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Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe:

A Great Ballplayer NOT in the Hall of Fame

As we near the close of this year’s Black History Month, I thought this might be a good time to salute Ted “Double-Duty” Radcliffe. Here’s an updated version of an essay I wrote about him a few years ago. 

As you read about the career of Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe, try to think of any other ballplayer who excelled as both a hitter and as a pitcher over as many years a “Double Duty” did. OK…I’ll give you Babe Ruth, but that’s about it!

Ted Radcliffe was born on July 7, 1902 in Mobile Alabama, one of ten children. He entered the Negro National League with the Detroit Stars in 1928, the start of a 36-year career as a pitcher, catcher, and later as a manager. Like many stars from the Negro Leagues, Double Duty played for many teams – in his case at least 30, including some of the great ones: the Homestead Grays, Pittsburgh Crawfords, New York Black Yankees, Chicago American Giants, and Kansas City Monarchs.

(In the featured photo, we see Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe applying the tag at home plate in one of his many Negro League games).

Statistics from the Negro Leagues are always sketchy, but according to one biographer, Radcliffe had more than 4,000 hits and 400 home runs. In addition, he is thought to have won about 500 games and had 4,000 strike-outs. In 1943, aged 41, he won the Negro American League MVP award as a member of the Chicago American Giants. A known self-promoter, he would often proclaim himself as “the greatest baseball player of all time.” After reading about his career, it looks like he had a strong case!

The nickname “Double Duty” was coined by author Damon Runyon who saw Radcliffe play as both a catcher and as a pitcher in successive games of a 1932 Negro League World Series doubleheader. According to Runyon, Radcliffe “was worth the price of two admissions.” He participated in six East-West All-Star Games, pitching in three and catching in three others.

In the 1942 East-West All-Star game, he smashed a long home run into the upper deck of Comiskey Park which was the highlight of that year’s game. He was also known to be a master of many illegal pitches including the emery ball, the cut ball, and the spitter. He once boasted he was “the greatest emery ball pitcher of all time.”

Radcliffe often said the 1931 Homestead Grays to be the greatest team ever. His teammates on that team included Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Jud Wilson, and Smokey Joe Williams. Like his close friend Satchel Paige, Radcliffe was easily persuaded to change teams by the lure of higher pay, and both moved frequently. They also formed several Negro league All-Star teams that played exhibitions against white major league stars. He hit .376 (11-for-29) in nine of these games. 

In the later years of his life, Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe became a popular ambassador for the game of baseball. He was often seen at White Sox games at old Comiskey, and later at U.S. Cellular, in his wheelchair cheerfully signing autographs for the fans while relating stories about “the old days.”  

In 1999, aged 96, he became the oldest player to appear in a professional game. He threw a single pitch for the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League. After his 100th birthday, Double Duty celebrated each year by throwing a ceremonial first pitch for the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

On July 27, 2005, he threw the first pitch at Rickwood Field, Birmingham, Alabama. Two weeks later, he died in Chicago on August 11, 2005, after a battle with cancer. At his death, he was thought to be the oldest living professional baseball player. His brother Alex also played in the Negro Leagues.

I think it’s safe to say we’ll never see the likes of Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe again. Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? I think a strong case can be made that he does. 

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: “The Negro Baseball Leagues,” by Phil Dixon; and Public Domain.

Background Information: Excerpts edited from the Ted Radcliffe Wikipedia page