THOMAS FIELDS JR
 Pioneer Founder Of
The Port Deposit Black Sox

 By Historian Fred Kelso, Oxford PA
 as provided by Erika Quesenbery
 Curator Paw Paw Museum Port Deposit, MD

 
  Thomas Fields Sr. was born in 1892 in Port Deposit. June 19, 1918 he was inducted into the US Army along with Oscar W. Griffin and Edward Jones of Port Deposit and Charles H. and Ernest L. Boddy of Conowingo. The men were sent overseas to the Meuse-Argonne region of France during World War I. It was here that they were treated more as equals and began playing the game of baseball unimpeded. After the war Fields worked on the Pennsylvania Railroad, earning him free travel, which allowed him to go to Philadelphia and Baltimore to attend baseball games including those played by the Baltimore Black Sox. Fields decided to found a team of African-American players, including his fellow World War I veterans, at Port Deposit using the team name Port Deposit Black Sox in the late 1920s. In the early days the Black Sox played both African American and white teams. The played, and hammered, all high school teams that came calling and then looked to Pennsylvania players for a challenge. They practiced each night after work and played games on Saturdays and Sundays. They had to pay for their own uniforms, such as they were during the depression, which often resulted in a hat being passed to defray costs. In 1934 the citizens of Port helped clear trees and brush at the old Log Pond for a new field and local businesses started to ante up for uniforms and equipment, with their business name emblazoned on the uniforms and field signs. At the new field teams from Lancaster, Philadelphia and even the Baltimore Elite Giants challenged the Black Sox. The Elite Giants were part of the Negro National League in 1937. The Sox also played all-white Susquehanna League teams from Elkton, Perryville and Havre de Grace.

Information Courtesy Historian Fred Kelso Oxford PA