Negro Leaguer of the Month
March, 2001

Elwood "Bingo" DeMoss
position: 2B
career: 1910-1930
Teams: French Lick Plutos, West Baden Sprudels, Indianapolis ABCs, Chicago American Giants, Detroit Stars

HT: 6'-2"; WT: 180 lbs
batted and threw right
Born: Sept. 5, 1889 in Topeka, KS
Died: Jan. 26, 1965 in Chicago

Bingo was the best second baseman of the first quarter century of the 1900s. His size puts him the same class as two other great second basemen of similar stature, Sammy T. Hughes and Ryne Sandberg.

DeMoss started his career with local teams in Kansas, but moved to Spring Valley, Indiana and played for French Lick (of Larry Bird fame) and West Baden, playing for teams that entertained guests in this resort area.

DeMoss, with his daring base running, precision bunting, and sparkling defense, quickly became a star and he moved onto the Indinaplis ABCs and the "Black Big Leagues" in 1915 playing for manager C.I. Taylor.

Like Sandberg 70 years later, fans and teammates often remarked, "You've got to see him play second base!" DeMoss made turning the double play an art form and his range was surpassed by no middle infielder of his day.

Although usually known as a spirited yet classy player, he and teammate Oscar Charleston (known for his temper) got into a brawl with an umpire in 1915 and were put in jail. In the fifth inning of a game versus Bush's All-Stars, Ownie Bush was on first and tried to steal second--DeMoss appeared to make the tag at second but umpire Jimmy Scanlon called Bush safe. "DeMoss came tearing in and started at Scanlon, who started to spar. Charleston came to DeMoss' aid and landed one on the ump's face, causing an ugly wound and letting him take the count. Spectators swarmed on the field, causing the police to take quick action in averting a riot. The two players were sent to jail where they were bailed out."

Mostly, though, Bingo was known as a complete ballplayer. He usually hit in the .300s and played flawless defense.

After two years with the ABCs, DeMoss moved to the Chicago American Giants and played for legendary manager Rube Foster. DeMoss fit in perfectly with Foster's style of play--a style in which every player was expected to be able to bunt a ball into a hat 15 feet from home plate. DeMoss was the team's captain for six years.

The American Giants that DeMoss played for were said to have been able to beat the best teams in baseball without hitting a ball out of the infield!

It's not a surprise that when his playing days wound down that DeMoss became a top manager--after all, he had been managed by Taylor and Foster, two of the greatest in history.

DeMoss managed the Detroit Stars from 1926-1931, playing second base most games too, and helped develop players like Turkey Stearnes, Double Duty Radcliffe and Huck Rile.

He later managed the Chicago Brown Bombers, a top black semipro team.

There is an excellent website devoted to Bingo DeMoss.
Click here to visit!