charles Johnson, was one of the eldest Negro League Baseball Legends around as we headed into 2006. But on Saturday night June 10th 2006 at 6:20 p.m. Mr. Johnson passed in his sleep, just as we were preparing to help him celebrate his 97th birthday on Monday August 7th. Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in 1909, Johnson never knew his father and lived with his mother, uncle and grandmother, bouncing back and forth between Chicago, Arkansas, Kansas City, Missouri; and St. Louis. In 1925 Mr. Johnson returned to Chicago to be with his dying
mother, and from the age of fifteen, Johnson then was forced to live on his own. In order to make a living, Johnson took a job working at the neighborhood grocery store on Chicago's South Side where he later became acquainted with the former Negro League Legend, the late great Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe. Because he was hungry, Johnson started to play baseball. In 1930 Johnson went on his first baseball barnstorming tour throughout Canada playing with the Texas Giants. He then did the same thing with those same Giants the next season. By then, the Great Depression had set in so he returned home to Chicago, where he was forced to rely on bread lines and flop houses for assistance. He later joined the famed Chicago American Giants of the former Negro Leagues as both a right handed pitcher and as an outfielder. In the late 1930's when not playing ball, Johnson worked in the stockyards. In the early 1940's he took a job in electroplating and in 1942 he got married to his girlfriend Julia, which eventually forced him to give up traveling with the American Giants. He finally quit playing baseball all together in 1944. Julia and Charles were married for 57 years until her passing in 1999. They had no children. In 1951, Johnson went on to work for the Illinois Central Railroad because he was lured by its pension plan. He later became an active member of his union and helped the union file a lawsuit against the railroad in 1965 for discrimination. After five years of litigation, the railroad finally relented. Throughout most of his life, Mr. Johnson has fought against discrimination. Eventually retiring from the railroad in 1974, Johnson has worked to get himself and some 140+ other former Negro League ballplayers accepted into the pension fund that was established by baseball's Major League Players Association. Though the fund was created to provide assistance to many of the elderly Negro Leaguers, Johnson and many others still have not been able to receive support. Mr. Johnson lived on Chicago's South Side near where it all began.
Images 6-16-06
Charles Johnson, was one of the eldest Negro League Baseball Legends around as we headed into 2006. But on Saturday night June 10th 2006 at 6:20 p.m. Mr. Johnson passed in his sleep, just as we were preparing to help him celebrate his 97th birthday on Monday August 7th. Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in 1909, Johnson never knew his father and lived with his mother, uncle and grandmother, bouncing back and forth between Chicago, Arkansas, Kansas City, Missouri; and St. Louis. In 1925 Mr. Johnson returned to Chicago to be with his dying 
mother, and from the age of fifteen, Johnson then was forced to live on his own. In order to make a living, Johnson took a job working at the neighborhood grocery store on Chicago's South Side where he later became acquainted with the former Negro League Legend, the late great Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe. Because he was hungry, Johnson started to play baseball. In 1930 Johnson went on his first baseball barnstorming tour throughout Canada playing with the Texas Giants. He then did the same thing with those same Giants the next season. By then, the Great Depression had set in so he returned home to Chicago, where he was forced to rely on bread lines and flop houses for assistance. He later joined the famed Chicago American Giants of the former Negro Leagues as both a right handed pitcher and as an outfielder. In the late 1930's when not playing ball, Johnson worked in the stockyards. In the early 1940's he took a job in electroplating and in 1942 he got married to his girlfriend Julia, which eventually forced him to give up traveling with the American Giants. He finally quit playing baseball all together in 1944. Julia and Charles were married for 57 years until her passing in 1999. They had no children. In 1951, Johnson went on to work for the Illinois Central Railroad because he was lured by its pension plan. He later became an active member of his union and helped the union file a lawsuit against the railroad in 1965 for discrimination. After five years of litigation, the railroad finally relented. Throughout most of his life, Mr. Johnson has fought against discrimination. Eventually retiring from the railroad in 1974, Johnson has worked to get himself and some 140+ other former Negro League ballplayers accepted into the pension fund that was established by baseball's Major League Players Association. Though the fund was created to provide assistance to many of the elderly Negro Leaguers, Johnson and many others still have not been able to receive support. Mr. Johnson lived on Chicago's South Side near where it all began.