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Quotes about Double Duty!

Dennis Biddle,
Negro League pitcher:
"My first game was against the Memphis Red Sox. My catcher was Double Duty Radcliffe and he was an old man but he was still good. I struck out 13 batters and I gave up one home run. The score was 3-1. I didn't know the guy's name; all I knew is they called him 'Big Red'. He hit a home run off me that's still going today. I had struck him out twice and Double Duty had come out and told me to throw him a curveball. I saw him step up in front of the plate so I knew he was waiting for my curveball 'cause that's what I struck him out with, so I was going to cross him up and throw the fastball. Double Duty said, 'Throw the curveball!' and I shook him off. I threw the fastball and this guy hit it! Double Duty came out and yelled at me, 'Boy, I've been in this league 25 years! When I tell you to do something, you do it!'

"Ted wasn't a young man anymore and he could still hit that ball. A lot of guys could tear the cover off the ball but Double Duty, I remember him distinctly hitting long home runs."

James "Jimmy" Dean,
Negro League pitcher:
"There's so many should be in the Hall of Fame. There's Hilton Smith, Double Duty Radcliffe, Wild Bill Wright, [Webster] McDonald. There's so many guys."

Red Moore,
Negro League first baseman:
[Who was the best player you came across?] "We had so many good ballplayers......I'd have to pick out position-wise, you know what I mean? Double Duty Radcliffe--he was a good one. Pitched and catch. He was a legend."

Bobby Robinson,
Negro League third baseman:
"Duty was a good one. Just like what everybody says. He could catch, pitch, and he could do it real well. He was a good hitter. He could hit the ball hard. He threw a lot of junk but he got away with it.

"Duty was the type of guy, he didn't laugh too much when he was out there playing. He looked like he was serious all the time, you know, and he never smiled. He used to smile at me I guess because he knew me well. But to most of the guys he looked like he was mad all the time.

"Duty could pitch, though. He could really pitch. And he'd throw a lot of trick balls, too. I don't know if he'd tell it now. But he did."

Joe Desiderato,
semipro third baseman:
"Double Duty was a very good pitcher. Duty was more known as a boisterous pitcher. He would talk even while he was pitching. He was a terrific pitcher. He could pitch with Satchel or anybody. His usual conversation would be, 'Here it is! Here it comes! Now here comes my fastball!' He'd cross them up sometimes and throw a curve. He threw a fastball, curveball, change of pace. He had 'em all. A terrific ballplayer and catcher, too. That's why 'Double Duty.'

"Talking! The two best you ever want to hear talk is Double Duty and Satchel. Both of them fellas could really carry on. They'd hold a whole room full of people and you'd be in awe at the way they would come out with their conversation. It was wonderful to be with them guys. They were very well-educated even though they didn't have the chance to go to school like we did. They were very smart in all respects and gentleman, too. Couldn't beat 'em."

Sam Hairston,
Negro League catcher:
"Duty was a star. You just listened. A rookie didn't do too much talking. He would talk too--I'm telling you. He'd tell you what he's gonna do and he ain't joking either. He'd tell you things happened and they happened! I know. He's done told you things that I've been witness to.

"Duty had a good arm! I faced Duty and caught Duty. Duty would talk your pants off. He was funny. Just as funny as he could be. He won. He always won. He was just a great ball player. Duty was a hitter. He was big. He'd get ahold of one and hit it out.

"Duty was mostly just the star of the team. He was a star. When they said, 'Play Ball,' he was in there if he wasn't hurt."

Sherwood Brewer,
Negro League infielder:
"Besides being a great ballplayer he was a character. He was quite a ballplayer. He was a much better catcher than a pitcher but he wasn't a bad pitcher. He threw a lot of junk and spit every once in a while. He was tough to hit when he spit on that ball.

"When I started playing he was at the twilight of his career. A lot of fun. Good hitter. Good power. Great arm. Great arm and good receiver."

Slick Surratt,
Negro League outfielder:
"Double Duty? I played with him and I played for him. He was still playing as an old man. He still had a lot left. He could still go on the mound in the late innings and get you out.

"Oh, he loved to talk but he could usually back his up. Hey, when a fella can do that he's not bragging, he's just executing. Hey, I can say this for Duty: Duty was a good pitcher and a good catcher. and a good hitter. I saw Duty play in the late 30s and early 40s when he was in his prime. And he would bring his catcher's unifom and his glove.

"Oh, yeah. He had a good arm. For pitching he was a good hard thrower and a good curveball--he knew how to set you up. Cut ball? Well you know back in those days you did a little cheatin'. See, a lot of people could cut the ball but they didn't know what to do with it. It didn't do you no good to cut it if you didn't know what to do. But Duty knew what to do with it. I never did face Duty but he used to pitch batting practice and he would show you his good number 2. And he had a breast protector that he'd always wear all the time that say, 'Thou Shalt Not Steal!'

"Yeah, Duty was a good hitter. And a good catcher. Hey, he was just a good ballplayer. I'm telling you, Duty should be in the Hall of Fame. That's right. Now he does a lot of talking, but anybody you talk to tell you he talked a lot but he was a good ballplayer. And you can't take that away from a person. A good catcher a good pitcher and a good infielder. Hey I know he was in his late 50s and he would get back there and he'd tell you 'Go ahead and steal if you think you can make it,' and he would gun you out."