Wildcats honor Bombers, Black history; 'this is the good thing'

They're still the Wildcats. But for a series of games in April, Oak Ridge High School's team jerseys bore the name of the Bombers, a name with a rich past.

While other teams in Oak Ridge have used the name, the team being honored was a professional Black team that played in the Negro Baseball League. As Oak Ridger "Historically Speaking" columnist D. Ray Smith has written, this league included teams of Black players who played each other at a time when Black players weren't allowed in the major league.

The ORHS jerseys also bore the number "85" to call attention to the 85 Black students who were the first to integrate Oak Ridge Schools. They are now known as the "Scarboro 85."

The Oak Ridge Bombers team went by that name perhaps as late as 1948, although a Black team had been playing in Oak Ridge as early as 1944 per Smith's research, although possibly not by that name. Former Bombers player Rufus Shephard told The Oak Ridger that the Bombers dissolved in the mid-1960s.

Ronald Graham, who played for the Bombers between 1966 to 1969 or 1970 by his own recollection, was on hand to watch his team and its history honored by the Wildcats at a baseball game in April.

“I have a love for baseball mind you,” Graham said. “The Bombers played a great part in my life in being able to reach out to do things for my community."

Joining him at the park on April 21 were fellow Bombers players Shephard and Dave Mitchell. Also present was "Scarboro 85" member L.C. "Larry" Gipson.

Shephard told The Oak Ridger he played in late 1958 through the mid-'60s, calling it "a very big experience for me as a teenager."

He described the baseball games as a community event, drawing big crowds and regularly including a fish fry. These events took place at the same place where ballfields exist now at the Oak Ridge Baseball Complex on Wilberforce Avenue in Scarboro, the same place where he now watched the Wildcats play.

He said the biggest highlight was playing against the King and His Court, even though the Bombers lost. The King and His Court refers to softball player Ed Feigner and a softball team of four players famous for having defeated a full team made up of professional baseball players. Shepard said he and the Bombers also played against the Cincinnati All-Stars.

He said current ORHS Wildcats Baseball Coach Travis Free had done a "wonderful job" celebrating the Bombers.

"He's been a blessing," Shephard said. 

Mitchell also played for the Bombers in the mid-'60s. 

"I just enjoyed playing with all the guys," he said.

'Jackie Robinson stories'

Graham also spoke in general about Black sports history.

"I look at the Jackie Robinson story, and there’s a lot of Jackie Robison stories to be told,” he said.

Graham said before playing for the Bombers he'd faced some challenges playing for ORHS, which had an integrated team and school system, at a time when many other schools were segregated in 1963 and 1964.

In both this interview and an earlier one, he spoke about the experience in high school of playing for the Wildcats in 1963 in Bill Meyer Stadium in Knoxville.

"As I ran onto the field, I was called some of everything before I got to center field," Graham said of that day.

Then, he had to leave the field.

The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) would not let Graham or any other Black player play without a letter saying that the organization wasn't responsible for any injury they sustained.

He left the field and spoke to then ORHS Baseball Coach Steve Beacon in the dugout.

"At 15 years old it was hard for me to understand," he said. He said his team mates, all of whom were white, did not understand either and looked on in confusion.

Beacon put his arms around Graham's shoulders.

"I never would forget this," Graham said. "This is lifetime story. ... tears ran down my cheek.

"He (Beacon) said, 'The whole world's not like this,'" Graham recalled.

Graham said that reassurance meant more to him than any home run.

"The coach told me that good things would happen to me. This is the good thing," he told The Oak Ridger regarding getting a chance to tell his story.

Ben Pounds is a staff reporter for The Oak Ridger. Call him at (865) 441-2317, email him at bpounds@oakridger.com and follow him on Twitter @Bpoundsjournal.