COLUMBUS (AP) — The Ohio House has unanimously passed a bill that would honor the legacy of the nation’s first black professional baseball player on his birthday.
The Blade newspaper reports the measure would mandate that Oct. 7 be declared Moses Fleetwood “Fleet” Walker Day each year in Ohio.
The bill sponsored by Democratic Rep. Stephen Slesnick, of Canton, was passed by the House last week. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Many consider Jackie Robinson to be the player who broke baseball’s color barrier when he first suited up for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. But Walker played professionally for the Toledo Blue Stockings for one season in 1884.
Walker died in 1924. An inscription on his tombstone reads: “First Black Major League Player in USA.”