William Henry Greason of Atlanta, Georgia. Private First Class Greason trained at Montford Point and served with the 66th Supply Platoon at Iwo Jima.
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Bill Greason

Marine Corps Service

William Henry “Bill” Greason earned the title of United States Marine at Montford Point in 1943. He was among the first Black men to serve in the Corps and trained with other Black recruits at the segregated Montford Point facility.

Private First Class Greason served with the all-Black 66th Supply Platoon, 34th Marine Depot Company, V Amphibious Corps. His unit landed on Iwo Jima on February 22, 1945, three days after the invasion began. Greason and his fellow Marines unloaded food, medical supplies, and ammunition under enemy fire. He remembered sleeping beneath tanks and trucks for protection from Japanese mortar rounds.

On February 23, Greason witnessed both American flags rise over Mount Suribachi. From the beach below, he saw the smaller first flag and the larger replacement whose raising became one of the most enduring images of the war. He later recalled that the island was so small that the flag could be seen from nearly anywhere, and that its appearance filled the men below with pride.

Greason carried a small Bible with him on Iwo Jima. After two of his closest friends were killed, he prayed, “Lord, if you get me off this island, whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.” He survived the battle, completed occupation duty at Sasebo and Nagasaki, and returned home in 1946. The promise he made amid the fighting remained with him for the rest of his life.

During the Korean War, Greason volunteered for a second period of Marine Corps service. Rather than being sent overseas, he was stationed at Camp Lejeune and pitched for the Marine baseball team. In 2012, Congress collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the Montford Point Marines. Greason was among the surviving Marines present to receive the honor.

Baseball Career

Born in Atlanta on September 3, 1924, Greason began professional baseball after returning from World War II. He pitched for the Nashville Black Vols and Asheville Blues before joining the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948. With a 17-year-old Willie Mays among his teammates, Greason helped Birmingham win the Negro American League pennant and recorded the Black Barons’ only victory against the Homestead Grays in the final Negro World Series.

Greason later pitched in Mexico, broke the color barrier in Oklahoma professional baseball with the Oklahoma City Indians in 1952, and became the first Black player in the 66-year history of the Houston Buffaloes. The St. Louis Cardinals acquired him in 1953.

On May 31, 1954, Greason made his National League debut against the Chicago Cubs. He became the second Black player and the first Black pitcher in Cardinals history. He appeared in three games for St. Louis, making two starts, and made his final Major League appearance on June 20. His Major League stay was brief, but it represented another barrier crossed in a career repeatedly shaped by segregation.

Greason continued in the Cardinals’ minor-league system through 1959. At Rochester in 1958, he became a mentor to a young Bob Gibson, just as he had once played alongside and encouraged Willie Mays. In June 2024, at age 99, Greason returned to Birmingham’s Rickwood Field and delivered the ceremonial first pitch before Major League Baseball’s tribute to the Negro Leagues.

Later Life and Legacy

The calling Greason first felt on Iwo Jima eventually led him from the pitcher’s mound to the pulpit. He served as a junior pastor at Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and ministered there when four girls were murdered in the church’s 1963 bombing. He later founded New Hope Baptist Church in Bessemer and, in 1971, became pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham.

For more than half a century at Bethel, Reverend Dr. Greason preached, mentored young people, supported families in need, preserved the history of Black baseball, and participated in community service throughout Birmingham. He earned a doctorate in divinity studies from Samford University and continued preaching beyond his 100th birthday. His long ministry fulfilled the promise made with a small Bible on Iwo Jima: to devote the life he was spared to whatever God asked of him.

Greason turned 102 on September 3, 2026. He is the oldest living Major League player and the last living player from the recognized Negro Leagues era. Those distinctions are remarkable, but they remain secondary to the life behind them: Marine, ballplayer, pastor, civil-rights witness, mentor, and servant of his community.

Sources and Further Reading

  1. Department of Defense, “Montford Point Marine Went From Iwo Jima to Major Leagues”
  2. Military Times, Greason’s account of Iwo Jima, the flag raisings, and his promise to God
  3. National WWII Museum, William Greason oral history
  4. U.S. Marine Corps, “Rev. William Greason: Service to and After the Corps”
  5. Society for American Baseball Research, Bill Greason biography
  6. Major League Baseball, Bill Greason as the last living player from the Negro Leagues era
  7. Major League Baseball, Reverend Greason’s 100th birthday and life of faith
  8. Heart and Armor Foundation, William Greason’s 100th birthday celebration
  9. Baseball-Reference, Bill Greason professional record