Bob Kendrick discusses the life and career of the great Oscar Charleston, from why he's referred to as "Willie Mays before we ever knew Willie Mays" (03:45), and why experts and peers alike call him one of the five greatest players to ever lace up spikes (07:16), to how he once took on the Cuban military in a fistfight (08:00), and why he was simultaneously one of the most feared and most respected managers in Negro Leagues history (09:33). Then biographer Jeremy Beer stops by (15:47) to dive deeper into the man, the myth, and the legend of Oscar Charleston.
Follow Bob Kendrick on Twitter - https://twitter.com/nlbmprez
Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - https://nlbm.com
Gordon Hopkins audio is courtesy of the University of Baltimore Oral Histories -https://archive.org/details/ubaltaudio
Jimmy Crutchfield audio originally recorded with Stephen Banker
To learn more about the great Oscar Charleston, check out the award-winning Oscar Charleston: The Life and Legend of Baseball's Greatest Forgotten Player by Jeremy Beer - https://amzn.to/3iusnWY