Wood County History
By LOU MALLORY - Chairperson, Wood County Historical Commission
In recognition that we are on the threshold of Black History Month (February), the following is a reprint of a brief article by Tillman Cooke, describing the history of the Mineola Black Spiders baseball team. The article is not dated.
By TILLMAN COOKE
"The Mineola Black Spiders were minor league baseball players who played in a league where only the ball was ‘white'.
The team consisted of 27 players clad in solid gray uniforms, who, figuratively speaking, could thump the cover from a baseball. All home games were played at Epperson Park in south Mineola. It was a patch - a fenced area equipped with a grandstand manned by excitable, creaming fans.
Although the Spiders were not publicized ballplayers such as Satchel Paige or Josh Gibson of the Negro League, their arsenal was explosive.
A few of the "swatters" were: catcher Joshua Epperson, shortstop Joe Epperson, catcher Isaiah Carpenter, outfielder Henry Thomas, first baseman Clarence "Brush back" Wheeler, infielder James "Cool Papa" Thomas, pitcher and first baseman Frank Mitchell, infielder "Little Snoop" Parker, outfielder Eldridge Arthur and pitcher J.B. Griffin.
Frankly speaking, all of the Spiders could inflict pain on a baseball. "Little Snoop" Parker was a tremendous hitter. So were Joe and Joshua Epperson.
Billy McCalla, Sr. remembers the team quite well. ‘I can remember them playing against an all-white team near the Grand Salina area. They were called the House of Davis. As they arrived to play, many of our guys started laughing and saying "We're gonna beat those old men." They were not old men, they just hadn't shaven. We lost the game that day, 2 to 1. Catcher Epperson scored the only run.'
The Spiders played games in the Dallas area, as well as in Commerce and Shreveport. Unlike some Negro minor league teams such as the Kansas City Monarchs, the Philadelphia Hillsdales, the Tennessee Rats or the Homestead Grays, the Spiders were not used to playing before large crowds. Whenever they boarded the bus and traveled abroad, they were excited if they played before crowds in excess of 200 people.
A couple of local Mineola businessmen owned the Spiders and sought to entice them into becoming an integral part of an established minor league franchise in Iowa, but they refused to accept the challenge.
It is estimated that Mineola's Black Spiders played approximately 15 to 20 games a season. They made their debut somewhere in the middle 1930s."
This concludes Mr. Cooke's narrative.
Ed. Note: In 1947, Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the color barrier that had existed in major league professional baseball. In 1948, Satchel Paige was signed by the Cleveland Indians. He became baseball's all-time oldest "rookie" at the age of 42!
The history of the Negro League is truly fascinating. If you are interested, you can discover all of it on the Internet - just type in "history Negro minor league baseball." There are several excellent history sites you will enjoy.
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