Bill Greason

William Henry "Booster" Greason (born September 3, 1924 in Atlanta, Georgia) is pastor of Bethel Baptist Church Berney Points and a former pitcher for the Birmingham Black Barons and the Major League's St Louis Cardinals.

Greason served in the 66th Supply Platoon of the U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific during World War II and took part in the Battle of Iwo Jima. After the war, he played professional baseball in the Negro Leagues for the Nashville Black Vols, Asheville Blues, and the 1948-1949 Birmingham Black Barons.

In 1952 he was signed by the integrated Double-A Oklahoma City Indians of the Texas League. He went 9-1 there with a 2.14 earned run average in his first season, and continued to impress in 1953 before he was acquired by St Louis. He was the second African American player for the Cardinals, following 6'-5" infielder Tom Alston.

Greason made two poor starts and one scoreless inning in relief for the 1954 Cardinals. In three appearances totaling four innings he allowed eight hits and six earned runs with four walks and two strikeouts for an 0-1 record and 13.50 ERA. He continued to play in the Cardinals' minor-leagues organization until retiring in the fall of 1959.

Greason returned to Birmingham and enrolled at Birmingham Baptist Bible College and Samford University.

Greason was inducted into the Barons Hall of Fame in May 2015.

References

• "Bill Greason" (February 1, 2015) Wikipedia - accessed May 26, 2015
• Brown, Tyler (May 26, 2015) "Four Enter Barons Hall of Fame Wednesday." Birmingham Barons press release/Milb.com

External links

• Bill Greason at baseball-reference.com