By Chuck Whiting
MCAU Editor
NASHVILLE,
Tenn. (October 2015) -- Tennessee State University Associate Professor Harriet Kimbro-Hamilton's mother challenged
her with the sacred task of preserving the memory of her father, Tennessee Sports
Hall of Fame member Henry Kimbro. Shortly
before her death, Cuban-born Erbia C. Mendoza-Kimbro gave Harriet an old
scrapbook filled with articles, pictures and other items from Henry's career as
a star in the Negro Baseball League.
"No
one in my family ever saw it with the exception of my mother," Harriet
said with a smile. "When she placed it in my hand, she told me to do
something with it. 'You know what to do,' she told me. The look she had on her
face at that time was, 'I trust you.'"
Harriet's
efforts to honor her father started in 2003 with a challenging but successful campaign
to have her father inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Now she is
about to honor his life again with release of the new book, "Daddy's Scrapbook: Henry Kimbro of the
Negro Baseball League, A Daughter's Perspective." She will celebrate
with family members and friends during a special exhibition, storytelling and
book signing at the Robert Churchwell
Museum Magnet Elementary School Library from 2-3:30 p.m. on Oct. 24
(Saturday). Admission is free.
"It
was a great joy to write this book because, through the process, I became good
friends with other Negro League heroes such as Butch McCord, Jim Zapp, Shannon
Jones, and Sydney Bunch, who knew and worked with my dad," Harriet added.
"My siblings also contributed. The toughest part of the book was the chapter
on my mom. I had a connection with her that most family members were not aware
of. This book has given me such a peace with my mother's wish."
Attendees
of the school event will enjoy a special exhibition honoring players in the
Negro Baseball Leagues. Several items on display were donated by Harriet, the
McCord family, and others.
Her
heartfelt family tribute honors a legendary outfielder once dubbed the
"Black Ty Cobb" of the NBL. According to The New York Times, Henry played mostly with the Baltimore Elite
Giants. The Negro Leagues were disbanded in the 1960s when African-American
players began joining Major League Baseball. After Henry's death in 1999, Erbia
gave Harriet the tattered, 60-year-old scrapbook her father had assembled
during his life.
The
book includes insights on Henry's Nashville upbringing, controversial
off-the-field shenanigans, baseball stardom in Latin America, marriage to
Erbia, role as the father of five children, and induction into the Tennessee
Sports Hall of Fame.
"My
favorite story was when my father gave me a left-handed glove," noted
Harriet, who wanted to show the humble side of a man who loved his wife and
children. "I don't think he knew what an impact he had on a little girl's
confidence, someone who loved learning how to play baseball alongside her
brother. I look back and see a man ahead of his time in terms of gender
equality, and I truly appreciate that."
The
professor also recounts other stories, both funny and sad, about her son's
temporary disappearance at a hotel before the 1993 Baseball All-Star Game and
her father's awkward courting of Erbia during visits to Cuba.
"During
their dates, he had to take her chaperones along with them and pay their
tabs," Harriet laughed. "He would always smile or laugh when telling
that story. He truly loved my mother."
Harriet
drew more quiet when talking emotionally about her mother, whose touching story
is recounted halfway through the book.
"My
mother was the foundation of our family," she said. "She was a very
loving, caring and supportive person to her children. I can't remember anytime
she wasn't there to see us participate, compete or complete an endeavor. For
me, my mother was my first teacher. I was also my father's child in many ways
because I inherited many of his ways both good and bad, but she made me more of
a lady, too."
Harriet
also uses the book to recognize some of the individuals who helped Henry Kimbro
succeed. She said her efforts to have her father posthumously inducted into the
Tennessee Sports Hall of fame would not have been possible without the lobbying
support of former Negro American League Manager Buck O'Neil, Canadian Major
League Baseball star Larry Walker, former Nashville Sounds owner Larry
Schmittou, and former Nashville Councilman Ronnie Greer.
"Daddy's
Scrapbook" includes a host of pictures, including Henry's baseball days,
family snapshots, and post-career activities in the latter part of his life.
The last photo of Henry on Page 125 shows him waving a baseball cap at fans while
being recognized at the 1993 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Baltimore.
"Before
the game began, 24 surviving Negro League Baseball players were paraded onto
the field wearing replicas of their team uniforms," Harriet remembered.
"It was blistering that day, and I worried about the effects of the heat
on those guys. As each player was introduced, a giant picture of them was shown
on the scoreboard while the announcer described their accomplishments as a
player. When it was my father's time, he stood up straight with a huge grin and
tilted his Baltimore Elite Giants hat to the crowd. The crowd, I felt, gave him
the loudest response because he had played for Baltimore, and he relished this,
his finest hour."
During
her athletic career, Hamilton served as head coach in various sports and
athletic director of Fisk University. The author also chaired the NCAA Women's
Basketball Championship Committee and served on the ABA-USA Committee that
selected the 1984 USA Olympic Gold Medal Women's Basketball Team. She has received
awards from the Women's Sports Foundation; the National Association of Girls
and Women in Sports (the Dr. Nell C. Jackson Award); and the Temple University
League for Entrepreneurial Women (Hall of Fame inductee).
"Daddy's
Scrapbook", which retails for $14.95, is available at Amazon.com and other
major online retailers. For more
information about the book, call (615) 963-5581 or send an e-mail inquiry to
harrioo@hotmail.com.
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