Bud Fowler

CTL-E-6853 · Person · other · 1858–1913

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07725 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-6853.

Bud Fowler (March 16, 1858 – February 26, 1913), born John W. Jackson Jr. in Fort Plain, New York, and raised in Cooperstown, is the first acknowledged African-American professional baseball player. The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) BioProject biography, named here as a source, states the claim directly: Fowler was the first acknowledged African-American professional player, debuting in 1878, the first African-American in Organized Baseball, and the first to play on integrated teams, typically as the only Black player on the roster. The National Baseball Hall of Fame concurs in its own terms, writing that Fowler, whose pro debut came in 1878 in the International Association, 'is believed to be the first Black player to play pro baseball,' and that he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2022. SABR records the debut itself: pitching for the Lynn Live Oaks in May 1878, Fowler threw a two-hit, 3–0 shutout of the London Tecumsehs on May 17. A versatile second baseman, pitcher, and catcher who also worked as a barber, Fowler later co-founded the Page Fence Giants, one of the great Black barnstorming clubs. His career began a decade before the color line hardened, and its recognition waited more than a century.

The record

• Also known as: John W. Jackson Jr., John W. Jackson

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0247. Firsts disposition: 'First acknowledged African-American professional baseball player (1878)' ASSERTED — the roster's unspecified, verification-pending flag was resolved into this specific claim, supported by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Vital-date conflict shown, not blended: Baseball-Reference Bullpen gives born 1847 / died March 1, 1913; SABR and the Hall of Fame agree on March 16, 1858 / February 26, 1913, which this record carries. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Fowler played professionally before there was a color line to break, then spent two decades being moved along by it — player, captain, and promoter in one career; his 2022 Hall of Fame election closed a 109-year recognition gap. Photo: CLEARED — Bud Fowler.jpg, Public domain.

Sources

• McKenna, Brian. "Bud Fowler." Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) BioProject. Accessed 2026-11-03. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bud-fowler/ (primary source · build store)
• National Baseball Hall of Fame. "Bud Fowler's life blazed a trail from Cooperstown." Baseball Hall of Fame. Accessed 2026-11-03. https://baseballhall.org/discover/bud-fowler-blazed-a-trail-from-cooperstown (primary source · build store)
• Baseball-Reference Bullpen. "Bud Fowler." Baseball-Reference.com. Accessed 2026-11-03. https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Bud_Fowler (build store)

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Record CTL-E-6853 · Combined Graph record U-07725 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 3 sources.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

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