Marquis Grissom | The Story of Sam "The Jet" Jethroe

Black Diamonds

SiriusXM

History, Baseball, Black History, Sports, Negro Leagues, Documentary, Equality, Society & Culture, Civil Rights

4.8 • 617 Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2023

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How fast was Sam "The Jet" Jethroe? He was the fastest man in the Negro Leagues. He was the fastest man in the National League. And when you put him on the track with an Olympian? He was the fastest man on that track too. Bob Kendrick tells the story of the Jet's journey from a championship with the Cleveland Buckeyes, to becoming the first Black player to take the field for the Braves and capturing the NL Rookie of the Year in 1950. Plus, Bob sits down with a man who followed in the Jet's footsteps and didn't even realize it - from Montreal, to the Braves, with two NL stolen base titles along the way - the great Marquis Grissom. The two discuss the importance of telling these stories of Black baseball to future generations, Sam Jethroe's role in paving the way for Marquis in the Braves' organization, his relationship with Henry Aaron, his rise from rags to riches, the art of the stolen base and learning from Otis Nixon and Tim Raines in Montreal, why the city of Montreal remains so important in Black baseball history, stories on top of stories on top of stories, and a nod to this summer's Hall of Fame inductee, Fred McGriff.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I actually love baseball.
0:07.0	And when I walked out on the field, I thought I could compete with anybody or anything, you know, because I would give it what I had if it wasn't good enough.
0:17.0	You're pretty positive about your skills.
0:19.0	Yeah, right. I thought I could compete with anything to put on the ball suit.
0:28.2	Well, as many of you know, having listened to me, run my mouth here on this podcast, Black Diamonds, and there was one common thread was that there were great nicknames in the
0:39.7	Negro leagues.
0:42.0	OJume, Double Duty, Satchel, Cool Papa, Turkey, and if there was a nickname that was any more apt for a ball player, I don't know what it would be,
1:00.6	than that of the legendary Sam the Jet Jet, Jethro.
1:07.6	Because y'all, Sam Jethro could absolutely fly
1:14.2	one of the fastest men to ever play this game
1:18.6	there are those who believed that he was just as fast
1:22.2	as the legendary cool Papa Bell
1:24.7	Sam Jethro was as fast as if not faster than anyone who lined up next to him.
1:32.2	And when he first arrived in integrated baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers farm system in
1:36.6	1948, he quickly proved it.
1:39.7	This is the voice of the late Sam Jethro, recorded with interviewer William Marshall in 1981,
1:46.4	courtesy of the Louis B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
1:51.9	You know, when I was in the Dodgers organization, you know, they had a 60-yard track there, you know,
1:56.5	that every ball player would, you know, run. Jackie, where he wouldn't consider, you know.
1:57.4	To me, I can look at a fellow and tell where he could outrun me. That's what I said about Bonny Yule. He can't outrun me. He's stocky short, you know. So all outfield is running. You know, I run down there. I'd be there by there to run. They say, oh, Sam, you can do better now. That's always not.
1:59.2	I'm dying.
1:59.9	I'll be that.
	...

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