Celebrating Baseball Legend Henry Kimbro

The daughter of Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame member Henry Kimbro will celebrate the late Negro Baseball League star during a storytelling, book signing and exhibition. Tennessee State University Associate Professor Dr. Harriet Kimbro-Hamilton has spent the past several years writing her book, “Daddy’s Scrapbook: Henry Kimbro of the Negro Baseball League, A Daughter’s Perspective”. Guests will also enjoy a special school exhibition honoring players in the Negro Leagues. Several items on display were donated by Hamilton, the Butch 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, Kimbro 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 Kimbro’s death in 1999, Hamilton’s mother gave her a tattered, 60-year-old scrapbook her father had assembled during his life. Her book includes insights on Kimbro’s Nashville upbringing, controversial off-the-field shenanigans, baseball stardom in Latin America, marriage to Cuban-born Erbia C. Mendoza, role as the father of five children, and 2003 induction into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. 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 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.