John Henry "Pop" Lloyd

 Hall Of Fame Induction:  1977

The tall, angular man with the Dick Tracy chin was a non-drinker who never cursed and was viewed as a gentleman.  His peers claimed Pop was a complete professional, on and off the field.  Cum Posey, owner of the Homestead Grays, added:  “Lloyd is the Jekyll and Hyde of baseball—a fierce competitor on the field, but a gentle, considerate man off the field.”

The nomadic Lloyd started his barnstorming career with the semi-pro Macon Acmes in Georgia, as a catcher.  The following season, he joined the Cuban X-Giants of Philadelphia as a second baseman.  The highlight of the season was a game against Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics for the city title.  The Giants lost, but Pop spanked Mack’s pitchers for four hits.  Lloyd was often compared to Honus Wagner.  Connie Mack, who saw some of the best players during 50 years of active ownership was quoted as saying, “You could put Wagner and Lloyd in a bag together, and whichever one you pulled out you couldn’t go wrong.”

After one season with the Cuban X-Giants, he joined the Philadelphia Giants under the mentorship of Sol White for the next three years.  In 1910, he joined Rube Foster’s powerhouse Leland Giants, who compiled a 123-6 record.  He later went to the Lincoln Giants, where he hit .475 (1911) and .376 (1912).  In 1910, Lloyd played in Cuba with the Havana Reds, along with stateside stars Bruce Petway, Grant “Home Run” Johnson and Pete Hill.  The Reds played a series of exhibition games against Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers.  Cobb hit .369 in five games, but was unable to steal a base against catcher Petway, claiming he would never play against blacks again.  Meanwhile, Cobb’s average was surpassed by Pop Lloyd at .500 (11 or 22), Grant Johnson at .412 and Petway at .388.

The popular Lloyd spent 12 seasons in Cuba, playing for the Reds, Havana, Fe, and the Almendares teams.  In Cuba, he earned the nickname “El Cuchara,” the shovel, because of his propensity to scoop up handfuls of dirt when charging for grounders.  In a dozen seasons of winter ball, he compiled a batting average of .331 and led the leagues in triples twice and stolen bases once.

Foster enticed Lloyd to join his Chicago American Giants team in 1914.  From 1914 to 1917, Lloyd batted clean-up for one of the dominate independent teams of the Midwest.  These teams consisted of some of the greatest players ever to play America’s game:  Oscar Charleston, Bingo DeMoss, Louis Santip, Pete Hill, Ben Taylor, Bruce Petway, Bill Monroe and pitchers, Cyclone Joe Williams, Cannonball Dick Redding, and Frank Wickware.  The Giants won the colored championship honors in 1914 and 1917.

Approaching the age of 35, the old man signed with the Brooklyn Royal Giants as player-manager.  Lloyd played three abbreviated seasons for the Royal Giants, before going to the Columbus Buckeyes in 1921.  Now 37, Lloyd led the new Columbus franchise in games played, hits, doubles and stolen bases, while hitting a solid .336.

The eternal youngster, Lloyd hit .387 (1922) with the Bacharach Giants, before moving on to the Hilldale Giants to hit .386 (1923).  Back with the Bacharachs in 1924, he led the league with an astonishing .433 average, setting a league record with 11 consecutive hits.  He re-joined the Lincoln Giants out of New York in 1926.  There, Old Man River just kept flowing with averages of .349, .375 and an incredible .564 average at the age of 44, to win another batting title.

In 1931, now 47, Pop finished his career with his old friends, Clint Thomas and Red Ryan on the New York Black Yankees.  He retired the following year with the hometown Bacharach Giants, playing mostly at first base.

How did Lloyd perform against major leaguer pitching?  In 29 recorded games, he hit for a .321 average against 20-game winners like Addie Joss, Wabash George Mullin, Chief Bender, Gettysburg Eddie Plank and Rube Marquard.

In 1938, may years after Lloyd’s career was over, Ted Harlow, a St. Louis sportswriter paid Lloyd the ultimate compliment, when asked “Who was the best baseball player in the history of the sport?”  He replied, “If you mean in organized baseball, my answer would be Babe Ruth; but if you mean in all baseball, organized and unorganized, I would have to say it is a colored man named John Henry Lloyd.”

After retiring from professional baseball, Lloyd coached and played semi-pro ball with the Johnson Stars, later known as the Farley Stars, (named after State Senator “Hap” Farley) until 1942, when he turned 58.  In his later years, Lloyd worked as a janitor at the Atlantic City post office and school system.  Always having a love for children, he served as the Little League commissioner for many years.  On October 2, 1949, as Jackie Robinson was being named the Most Valuable Player in the National League, Atlantic City rewarded its foster father with the dedication of a $125,000 stadium at Indiana and Huron Avenues.  It bears the name “’Pop’ Henry Lloyd” and an inscribed plaque:  “To a great ball player and a fine man.”

After a two-year illness, suffering from arteriosclerosis, he died in 1965.  His wife Nan was the only surviving family member.  He was buried in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  Ask the graybeards of baseball history and they will tell you that the popular “Pop” was the paternal player.  Former diamond star and basketball magician Bill Yancey said, with a bit of awe in his voice, “Pop Lloyd was the greatest player, the greatest manager, the greatest teacher.  He had ability and knowledge and, above all, patience.  I did not know what baseball was until I played under him on the Lincoln Giants.”

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