Roslyn Museum – 203 W Pennslyvania Ave – 509.649.2355
Although former Roslyn resident, Jimmy Claxton, was the first black player in organized baseball, he did it under an assumed name and ethnicity.
In 1916, the Oakland Oaks (Pacific Coast League) signed Claxton to pitch for them, believing he was a Native American named Chief Yellow Horse. Claxton pitched two games before his true identity was discovered and he was subsequently released.
Despite his short career, Claxton became the first black player featured on a baseball card. His short career just happened to coincide with a team visit from the photographer of the Collins-McCarthy Candy Company who produced the 1916 “Zeenuts card” series. Read More ———-Roslyn Museum Web Site
Roslyn’s
famous sons
Admiral John H. Sides
Commander in Chief of the
Pacific Fleet 1960-63
Admiral John Harold Sides was 16-years-old and a senior at Roslyn High School in 1920 when he posed with his basketball team (top row, far left) in the above photo. Sides was the “Smart Kid” in grammar school and entered high school a year early. After graduation, he attended the University of Washington for a year before entering the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
A delivery tag from Sides Bros. & Hartman Butchers that operated out of the sandstone building on the corner of 2nd and Pennsylvania Ave., home today to the Roslyn Cafe.
Admiral Sides’ father, George, was part owner in Sides Bros. & Hartman Butchers in the same building that today houses the Roslyn Cafe (next door to the Roslyn Museum). In June 1925, George traveled back to Maryland to watch his son graduate ninth out of a class of 438. George chronicled his experiences in letters which were printed in Cle Elum’s paper, The Miner-Echo. Unfortunately, he suffered a heart attack after his son’s graduation and died in Pennsylvania.
Father of the Guided Missile Program
Retiring Admiral Sides (left) receives his flag and salute from John W. Hamilton, QMCM in September 1963 while on board the USS Topeks, signifiying the end of his naval career. (photo courtesy of the Naval Photographic Center)
After Sides’ graduation from the academy, he spent four years on the USS Tennessee before returning to Annapolis to study naval ordinance and receive a Master of Science degree from the University of Michigan. Following his well-decorated service during WWII, he completed a course at the National War College which marked his induction into the Navy’s Guided Missile Program. In 1952, “Savvy Sides” was named Director of the Guided Missile Division and later appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet.
Jimmy Claxton
First black player in
organized baseball
Chief Yellow Horse
JImmy Claxton was also the first black player to appear on a baseball card, pictured in the display case above. Below it, an autographed Jimmy Claxton baseball.
Although former Roslyn resident, Jimmy Claxton, was the first back player in organized baseball, he did it under an assumed name and ethnicity. In 1916, the Oakland Oaks (Pacific Coast League) signed Claxton to pitch for them, believing he was a Native American named Chief Yellow Horse. Claxton pitched two games before his true identity was discovered and he was subsequently released.
Despite his short career, Claxton became the first black player featured on a baseball card. His short career just happened to coincide with a team visit from the photographer of the Collins-McCarthy Candy Company who produced the 1916 “Zeenuts card” series.
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