Man who took stand against racism at Gastonia baseball field 86 years ago dies of COVID-19

GASTONIA, N.C. — People are mourning the death of a man whose stand against racism at a baseball field in Gastonia is now documented in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Tony King is one of 76 people who died of COVID-19 in a Springfield, Massachusetts, home for veterans.

His obituary reflects the stand he took in 1934.

He was the 16-year captain of an American Legion team playing in the playoffs in Gastonia. The team was told it couldn’t play if their Black standout player took the field. King decided they should stand with their teammate and leave.

Channel 9′s Ken Lemon spoke with King’s family and people in tears in Gastonia on Thursday. His niece said he died knowing he did the right thing.

We spoke to King in January in Soldier’s Home where he died. He had just turned 102 years old. But he hasn’t forgotten the game where organizers in Gastonia refused to let his teammate Ernest Taliaferro play because he was Black.

“Why can’t everybody be like my uncle Tony was,” his niece Ann Haskell said.

Haskell said leading his team off the field instead of benching a player because of his color was a decision that made King a hero, but it’s a secret he kept for 60 years.

“He never mentioned what he did back in 1934,” she said.

Not until the day the city of Springfield constructed a monument honoring his team.

Lemon asked why he never told anyone and Haskell responded, “He said ‘cause it was just the right thing to do.”

Haskell said King was tested twice for COVID-19 and it came back negative, but the third time was the final strike. She said the man born during a flu pandemic died of the coronavirus.

“It was devastating to all of us,” she said.

His death brought Gastonia baseball player Elmore Hill to tears.

“I’m sad to hear it ‘cause he was a great guy,” said Hill.

Hill said he met King five years ago as the city of Gastonia reconciled for forcing the Springfield team to leave. Hill is a former coach in the major leagues and told King about racism he faced on the field.

“We sat and talked like we had known each other forever,” Hill said.

Haskell said King’s last words to her were “I love you” and the phrase he always repeated.

“If I die tonight you be happy for me’ cause I have had a wonderful life,” she said.

‘We need radical change’: 19-year-old activist battles for racial injustice ‘We need radical change’: 19-year-old activist battles for racial injustice

© 2020 Cox Media Group