“In 2021, a country singer who goes by the name of Cousin Wolf recorded an album entitled Nine Innings which features a song for each of nine historic baseball players. The first tune on the album is Moses Fleetwood Walker. In the song, there’s this sad refrain:
Now it’s too late,
You’re just a footnote on the page.
On April 15, as we pay tribute to Jackie Robinson for his courage, dignity and athletic achievements in the face of unimaginable abuse, let’s also pause and remember Moses Fleetwood Walker, who did it first.”
Moses Fleetwood Walker
In the Trivia Mafia Morning Rounds newsletter: “The Legacy of Moses Fleetwood Walker" /
Walker died in 1924 at the age of 67, and, tragically, his legacy has largely been lost to time. Fleet has been getting small, belated recognition in the recent past. Oberlin College inducted Walker into their Hall of Fame in 1990. In 2017, Ohio passed legislation to make his birthday, October 7, “Moses Fleetwood Walker Day.” Folk artist Cousin Wolf wrote a song called “Moses Fleetwood Walker” in 2021. Is it enough for what he did, is it the legacy he deserves? No, but it is at least something.
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