W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: The Last At Bat: Negro Leagues Star Art 'Superman' Pennington Interview~2/15/2010

    

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: The Last At Bat: Negro Leagues Star Art 'Superman' Pennington Interview~2/15/2010

WATCH NOW:

http://youtu.be/4mOyQLP48Yo

***Art 'Superman' Pennington Bio***

Arthur David Pennington
Nickname: Art, Superman

Career: 1940-1950
Positions: of, 1b, 2b, 3b, ss, p
Teams: Chicago American Giants (1940-1946, 1950),
Pittsburgh Crawfords (1946), Mexican League (1946-1950), minor leagues (1951-1959)

Bats: Both
Throws: Right

Height: 5' 11'' Weight: 195
Born: May 18, 1923, Memphis, Tennessee

Playing for the Chicago American Giants, "Superman" compiled batting averages of .299 in 1944 and .359 in 1945 while finishing second to Sam Jethroe in stolen bases with 18. In 1950 he hit .370 with good power and started the 1950 East-West All Star game, getting a hit in three at-bats. He was the MVP of the 1950 East/West All*Star Game with a game winning bases loaded triple. Art Pennington was an All*Star during the Golden Era of the Negro Leagues when the talent was at its highest. That marked the third All Star appearance for the switch-hitter, having participated in the 1942 and 1946 games respectively. Pennington had a lifetime batting average of .336 in his eight years in the Negro Leagues. The last of these came after a three-year Mexican League hiatus, beginning in 1946 with Monterrey, where he hit .314, and continuing with marks of .291 and .294 with Puebla.

Although playing mostly in the outfield or at first base,Pennington was a versatile player and also could play any infield position, and because he had a strong arm and could throw so hard, he sometimes was utilized as a relief pitcher for a 2-inning stint.

In addition to his summers in Mexico, he played winter ball there,playing in three seasons (1948-1951) in Culiacan. He also played winters in Caracas, Venezuela, and in Cuba, where he hit .234 in 1947-1948. Highlights of his performance in each of the last two leagues include grand-slam homers, with the last one netting him a $500 prize. During his career he also homered off Dizzy Dean in an exhibition contest.

After the breakup of the Negro Leagues, the outfielder-first baseman played in organized ball for an additional nine years but never made it to the majors. A partial season with Portland in the Pacific Coast League in 1949 is the closest he came to the top rung, and he managed only a .208 batting average in the 20 games he played. His greatest success in organized baseball came in the Three-I League in 1952-1954. With Keokuk the first year he won the batting title with a .349 average (a record which stood for over 30 years) and slugged 20 home runs. The next two seasons he batted .329 and .345, the last year with Cedar Rapids. His last two years were with St. Petersburg in the Florida State League (.339) and with Modesto in the California League (.256). He retired following the 1959 season.

After leaving baseball, he worked at Rockwell Collins for twenty-three years, and two years on the railroad in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, before retiring in 1985.

Baseball Career Highlights:
"Hitting a home run off of Dizzy Dean and Sal Maglie in an exhibition game and playing in the 1942, 1946 and 1950 East-West All Star games." Pennington or "Superman"posted batting averages of .299 in 1944 and .359 in 1945 and finished second with 18 stolen bases behind Sam Jethroe. Pennington hit .370 in 1950 and was named to start in the East-West All Star game.

Professional/Personal Accomplishments:
In addition, Pennington played baseball in the Cuban, Mexican and Venezuelan Leagues. Posting
a.349, he was the batting champ in the Three-I League (1952-1954). As a 25-year employee with Rockwell Collins, Pennington also played on Rockwell's company team. He retired in 1985.
Mr. Pennington retired from baseball following the 1959 season and settled in South East side of
Cedar Rapids, IA where he still lives today. He ran for several political offices including sheriff,
mayor and safety commissioner. Mr. Pennington also opened the Home-Run Club, the first
Mixed Race Establishment in Cedar Rapids.

Sources:
NLBM Legacy 2000 Players' Reunion Alumni Book, Kansas City Missouri: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Inc., 2000.

James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994.

