For ten years around the turn of the 20th century, George Wilson, a son of former slaves, was perhaps “the best left handed pitcher in the world.” Wilson was a larger-than-life figure with a flair for the dramatic, who would often tell batters he would strike them out as they approached the plate. Peterson covers “the Black Rusie” from his beginnings to his stint in the Michigan State League, where one of his teammates was a young Honus Wagner, through his campaigns with the Page Fence and Chicago Columbia Giants, and right up to his days with clubs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Cuba.

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Todd Peterson

Todd Peterson (mccarthye@sbcglobal.net) is a Kansas City based visual artist, educator, and baseball historian. A member of SABR since 2004, he was a recipient of a Yoseloff-SABR Baseball Research Grant in 2006. Peterson has been a presenter at both SABR Negro Leagues and SABR national conventions, and is working on a book on early Minnesota Blackball for McFarland and Company. Examples of his widely exhibited artwork can be viewed at (www.artaviary.com).