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Article: OLDEST SURVIVOR'S RECALL : OWENS PLAYED A DECADE IN NEGRO LEAGUES WITH DOZEN DIFFERENT OUTFITS.(SPORTS)
- Article from:
- Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
- Article date:
- April 14, 1996
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Daily News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Anthony Jewell Associated Press
William Owens set out in 1923 to find what he calls ``my success'' in baseball. Because of the rules of the day and the color of his skin, that meant life in the Negro Leagues for Owens.
Now, 73 years later, Owens claims to be the oldest among 300 survivors of the 2,600 African-American ballplayers who toiled in the Negro Leagues, the highest they could go, no matter how talented they were, before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947.
With a sixth-grade education, Owens played for 12 teams, breaking in with the Washington Potomacs in 1923. He played briefly with the powerful Indianapolis ...