By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — The Nashville Sounds will celebrate and honor the legacy of the late Negro League star Henry Kimbro August 10 with special game activities and giveaways. Kimbo was a legendary Nashville star who excelled as a centerfielder for the Negro League team the Elite Giants, whose roots are local. He played 15 years and finished as the team leader in games (511), stolen bases (55) and runs batted in (264). Defensively, he led the league in games played five times, putouts three and assists twice.
“I am very excited and humbled by it because my dad was a man who did not believe in tooting his own horn,” said Dr. Kimbro-Hamilton, a sports advocate, author, and former professor in sports administration at Tennessee State University, in a Sounds press release. Some of the evening’s highlights include: A Henry Kimbro bobblehead giveaway to the first 1,000 fans who enter the stadium. Containers will include the star’s image and biography The Screening of a trailer for Dr. Kimbro-Hamilton’s documentary, “A Tour of One City: The History of the Negro Leagues in Nashville and Beyond’; The first pitch by Henry Kimbro’s grandson (Dr. Kimbro-Hamilton’s son), Patrick G. Hamilton, a former baseball star at Glencliff High School; An appreciation ceremony for the Fisk University 1975 SIAC Conference Championship team, which included the baseball star’s son Phillip Kimbro (also a center fielder).
Kimbro was particularly outstanding in 1947 and 1948. He led the Negro Leagues during those years in doubles, (OBP) on base percentage, (SLG) slugging percentage, and (OPS) on base percentage. He won the 1947 batting title, and played in seven East-West All-Stars games. Before retiring, he served as manager for the Birmingham Black Barons from 1952-1953. The exploits of Kimbro and other Negro Leaguers were officially recognized and elevated to the status of Major Leaguers in 2021.
“The way the Nashville Sounds Baseball organization will be honoring my dad reflects that they are a class act and have always been on the right side of history,” Dr. Kimbro-Hamilton added. “They have included the story of the Negro Leagues at First Horizon Park, celebrating the historic impact of numerous Black baseball pioneers.” Henry Kimbro began his baseball career with the Cuban baseball leagues, helping the Almandares win the 1939 league championship. He won the batting title there during the 1947-1948 season.
Dr. Kimbro-Hamilton has served as a historian and advocate for Black baseball leaguers, penning the books “Home Plate: Henry Kimbro and Other Negro Leaguers of Nashville, Tennessee” and “Daddy’s Scrapbook: Henry Kimbro of the Negro Baseball League, A Daughter’s Perspective.” She currently serves as a member of the Nine, a committee for the Sounds that has honored former Nashville Negro League players and provided resources to help improve baseball facilities for the Black community. “It is now important to educate the country about this phenomenal era to appreciate the courage, sacrifice and talent of these men,” Dr. Kimbro-Hamilton said.
The game between the Sounds and Indianapolis begins at 6:35 p.m at First Horizon Park, 19 Gilliam Way. To buy tickets visit https://www.milb.com/nashville.
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