Jim "Mudcat" Grant To Appear At Cleveland Indians Negro Leagues Turn Back The Clock/ Hall Of Fame & Heritage Weekend

Online, August 5, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Former Indians All-Star Pitcher Jim "Mudcat" Grant will make an appearance at the 2010 Cleveland Indians Negro Leagues Turn Back the Clock / Hall of Fame & Heritage Weekend on August 6 & 7.

A Media Meet & Greet Event will be held on Friday August 6 from 4:30pm-6:30 pm at Cleats Sports Bar Gateway located at 2123 East 2nd Street. In addition to Mudcat Grant, Negro League players Ted Toles Jr., Ron Teasley and Sean Gibson-President of the Josh Gibson Foundation will also be in attendance. This is an opportunity for local media to meet & interview the sports celebrities. The event is sponsored by The Josh Gibson Foundation.

On Saturday August 7, 2010 the players will be at Progressive Field on the lower level concourse near "Fan Services" signing autographs and meeting with the fans. Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Ted Toles Jr., Ron Teasley and Sean Gibson will be available to meet & pose for photos from 6pm through the first pitch. A collection of memorabilia from the Josh Gibson Foundation will be on display. Sean Gibson, Great Grandson of Legendary Negro League slugger Josh Gibson will be at the display to answer questions and educate the fans on the Negro Leagues.

Both events are open to the public.

James "Mudcat" Grant signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1954 as an amateur free agent and made his big league debut with the Indians in 1958. He had his best season in Cleveland in 1961 when he had a won-loss record of 15-9 and a .386 ERA. In June 1964, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins and had a record of 11-9 for the remainder of the season. He finished 6th in voting for the 1965 American League MVP for leading the League in Wins, Won-Loss %, shutouts and home runs allowed. Grant's home run in the 6th game of the 1965 World Series was only the second by an America League pitcher during a World Series Game.

After his playing career, Grant worked as a broadcaster and executive for the Cleveland Indians. In recent years, he has dedicated himself to studying and promoting the history of blacks in baseball. In 2006 Grant released his long awaited book," The Black Aces", Baseball's Only African American Twenty-Game Winners featuring chapters on each of the African Americans to have at least one twenty win season.

Negro League baseball was a direct result of baseball's color line. The first black versus black baseball game was held on September 28, 1860 at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey. After the integration of the major leagues in 1947, as marked by the appearance of Jackie Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers, interest in the Negro Leagues waned. The American Negro League played its last game in 1958.

The Josh Gibson Foundation is a private 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation which was established in 1994 in an effort to keep the memory of Josh Gibson and the entire Negro League alive. The Foundation partners with Duquesne University matching college students with elementary and middle school youth for tutoring. For information on the Josh Gibson Foundation visit www.joshgibson.org

Contact: Sports Celebrity Marketing S.C.M. Inc. 954-330-6362