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"Crush" Holloway

Christopher Columbus Holloway
Nickname: Crush


Career: 1921-1939
Positions: rf, cf
Teams: Indianapolis ABCs (1921-1923), Baltimore Black Sox (1924-1928, 1931-1933), Hilldale Daisies (1929, 1932), Detroit Stars (1930), New York Black Yankees (1932), Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (1934), Brooklyn Eagles (1935), Baltimore Elite Giants (1939)
Bats: Both
Throws: Right
Height: 5' 11-1/2''  Weight: 180
Born: September 16, 1896, Hillsboro, Texas
Died: June, 1972, Baltimore, Maryland


A fast, aggressive base runner, he would slide hard into a base with spikes high to try to intimidate opposing infielders. The big, light-complected, green-eyed outfielder kept his spikes sharpened and considered the basepaths to be his own domain. A tough man to tangle with, he once stopped Jud Wilson from doing bodily harm to an umpire in the locker room by picking up a bat and threatening to "bust" Wilson's head if he didn't let the ump go.

Holloway began his career with C.I. Taylor's Indianapolis ABCs in 1921, and in addition to being one of the best base stealers on the ABCs, he perfected the drag bunt to further take advantage of his exceptional speed. He was also a good defensive outfielder and a good hitter, and hit .330 in his last season with the team.

Joining manager Pete Hill's Baltimore Black Sox in 1924, Crush, usually batting leadoff, hit for averages of .331, .289 and .284 for the next three seasons. In 1929 he was traded to Hilldale, along with Jackson, for Frank Warfield and Red Ryan, and promptly batted .296 and led the league in stolen bases. In each of the next two seasons he hit .250 for the Detroit Stars and the Baltimore Black Sox. In 1932 he split his playing time among three teams, beginning with the Black Sox but joining Hilldale before ending up with the New York Black Yankees when the Hilldale franchise folded. His batting patterns from the Negro Leagues were consistent with his performance in two Cuban winter seasons, where he hit for a .290 average. He also played with the Philadelphia Royal Giants in the winter of 1925.

Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994.