1895
Born July 6, 1895
Lexington, KY, USA
George Britt Marquee
b. July 6, 1895 · Indianapolis ABCs 1917, 1921, Chicago American Giants 1917, 1942, Dayton Marcos 1920, Columbus Buckeyes 1921, Baltimore Black Sox 1923–1926, Homestead Grays 1928–1933, 1940, Hilldale Club 1929, Newark Dodgers 1934, Washington Black Senators 1938, Jacksonville Red Caps 1941–1942, Cincinnati-Cleveland Buckeyes 1942, Cleveland Buckeyes 1943–1944
George Britt pitched and caught, sometimes in the same season, across a career that ran from 1917 to 1944. Very few players lasted that long in the Negro Leagues, and fewer still did it while switching between the two most demanding positions on the field.
The Baltimore Black Sox had him for four years in the 1920s and the Homestead Grays for six beginning in 1928, the stretch that included their strongest early teams. He was picked for the first East-West All-Star game in 1933, and was still catching for the Cleveland Buckeyes in his late forties.
Born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1895, Britt compiled a 55-44 record with 63 complete games and batted .257 in the surviving record. He was eighty-five when he died, on New Year's Day 1981.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Negro Leagues East-West Classic | 1 | 1933 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917* | ABC/CAG | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .400 |
| 1920 | DM | 23 | 61 | 6 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .279 |
| 1921 | ABC/COB | 32 | 90 | 11 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | .244 |
| 1923 | BBS | 32 | 105 | 19 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | .248 |
| 1924 | BBS | 31 | 69 | 11 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .304 |
| 1925 | BBS | 35 | 89 | 11 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 5 | .303 |
| 1926 | BBS | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 1928* | HG | 9 | 26 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .269 |
| 1929 | HG/HIL | 33 | 70 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .229 |
| 1930* | HG | 18 | 48 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .146 |
| 1931* | HG | 14 | 44 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .205 |
| 1932 | HG | 30 | 72 | 7 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .319 |
| 1933 | HG | 6 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| 1934 | ND | 14 | 23 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .391 |
| 1938 | SEN | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1940 | HG | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1941 | JRC | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| 1942 | CAG/CCB/JRC | 19 | 39 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .231 |
| 1943 | CBE | 6 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .067 |
| 1944 | CBE | 9 | 24 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| Major leagues | — | 280 | 693 | 79 | 185 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 68 | 46 | 1 | 13 | .267 |
| All seasons | — | 323 | 816 | 94 | 210 | 32 | 7 | 2 | 76 | 48 | 1 | 13 | .257 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917* | ABC/CAG | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 15.2 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 1.15 |
| 1920 | DM | 6 | 5 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 91.1 | 73 | 32 | 29 | 48 | 3.15 |
| 1921 | COB | 7 | 10 | 22 | 15 | 1 | 133.0 | 143 | 79 | 42 | 81 | 5.35 |
| 1923 | BBS | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8.2 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 6.23 |
| 1924 | BBS | 10 | 8 | 21 | 15 | 0 | 122.2 | 148 | 65 | 51 | 71 | 4.77 |
| 1925 | BBS | 5 | 3 | 18 | 9 | 1 | 113.2 | 94 | 38 | 34 | 57 | 3.01 |
| 1926 | BBS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1.17 |
| 1928* | HG | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 9.00 |
| 1929 | HG/HIL | 6 | 5 | 18 | 13 | 1 | 99.1 | 122 | 55 | 33 | 50 | 4.98 |
| 1930* | HG | 9 | 3 | 16 | 12 | 1 | 104.1 | 95 | 34 | 31 | 58 | 2.93 |
| 1931* | HG | 5 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 61.1 | 48 | 17 | 14 | 33 | 2.49 |
| 1932 | HG | 2 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 43.2 | 50 | 21 | 15 | 25 | 4.33 |
| 1933 | HG | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 33.1 | 33 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 2.97 |
| 1934 | ND | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 24.1 | 27 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 5.92 |
| 1938 | SEN | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 30.00 |
| 1940 | HG | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 18.00 |
| 1942 | CAG | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 | 21 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 6.52 |
| Major leagues | — | 40 | 38 | 123 | 81 | 3 | 694.1 | 745 | 349 | 241 | 363 | 4.52 |
| All seasons | — | 55 | 44 | 151 | 101 | 5 | 878.2 | 903 | 405 | 297 | 465 | 4.15 |
Seasons outside MLB's recognized major leagues appear in All seasons, but not in Major leagues or the leaderboards. For George Britt, that is 1917–1931. Why totals can differ.
On this day & linked events
1981
Died January 1, 1981
Image: Harrison Studio, public domain