| Fats Jenkins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born:(1898-01-10)January 10, 1898 New York, New York, U.S. | |
| Died: December 6, 1968(1968-12-06) (aged 70) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| Negro league baseball debut | |
| 1920, for the New York Lincoln Giants | |
| Last appearance | |
| 1940, for the Philadelphia Stars | |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
|
| Career information | |
|---|---|
| Playing career | 1914–1940 |
| Position | Point Guard |
| Career history | |
| 1914–1921 | New York-St. Christopher Incorporators |
| 1921–1924 | New York Commonwealth Big Five |
| 1923–1924 | Pittsburgh Loendi Big Five |
| 1924–1939 | New York Rens |
| 1939–1940 | Chicago Crusaders |
Clarence Reginald Jenkins (January 10, 1898 – December 6, 1968), nicknamed"Fats", was an American professionalbaseball andbasketball player from about 1920 to 1940. He played when both professional sports were racially segregated as anAfrican-American. Primarily he playedleft field in baseball'sNegro leagues, andpoint guard for thebarnstormingNew York Renaissance on the hardwood, where he was also team captain. He was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2021.
Jenkins' .333 career batting average is the highest officially listed career average of any player not elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame.
Jenkins was born inNew York City where he played basketball for the St. Christopher's Club youth team and then for the first teams that were named "Colored Basketball World's Champions" by theNew York Age in 1917, 1918 and 1919. Next he played for the top team of the early 1920s,Cum Posey's Loendi Big Five based in Pittsburgh, and for theNew York Renaissance, the last of the Colored World Champions in 1925. From that season through 1939 he captained the "Rens", whom theBasketball Hall of Fame inducted collectively in 1963. In the 1939–40 season Fats captained the powerfulChicago Crusaders which included his old Rens teammateDavid "Big Dave" DeJernett as well as futureRenBricktop Wright. The all-blackCrusaders were said to be "sidestepped" from the Chicago World's Pro Tourney that spring,[1] perhaps because Jenkins and Wright had abruptly left the team in a huff over giving sparkplug Agis Bray sufficient playing time,[2]
Meanwhile, Jenkins playedNegro league baseball more than twenty seasons with numerous teams based in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland; he may be most often associated with theNew York Black Yankees, although hemanaged Brooklyn in 1940. His known career batting and on-base averages are .325 and .392.[3] TheEast-West All-Star Game was established during his fourteenth season, and he played in the first and third renditions. He was a quick outfielder and baserunner, which fits his denomination as the fastest man in basketball.
Jenkins died at age 70 inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Pre-Negro Leagues Candidate Profile. Baseball Hall of Fame. February 2006. Retrieved 2010-06-21.