Moses Fleetwood “Fleet” Walker, played less than a season for the Blue Stockings in Toledo, but the bare-handed catcher unknowingly made history when that short-lived team was retroactively deemed to have joined the Major League-sanctioned American Association.

The backlash by white players and team owners against playing on the same field as Walker and later his outfielder brother, Weldy, helped lead to the erection of the so-called “color barrier” that Jackie Robinson would be credited with shattering in 1947.

Standing in the team photo, L-R: Frederick W. Olin, George M. Lane, Curtis B. Welch, Samuel W. Barkley, Anthony J. Mullane, Henry M. O’Day, George J. Meister and Thomas J. Poorman. Seated: Joseph A. Miller, Manager Charles H. Morton, James T. McGuire and John Arundel.

Moses Fleetwood Walker was absent when the picture was taken at the old Tri-State Fairgrounds at Dorr St. and Upton Ave.

BLADE ARCHIVE PHOTO

Reprints are full resolution on archival paper without watermarks. Frames are simple, 1.25” black wood frames with single soft white matting and tempered glass.