Daniel Robert Bankhead of Empire, Alabama. He served in the Marine Corps from 1942 to 1946, attained the rank of sergeant, trained at Montford Point, and was among the Montford Point Marines collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
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Dan Bankhead

Marine Corps Service

Bankhead served in the Marine Corps Reserve during World War II, from April 1942 until his honorable discharge in June 1946. He received recruit training at segregated Montford Point, near Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and attained the rank of sergeant.

Bankhead remained stateside as a member of the Montford Point baseball team. The club toured the United States to raise morale and support for the war effort, and Bankhead contributed as a pitcher, shortstop, and outfielder. When granted leave, he also made occasional appearances for the Birmingham Black Barons, including a 17-strikeout, three-hit shutout at Yankee Stadium in 1944.

His service placed him among the first generation of Black Marines, who trained and served under segregation while helping force institutional change within the Corps. In 2012, the Congressional Gold Medal was presented collectively to the Montford Point Marines in recognition of their sacrifice, perseverance, and service. Bankhead, who died in 1976, was included in that collective honor.

Baseball Career

Bankhead began his professional career with the Birmingham Black Barons in 1940. After leaving the Marines, he joined the Memphis Red Sox and became one of the Negro American League’s leading pitchers. He appeared in three East–West All-Star Games and earned the victory for the West in both 1946 and 1947.

The Brooklyn Dodgers acquired Bankhead from Memphis during the 1947 season. On August 26 at Ebbets Field—little more than four months after Jackie Robinson integrated the Dodgers—Bankhead became the first Black pitcher to appear in the modern National or American Leagues. In his first trip to the plate, he hit a two-run home run off Pittsburgh’s Fritz Ostermueller, becoming the first Black player to homer in his first National or American League at-bat.

Bankhead entered an environment of intense scrutiny, racist hostility, and little institutional support. His debut on the mound was difficult, and control problems and a longstanding shoulder injury complicated his progress. After two seasons in the minors, however, he went 20–6 for the Montreal Royals in 1949 and led the International League with 176 strikeouts.

He returned to Brooklyn in 1950 and won his first four decisions, including a complete game against the Chicago Cubs and a six-hit shutout of the St. Louis Cardinals. Worsening shoulder trouble curtailed his success. Bankhead played his final Major League game on July 18, 1951, finishing his Brooklyn career with a 9–5 record in 52 appearances.

Later Life and Legacy

Bankhead’s career extended well beyond Brooklyn. He starred in Puerto Rico, pitched in Canada and the Dominican Republic, and spent many years in Mexico as a player, coach, and manager. His baseball life crossed the Negro Leagues, the integration of the Dodgers, the high minor leagues, winter ball, and international professional baseball.

He died of lung cancer in Houston on May 2, 1976, one day before his 56th birthday, and was buried at Houston National Cemetery. Although his pioneering role received little sustained attention during his lifetime, Bankhead occupies an essential place in baseball history: an accomplished Negro Leagues pitcher, a Montford Point Marine, and the man who integrated the pitcher’s mound in the modern National and American Leagues.

Sources and further reading

  1. United States Department of Defense — Dan Bankhead’s Marine Corps service and baseball career
  2. Society for American Baseball Research — Dan Bankhead biography
  3. Society for American Baseball Research — Bankhead’s historic August 26, 1947 debut
  4. Baseball Reference — Dan Bankhead Negro Leagues and National League statistics
  5. Negro Leagues Baseball Museum — Dan Bankhead profile
  6. United States Mint — Congressional Gold Medal awarded collectively to the Montford Point Marines
  7. United States Government Publishing Office — Public Law 112-59 granting the Montford Point Marines the Congressional Gold Medal