Former baseball captain recalls 1934 series game in NC that defied racism
· Yahoo Sports
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In Gastonia, a story of courage over hate is 92 years old. It involves a group of young white baseball players who stood up for a Black teammate.
The players have all passed, but the 1934 American Legion World Series Regional in Gastonia lives on because of Tony King — the once 16-year-old captain of a team from Springfield, Massachusetts, and his Black teammate Ernest Taliaferro, nicknamed Bunny because of his speed and athleticism.
“He was a three-sport star,” King told Channel 9’s Ken Lemon in a 2020 interview.
King died later that year of COVID-19. The meeting was one of the last times he spoke publicly about those games and Taliaferro’s batting practice. Taliaferro took six pitches — all home runs.
“He was outstanding,” King said.
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This was well before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, and the crowd was already buzzing over the fact that Taliaferro was with the team. The Springfield coach was told the Ku Klux Klan was on the way, and officials couldn’t protect the team if Taliaferro took the field.
“I was captain, captain of the team,” King said. “It was my duty to protect Taliaferro.”
That was when King made a mature call. If Taliaferro can’t play, the team can’t play. They took the 800-mile ride back home, with no runs, no hits, and most importantly, no errors.
King teared up over the memories. What seemed like an obvious decision now, was considered unsportsmanlike then.
“I think it wasn’t fair,” he said.
The American Legion stripped the Springfield team of their local title. For decades, no one in Springfield talked about that game until King started discussing it at the turn of the new century. There was no mention of it in Gastonia’s records.
Now, there is a monument in Springfield to that team and their teammate. Unfortunately, Taliaferro never got to see it.
“He died young, 50,” King said.
He never got to see the 2014 letter from Gastonia’s mayor expressing deepest regrets. There were reconciliation games played in Gastonia and Springfield, and King got to throw out the first pitch at 97 years old.
King and Taliaferro were celebrated for showing everyone that the game that didn’t happen was more than a game.
A children’s book was written about the 1934 regional game called “A Home Run for Bunny.” It is credited for sparking the reconciliation games.
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