Introducing: Andrew "Rube" Foster

Hello Everyone! This week, we will be learning about Andrew “Rube” Foster.

Andrew “Rube” Foster was born in Calvert, Texas in 1879. He grew up in Calvert and attended school there until the eighth grade when he dropped out. At the age of 18, he began his baseball career in Texas for the Waco Yellow Jackets. In 1901, he was traded to the Hot Springs Arlingtons to further his baseball career.

Foster quickly built up a reputation in the baseball world, and was signed to the Chicago Union Giants in 1902. He experienced a slump not long after and was released from the team. He decided to sign with the Otsego Independents, but decided to trade to the Cuban X-Giants later on in the season.

During his time with the X-Giants, Foster quickly became a star. Over the years, Foster continued to shine in his new found baseball stardom as he moved from the X-Giants to the Philadelphia Giants. From there he moved to the Leland Giants, which was later renamed the Chicago American Giants.

In 1920, Foster and seven other men met to discuss the formation of a professional baseball circuit for Black teams, which would later be known as the NNL. Foster became President of the NNL and was the owner and manager for the American Giants.

In 1925, Foster was almost killed by a gas leak in Indianapolis, but he was thankfully able to recover. From then on, he was known to have erratic behavior. During the 1926 season, he was institutionalized in an asylum in Illinois due to his paranoia and delusions that seemed to follow him everywhere. Foster died in 1930 and he was never fully able to recover from the lasting effects of the gas leak.

In 1981, Foster was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and in 2021, he was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame.