Where Was Biz Mackey in 1932?

crawjo · April-14th-2005, 05:56 PM

One of my projects this week has been trying to determine what happened to Negro League catcher Biz Mackey in 1932. Until 1932, Mackey played mostly for the Hilldale (Philadelphia) club of the Eastern Colored League, and was a damn good hitter, for a catcher. Batting averages from 1923 to 1931 are as follows: .441, .357, .346, .313, .315, .360, .308, .397, .359. In 1932, Mackey was notified to report again to the Hilldale team for spring training, but he was out in Los Angeles testifying in a civil suit brought against a white boxer by the boxer's girlfriend. I have no idea what happened to him after testifying. There are some rumors that he took a group of Negro Leaguers over to Japan for a tour, but I can't find any contemporary newspaper account or other source to confirm this. I do know he didn't play for Hilldale or any other known Negro League club in 1932. He just disappeared. Right in the middle of his career. I've scoured through the Baltimore Afro-American for 1932, which gave pretty good coverage to the Negro Leagues, but there is no mention of what happened to Mackey.

He reappears in 1933, and is not at all the same player. For the rest of his career his offense was subpar, with batting averages approx. 100 points lower than what he had been posting before, and sometimes even worse than that. Now, given that he was a catcher, it's possible that he just hit a wall physically and the natural aging process took its toll on his body. Or, maybe something happened to him in 1932. Perhaps he suffered an injury of some sort and that's why he wasn't the same after that. I don't know. I'm stuck.

If some of you are wondering why I created a thread like this, I figured why not? With all the talk of circle jerks and incest coming from the other threads, the fate of Biz Mackey in 1932 seems epically important by comparison.

chuckyd4 · April-14th-2005, 06:17 PM

He was in the studio crafting the minor masterpiece "Just a Friend."

And you are right, his career was never the same after that.

April-14th-2005, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuckyd4

He was in the studio crafting the minor masterpiece "Just a Friend."

And you are right, his career was never the same after that.

Hahahahaha..........................

Beat me to it!!

Sergio Zamora · April-14th-2005, 06:22 PM

Surfer · April-14th-2005, 06:35 PM

I bet Branch Rickey has a formula that'll help you find out what happened to Biz Mackey.

Seriously, catchers tend to fall off DRAMATICALLY in terms of production in their early 30s. I'm sure you're aware of that.

crawjo · April-14th-2005, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surfer

I bet Branch Rickey has a formula that'll help you find out what happened to Biz Mackey.

Seriously, catchers tend to fall off DRAMATICALLY in terms of production in their early 30s. I'm sure you're aware of that.

Yeah, I know. I just want to know what he was doing that year. What started as a mild question in my mind has turned into a quest. I've ordered the only two African-American newspapers that were publishing in Philadelphia in 1932 through ILL, hopefully that will answer the question.

In the meantime, I encourage everyone to use this thread for sharing little anecdotes, questions, personal philosopies, recipes, or anything else that strikes your fancy, except personal attacks on posters or anything that could be construed as having the flavor of sons having sex with their mothers, or men gathering around in a circle and masturbating. Keep it clean. Biz would have wanted it that way.

Sergio Zamora · April-14th-2005, 06:49 PM

Have you ever met a girl that you tried to date
But a year to make love she wanted you to wait
Let me tell ya a story of my situation
I was talkin’ to this girl from the u.s. nation
The way that I met her was on tour at a concert
She had long hair and a short miniskirt
I just got onstage drippin’, pourin’ with sweat
I was walkin’ through the crowd and guess who I met
I whispered in her ear, come to the picture booth
So I can ask you some questions to see if you are a hundred proof
I asked her her name, she said blah-blah-blah
She had 9/10 pants and a very big bra
I took a couple of flicks and she was enthused
I said, how do you like the show?
She said, I was very amused
I started throwin’ bass, she started throwin’ back mid-range
But when I sprung the question, she acted kind of strange
Then when I asked, do ya have a man, she tried to pretend
She said, no I don’t, I only have a friend
Come on, I’m not even goin’ for it
This is what I’m goin’ sing

(take it away, somebody...)

April-14th-2005, 06:53 PM

So the bug guy showed up today.

They did a real good job on our place last year, so we re-upped the contract.

Good thing too, we had quite a few wasps around the deck over the weekend.

So that's my philosphy: Kill the fucking wasps!!

Thanks for the thread, crawjo.

chuckyd4 · April-14th-2005, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sergio Zamora

(take it away, somebody...)

oh SNAP, guess what I saw
a fellow tongue kissing my girl in the mouth
I was so in shock
my heart went down south
so please listen to the message that i say
dont ever talk to a girl
who say she just has a friend....

YOU-ou-ou, you got what i nee-e-e-ed....

HAHAHA good times.

Monte Smith · April-14th-2005, 07:10 PM

Who does not like Biz Markie? Is it possible?

April-14th-2005, 07:35 PM

I wouldn't think so.

crawjo · April-14th-2005, 08:58 PM

"Winfield goes back to the wall. He hits his head on the wall, and it rolls off! It's rolling all the way back to second base! This is a terrible thing for the Padres!"