Eddie Klep
Encyclopedia
Edward Joseph Klep was born in Erie, Pennsylvania
. Most notably, Klep became the first white American to play baseball in the Negro leagues
when he pitched seven innings for the Cleveland Buckeyes
on May 29, 1946, in a game against the American Giants
in Grand Rapids, Michigan
.
Klep was featured on the cover and in a highly-regarded feature article in the Spring 2002 issue of Elysian Fields Quarterly
. This article covers Klep's breaking the color barrier.
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
. Most notably, Klep became the first white American to play baseball in the Negro leagues
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
when he pitched seven innings for the Cleveland Buckeyes
Cleveland Buckeyes
The Cleveland Buckeyes were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro Leagues. They were established in 1942 in Cincinnati, Ohio . The following season, the team moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where they played their games at League Park...
on May 29, 1946, in a game against the American Giants
Chicago American Giants
Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team, owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" Foster. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball...
in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
.
Klep was featured on the cover and in a highly-regarded feature article in the Spring 2002 issue of Elysian Fields Quarterly
Elysian Fields Quarterly
Elysian Fields Quarterly is a literary baseball journal of "writing on baseball from the fan's perspective", published in St. Paul MN. It features articles on baseball history and lore....
. This article covers Klep's breaking the color barrier.
- Singer-songwriter Chuck BrodskyChuck BrodskyChuck Brodsky is an American musician and singer-songwriter currently living in Asheville, North Carolina. He is particularly known for his often humorous and political lyrics, as well as his songs about baseball, such as "The Ballad of Eddie Klepp" and "Moe Berg: The Song"...
memorialized Klep's time in the Negro leagues in a song entitled, The Ballad Of Eddie Klepp. - A few years after Klep's turn with the Buckeyes he was playing baseball at Rockview State PrisonState Correctional Institution - RockviewThe State Correctional Institution at Rockview, commonly referred to as Rockview, is a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections prison located in Benner Township, Pennsylvania, away from Bellefonte....
in central Pennsylvania. - Klep died in 1981, in a state home in Los Angeles, of conditions related to long-term alcoholismAlcoholismAlcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. - A film based on the story of Eddie Klep has been sold to Adam SandlerAdam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
's production company.