Official Websites:
http://artpenningtonbaseball.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-Superman-Pennington-Negro-League-Baseball- AllStar/118552204880714

***

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Barry Bonds: The Most Hated Giant Since Goliath???

Bro. Ron aka Tha Artstorian Reports...

'Passing the Torch':Barry celebrating with his Godfather Willie Mays after the superstar passes 'The Say Hey Kid' on the all-time career homeruns list.
As he approaches one of the most heralded records in all of American Professional Sports History the home run record held by Hammerin' Hank Aaron and formerly Babe Ruth, the San Francisco Giants superstar baseball player known asBarry Bonds (holder of the current record for homeruns hit in a season-73) has come under increasing attack and scrutiny from the mainstream media and from some individuals in Major League Baseball for his alleged use of steroids to help him hit homeruns…Barry's life it seems is the stuff made of legend and mythology of the highest order…His father was the late Bobby Bonds, a dynamic and very talented baseball player in his own right and his godfather is Willie Mays, considered by many to be one of the greatest if not the greatest baseball player to ever play the game…The fact that Barry is often considered the greatest player of his generation if not the greatest ever has also got many people concerned over the possibility that many of his records may be 'tainted' by possible steroid use…It should also be noted that baseball has a long history of 'tainted' records simply for the fact that known Blacks with the ability and talent to play baseball were not allowed to play with Whites for over half a century in what is now known as Major League Baseball which should bring up the question about the validity of any records set before 1947, the year Jackie Robinson broke the color line in baseball…Since Babe Ruth and other notable White baseball players pre-1947 were not allowed to play against some of the best baseball players of their generation who happened to be Black (the Babe once told a news reporter that the greatest baseball player that he ever saw was John Henry "Pop" Lloyd, a Black man) should their records also contain asterisks by them as well??? Think about it would there be a Babe Ruth if more people knew about what Josh Gibson did or was capable of doing against all pitchers (Josh hit 900 + homeruns to Babe Ruth's 714 and also hit 70 + homeruns for a season back in 1930s while the Babe's highest total for a season was 60), how about Martin Dihigo vs. Joe Dimaggio??? Also would their be a Cy Young Award if Satchel Paige was allowed to play against all comers in his prime (by the way Satchel Paige won 2,000 games to Cy Young's 511)???

It should also be noted that every since Major League Baseball implemented steroid testing back in 2002 Barry has yet to fail a test while 12 other players have, including future Hall of Famer (???) Rafael Palmeiro who even allegedly lied about taking steroids during a U.S. Congressional hearing on the subject of drug abuse in baseball…Another reason why Barry isn't liked is because of his disdain and lack of cooperation with the mainstream press…He has been labeled a racist by some (which is ironic considering that his first wife, Sun Bonds, is white and his kids are racially mixed) and a cheater by others (although to date no exact proof exist that he ever knowingly took any steroids which is why an investigation into steroid use was launched by Major League Baseball among other reasons)…His 'personality flaw' acording to his detractors has cost him untold millions in endorsements over the course of his career, but in baseball Barry is one of the best paid players in the game (Barry earned 22 million dollars last year, bested only by A-Rod's 25 million dollars)...To me Barry Bonds is the "most controversial" Black athlete America has seen in decades …Even for the sake of argument that Barry took steroids pre-2002 would it be right to persecute people for breaking a law that did not exist in Major League Baseball before 2002??? These type of character assassinations of a prominent Black athlete haven't been seen since the days of a young Ali or Jack Johnson...All three represented and represent very intelligent and articulate Black men with exceptional gifts and talents who raised the ire of White America as well as some in Black America with their refusal to conform or reform to the status quo…Please take time to look at these links and always feel free to form your own opinion on the man known as Barry Lamar Bonds and his achievements:
http://www.barrybonds.com
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/giants/2006-03-29-bonds-cover_x.htm
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AoYqJNA8yaumGFirSQCsRrARvLYF?slug=ap-bonds-syringe&prov=ap&type=lgns
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-bonds-homelessaunt&prov=ap&type=lgns
http://www.starpulse.com/Athletes/Bonds,_Barry/Articles/
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/sports-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/03/28/20060328-E7-01.html