Dan Bankhead

CTL-E-6857 · Person · other · 1920–1976

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07729 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-6857.

Daniel Robert Bankhead (May 3, 1920 – May 2, 1976), born in Empire, Alabama, was a right-handed pitcher who starred in the Negro Leagues with the Birmingham Black Barons and the Memphis Red Sox before the Brooklyn Dodgers purchased his contract in August 1947. On August 26, 1947, days after Branch Rickey watched him pitch in Memphis, Bankhead debuted at Ebbets Field against Pittsburgh and became the first Black pitcher in Major League Baseball — the claim supported here by both the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and MiLB.com's Negro League history. He also homered in his first major-league at-bat. SABR notes the framing precisely: until the Negro Leagues were recognized as major leagues in December 2020, Bankhead stood on record as the first African American to pitch in the majors. He pitched for Brooklyn in 1947 and again in 1950–1951, one of five Bankhead brothers who played in the Negro Leagues.

The record

• Also known as: Daniel Robert Bankhead

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0301. Firsts disposition: 'First Black pitcher in Major League Baseball' ASSERTED — supported by SABR (Games Project) and MiLB.com. Framing note: SABR records that until December 2020, when the Negro Leagues were recognized as major leagues, Bankhead was on record as the first African American to pitch in the majors; the asserted claim follows the roster/AL-NL framing. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Bankhead's first arrived four months after Jackie Robinson's debut and is too often treated as a footnote to it; the record shows a Negro League star signed mid-pennant-race because Brooklyn needed his arm. His home run in his first at-bat belongs in every telling. Photo: HELD — no depicting Commons file (grave-marker photograph only).

Relationships

• Birmingham Black Barons — played for
  MiLB.com: Bankhead compiled a 15-3 record over parts of five seasons (1940–1944) with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League before his Memphis Red Sox seasons.
• Memphis Red Sox — played for
  SABR and MiLB.com: the Brooklyn Dodgers acquired Dan Bankhead from the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League in August 1947, days before his August 26, 1947 debut.

Sources

• Rory Costello. "August 26, 1947: Pitcher Dan Bankhead becomes an integration pioneer, homers in Dodgers debut." Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), Games Project. Accessed 2026-11-03. https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/august-26-1947-pitcher-dan-bankhead-becomes-an-integration-pioneer/ (build store)
• MiLB.com. "Fields of Change: Negro League History." MiLB.com (Montgomery Biscuits). Accessed 2026-11-03. https://www.milb.com/montgomery/ballpark/fields-of-change/history (primary source · build store)

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Record CTL-E-6857 · Combined Graph record U-07729 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 2 sources · 2 mapped relationships.
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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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