Editing Baseball color line (section)

==Covert efforts at integration==

[[File:Chief Bender, Philadelphia Athletics pitcher, by Paul Thompson, 1911.jpg|thumb|upright|Chief Bender]]

While professional baseball was formally regarded as a strictly white-men-only affair, the racial color bar was directed against black players exclusively. Other races were allowed to play in professional white baseball. One prominent example was [[Charles Albert Bender]], a star pitcher for the [[Philadelphia Athletics]] in 1910. Bender was the son of a [[Chippewa]] mother and a German father and had the nickname "Chief" from the white players.<ref name="Fifty Million">{{cite episode | title=The Faith of Fifty Million People: Top of the 3rd Inning (First half of the third episode) | series=Ken Burns's Baseball | air-date=September 20, 1994}}</ref> As a result of this exclusive treatment of black players, deceptive tactics were used by managers to sign such players. This included several attempts, with the player's acquiescence, to sign players who they knew full well were black as if they were American Indian, despite the ban. 

In 1901, [[John McGraw]], manager of the [[Baltimore Orioles (1901–1902)|Baltimore Orioles]], tried to add [[Charlie Grant]] to the roster as his second baseman. He tried to get around the Gentleman's Agreement by trying to pass him as a [[Cherokee]] named Charlie Tokohama. Grant went along with the charade. However, his tryout in Chicago was attended by his black friends, giving him away, and he never got an opportunity to play ball in the Major League.<ref>Ken Burns's ''Baseball'' "Something Like a War" Top of the second inning (first half of episode two) Original airdate: Monday, September 19, 1994</ref> On May 28, 1916, [[Canadian-American]] [[Jimmy Claxton]] temporarily broke the professional baseball color barrier when he played two games for the [[Oakland Oaks (PCL)|Oakland Oaks]] of the [[Pacific Coast League]]. Claxton was introduced to the team owner by a part-American Indian friend as a fellow member of an [[Oklahoma]] tribe. The Zee-Nut candy company rushed out a baseball card for Claxton.<ref name="Fifty Million" /> However, within a week, a friend of Claxton revealed that he had both Negro and [[First Nations in Canada|Indigenous Canadian]] ancestors, and Claxton was promptly fired.<ref name="sportnews">{{cite web|url=http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/aajoe7/76313/ |title=Sporting News |access-date=June 28, 2009 }}{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It would be nearly thirty more years before another black man, at least one known to be black, played organized white baseball.

There possibly were attempts to have people of African descent be signed as Hispanics. One possible attempt may have occurred in 1911 when the [[Cincinnati Reds]] signed two light-skinned players from [[Republic of Cuba (1902–1959)|Cuba]], [[Armando Marsans]] and [[Rafael Almeida (baseball)|Rafael Almeida]]. Both of them had played "Negro Baseball", barnstorming as members of the integrated [[All Cubans]]. When questions arose about them playing the white man's game, the Cincinnati managers assured the public that "they were as pure white as Castile soap".<ref name="Fifty Million" /> Regarding the signing of the Cubans, the black newspaper ''[[New York Age]]'' said, "Now that the first shock is over, it will not be surprising to see a Cuban a few shades darker breaking into the professional ranks. It would then be easier for colored players who are citizens of this country to get into fast company."<ref name="Fifty Million" />