Ivan Kuester

Ivan Kuester played baseball at Reitz High School in Evansville, Indiana, and graduated in 1938. He attended a tryout camp held at Bosse Field, home of the Evansville Bees. Manager Bob Coleman signed the 19-year-old outfielder to a professional contract with the Boston Bees organization and sent him to their Class D club at Bradford,Continue reading “Ivan Kuester”

Mickey Stubblefield

When 24-year-old “Mickey” Stubblefield took the mound for the Mayfield Clothiers on the night of June 26, 1952, against the Paducah Chiefs, he became the first African-American player in the history of the Kitty League. Born Wilker Harrison Thelbert Stubblefield in Mayfield, Kentucky, on February 26, 1926, he was the son of Harrison Shelby StubblefieldContinue reading “Mickey Stubblefield”

Max Terhune

Even though his professional baseball career was brief, Max Terhune found greater success and stardom as a ventriloquist, entertainer, and actor in motion picture Westerns of the 1930s through the 1950s. Robert Max Terhune was born in a log cabin in Johnson County, Indiana, on February 12, 1891. He was the youngest of five childrenContinue reading “Max Terhune”

Orville Tipton

Lori Graham contacted me through the Kitty League Baseball Facebook page and asked for information about her great-grandfather, Orville Tipton. She knew he had played for Hopkinsville, Kentucky, though he lived in Indiana and Illinois. Orville Glen Tipton played two seasons in the Kitty League, 1913-1914. Born in Yale, Illinois, on 21 May 1891, heContinue reading “Orville Tipton”