1898
Born January 10, 1898
New York, NY, USA
Fats Jenkins Marquee
b. January 10, 1898 · New York Lincoln Giants 1920, 1928, 1930, New York Bacharach Giants 1922, Harrisburg Giants 1924–1927, Atlantic City Bacharach Giants 1928–1929, Hilldale Club 1928, Baltimore Black Sox 1930, Harlem Stars 1931, New York Black Yankees 1932–1934, 1936–1938, 1940, Brooklyn Eagles 1935, Pittsburgh Crawfords 1938, Philadelphia Stars 1940
Fats Jenkins hit .338 in the Negro Leagues and was, at the same time, one of the best basketball players in the country — captain of the New York Renaissance, the all-Black professional club that won 88 consecutive games in 1933 and a world championship in 1939.
The baseball career ran from the early 1920s to 1940 and took in the New York Black Yankees, the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Philadelphia Stars, mostly as a leadoff hitter and outfielder. He was chosen for East-West All-Star games in 1933 and 1935.
Born in New York City in 1898 and standing five foot seven, Jenkins collected 836 hits and 558 runs across 627 recorded games. He is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and died on December 4, 1968.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Negro Leagues East-West Classic | 2 | 1933, 1935 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920* | NLG | 4 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .375 |
| 1922* | NYB | 3 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .500 |
| 1924 | HBG | 58 | 227 | 61 | 77 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 33 | 2 | 13 | .339 |
| 1925 | HBG | 72 | 300 | 82 | 95 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 40 | 0 | 17 | .317 |
| 1926 | HBG | 48 | 185 | 44 | 57 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 31 | 2 | 13 | .308 |
| 1927 | HBG | 66 | 272 | 64 | 102 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 32 | 36 | 0 | 22 | .375 |
| 1928 | ACB/HIL/NLG | 51 | 203 | 42 | 72 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 21 | 2 | 8 | .355 |
| 1929 | ACB | 56 | 223 | 57 | 84 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 29 | 28 | 0 | 7 | .377 |
| 1930* | BBS/NLG | 42 | 162 | 49 | 64 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 25 | 22 | 1 | 8 | .395 |
| 1931* | HAR | 18 | 69 | 10 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 5 | .275 |
| 1932* | NBY | 26 | 113 | 23 | 39 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 8 | 0 | 5 | .345 |
| 1933* | NBY | 13 | 45 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .356 |
| 1934* | NBY | 21 | 80 | 11 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 3 | .338 |
| 1935 | BE | 48 | 194 | 41 | 62 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 14 | 1 | 11 | .320 |
| 1936 | NBY | 32 | 124 | 22 | 40 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 12 | 0 | 7 | .323 |
| 1937 | NBY | 36 | 130 | 19 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 2 | .238 |
| 1938 | NBY/PC | 31 | 119 | 18 | 40 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 3 | .336 |
| 1940 | NBY/PS | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Major leagues | — | 500 | 1981 | 450 | 660 | 81 | 20 | 17 | 218 | 244 | 7 | 103 | .333 |
| All seasons | — | 627 | 2476 | 558 | 836 | 108 | 31 | 21 | 288 | 293 | 8 | 128 | .338 |
Seasons outside MLB's recognized major leagues appear in All seasons, but not in Major leagues or the leaderboards. For Fats Jenkins, that is 1920–1934. Why totals can differ.
On this day & linked events
1968