Daniel Robert Bankhead (1920 - 1976)

Born 3 May 1920 in Empire, Walker, Alabama, United States

Ancestors

Died 2 May 1976 at age 55 in Houston, Harris, Texas, United States

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Biography

Daniel Bankhead is a part of US Black heritage.

Daniel Robert Bankhead was the first African American pitcher in Major League Baseball, making his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers on August 26, 1947. He had pitched for the Birmingham Black Barons and the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro Leagues from 1940 until 1947. Branch Rickey, the Dodgers' manager, signed Bankhead when he was 24 to play in the Dodgers' farm team system. Bankhead, an excellent hitter in the Negro Leagues, hit a home run in his first at bat for the Dodgers.

During World War II, Bankhead served in the US Marine Corps Reserves earning the rank of sergeant. While serving, Bankhead was a part of a touring baseball program designed to raise morale stateside.

Dan was the son Garnet and Ara Armstrong Bankhead. He was one of nine children. Four of his brothers also played baseball in the Negro Leagues. Garnet was a laborer in a coal mine and Ara was a homemaker according to the 1930 US Census.

Dan married Florence Linda Marquette on May 20, 1942. Florence listed her employment as a musician on the marriage license and Dan was a baseball player.

He passed away in 1976 from lung cancer.

Sources

• Wikipedia-

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Bankhead

"United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:3GNB-LN2 : accessed 22 April 2022), B Robert Bankhead in household of Garnett Bankhead, Precinct 16, Walker, Alabama, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 24, sheet 5B, line 62, family 99, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 53; FHL microfilm 2,339,788.

"Alabama County Marriages, 1809-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZVL-TDL : 19 February 2021), Dan Robert Bankhead and Florence Lindia J Marquette, 20 May 1942; citing Jefferson, Alabama, United States, County Probate Courts, Alabama; FHL microfilm 2,408,091.

"Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K38B-JYJ : 20 February 2021), Dan Robert Bankhead, 02 May 1976; citing certificate number 36756, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,243,934.

Find a Grave- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12200025/dan-robert-bankhead