Editor’s note: Today we have a guest column by Keith Wood, PhD, who was a board member for last week’s tremendous 2026 Jerry Malloy Conference in Memphis and is the author of The Memphis Red Sox: A Negro Leagues History. For more information about his books and his work in general, check out his Web site at www.keithbwoodauthor.com.
By Dr. Keith B. Wood
What an honor to host the 2026 Jerry Malloy Negro Leagues Conference in Memphis, Tenn. The 26th annual conference stood as an opportunity for the city to remind the Blackball community of its rich history and traditions associated with the Memphis Red Sox. A team and a city whose past is often overlooked in the annals of Negro Leagues baseball.
We remember the Chicago American Giants with Rube Foster, and the Homestead Grays with Josh Gibson. Who could forget Kansas City and its Monarchs? Willie Mays gave us the Birmingham Black Barons. But what about the Memphis Red Sox? We haven’t forgotten here in the Land of the Delta Blues, and we were excited to share this joy that we have for our hometown team.
Last week, we were honored by the presence of J.B. Martin IV, whose great-grandfather, J.B. Martin Sr., stood as the owner of the Memphis Red Sox with his brothers W.S., A.T. and B.B. He shared his family’s story and then threw out the first pitch during the Memphis Redbirds celebration of the Red Sox.
Neil Sharma, a graduate student from the University of Memphis, opened our eyes to the realities of owning a Negro League team in the Jim Crow South. He reminded us how J.B. Martin Sr. was run out of Memphis for disagreeing with Memphis’ political boss, E.H. Crump. Even after being displaced and forced to move to Chicago, he reinvented himself as the owner of the American Giants and became president of the Negro American League.
Baseball continued to thrive in Memphis. historians Alex Painter and Thomas Van Hyning shared how our own Bob “Rope” Boyd made the Red Sox proud when he signed with the Chicago White Sox, becoming the most prominent Negro Leaguer from the Red Sox to play in Major League Baseball. We never forgot that Dan Bankhead was the first; his signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 made him the first Black pitcher to pitch in MLB.
We discovered how Verdell Mathis, a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, made his way through semi-professional baseball to the Memphis Red Sox.
Delores Brown, daughter-in-law of the great Larry “Iron Man” Brown, joined us in Memphis and participated in a panel discussion on why we need to keep these stories alive. Joining Brown were Julian Duncan, son and grandson of the father-son battery of Frank Duncan Jr. and Frank Duncan III; Dr. Harriet Kimbro, daughter of Henry Kimbro; and Carlis Wright Robinson, daughter of Johnny Wright, the second Black baseball player to sign with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Not only were we in awe of their presence, but the joy of hearing these family members share their stories inspired each of us to continue the work we do. We promised to strive as the old African proverb reminds us to keep saying their names, and as long as we do, they will still be us.
Memphis put its best foot forward throughout the week, with locally Black-owned businesses leading the way. The Malloy’s annual meet and greet took place at the historic Ernest Withers ’ Museum on Beale Street. Guests not only had a chance to catch up with each other, but to walk through the lens of history shared with us by the late Ernest Withers.
On Thursday, local tour guide Carolyn Michael-Banks led a tour of Memphis that shed light on Memphis’ rich history while also enlightening Malloy attendees about the challenges of life in Jim Crow Memphis during the Negro leagues era. A tour of the Lorraine Motel and the National Civil Rights Museum offered an opportunity to stand on sacred ground and reflect.
Last week in Memphis, Blackball historians and fans from across the country had a chance, like musician Marc Cohn reminds us, to go “walking in Memphis. Was walking with my feet, ten feet off of Beale. Walking in Memphis. But do I really feel the way I feel?” We touched down in the Land of the Delta Blues and experienced the greatness of Negro Leagues baseball and Memphis’ incredible role in that story.