Nixon, Connie Louise, 287
Nixon, Dorothy Yvonne, 282–84, 287
Nixon, E. D., 294
Nixon, Hubert, 287
Nixon, Isaiah, murder of, 283–84, 290
Nixon, Isaiah, Jr., 283, 287–88
Nixon, Margaret, 285, 287
Nixon, Mary Ann, 287
Nixon, Richard, 269
Nixon, Sallie, 283–84, 286, 289
Nixon Family Fund campaign, 286–89
Noble Sissle Society Orchestra, 139
Noel, Hattie, 141
nonviolent strategy, 189, 295, 298, 322
North Side (neighborhood), 45, 59, 322
North Star (journal), 41
numbers racket, 93–95
Nunn, Bill, 6, 7, 8, 70, 88, 265, 282, 293
and Chappell’s move to city desk, 272
as city editor, 3
as Courier managing editor, 166, 168, 221, 260, 273, 286
death of, 327
East-West Classic and, 111
Louis championed by, xv, 2–4, 5, 10, 14–15, 16, 22, 154, 256
Prattis’s relationship with, 155, 167
Nunn, Bill, Jr., 327
Oakland (neighborhood), xxiii, 44, 130, 322
Oakmont, Pa., 52, 159, 165–66
Odd Fellows, 46
O’Dowd, Jack, 5
Office of Facts and Figures (OFF), 173
Ohio, 40
Ohio River, xiii, 30
“Oh Lady Be Good” (song), 221
Olympia Stadium (Detroit), 8
O’Neill, Eugene, 334
Ostermueller, Fritz, 264
Ott, Mel, 235
“Our Champ” (Courier poem), 16–17
Owens, Jesse, 19, 158
P-40 Warhawk fighters, 177, 181
P-51 Mustang fighters, 182
Pace, Frankie, 321
Padgett, Norma, 290
Padmore, George, 183
Page, Ted, 90, 101, 112
Page, William Nelson, 50, 59
Paige, Janet Howard:
extravagant lifestyle of, 116
Satchel’s courtship of, 106
wedding of Satchel and, 116
Paige, Leroy “Satchel,” xv, 88, 90, 110, 120, 121, 267, 326
with Crawfords, 105–6, 111, 112–16
in defection from Crawfords, 116–17
Dominican Republic’s poaching of, 118–19
extravagant spending by, 114, 116
Greenlee’s relationship with, 106, 113–14, 117
marriage of, see Paige, Janet Howard
1934 season of, 114
post-Crawfords career of, 119
in return to Crawfords, 117–18
Panama, 257
Pan Fried Fish, 328
Paramount Inn, 93, 94
Paramount Theatre (New York), 215–16
Parker, Charlie, xvi, 194, 206, 223, 224, 325
in Billy Eckstine Orchestra, 210–11
departure from Eckstine Orchestra of, 212
drug habit of, 208, 212
with Earl Hines orchestra, 201–2, 208–9
Gillespie and, 208–9
Parker, Dan, 236
Parker, John J., 82
Parks, Rosa, 294, 296
“Passion Flower” (song), 148
Patrick, LeRoy, 322
“Patriot and the Partisan, The” (Vann), 81–83
Pat’s Place, 328
Patterson, Joe, 190
Payton, Mr., 26, 27
Peabody High School (Pittsburgh), 195, 196, 333
Pearl Harbor, Japanese attack on, 151, 167–69
Pearlman, David, 145
Pease, Robert, 321, 323
Peck, John, 41
Pennfield Drug Store, 126, 144–45
Penn, William, 318
Penn Hills (neighborhood), 94
Penn Incline, 325
Pennock, Herb, 262
Pennsylvania, discrimination in, 273
Pennsylvania River, 32
Pennsylvania State University, 48
Penny, Rob, 328–29, 330
Peoples, Lucy, 54, 60
People’s Voice, 238, 252
Pershing, John, 92
Peterson, Oscar, 223
Philadelphia Phillies, 261
Philadelphia Tribune, 73
Piano Concerto in A Minor (Grieg), 134
Piano Lesson, The (Bearden), 334
Piano Lesson, The (Wilson), xvi, 334, 335, 339
pianos, in black cultural life, 129, 207, 222, 335–36
Pickens, Willis, 190
Pinchot, Gifford, 79
Pinkerton guards, 35–36
Pittsburgh, Pa., xxiii
black population of, xiv, xxiii, 58, 67, 77, 274
flood of 1936 in, 12
founding of, 29–30
Great Fire of 1845 in, 42, 43, 44, 49
King assassination riots in, 322–23
postwar discrimination in, 274
Pittsburgh, Pa., black culture of, xiv–xvi
mixing of racketeers and elite in, 97, 137–38, 335
musical traditions of, 129, 324–25, 335
pianos and, 207, 222, 335–36
social clubs in, 46–47
Pittsburgh, University of, 76, 179, 275
see also Western University of Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh African Education Society, 40
Pittsburgh Anti-Slavery Society, 41, 42
Pittsburgh Bessemer Steel Company, 31
Pittsburgh City League, 105
Pittsburgh Clearing House Association, 275
Pittsburgh Courier, xvi, 3, 65, 174, 182, 190, 253, 268, 270, 285, 319, 326
All-American Ball Club list of, 3, 109
All-American football team of, 70
anti-discrimination crusades of, 68, 273–74
baseball integration pushed by, 120–21
Berlin Olympics covered by, 158–59
as bestselling black newspaper in U.S., 52
“Black Mood in Pittsburgh” series of, 321–22
in black veterans’ rights crusade, 277–79
Chappell’s move to city desk of, 271–72
Chicago edition of, 153–54
circulation of, xiv, 22, 70, 71, 75, 77, 157, 159, 173, 178
Civic Arena project and, 315–16
crusading attitude of, xiv–xv, 7, 67–69
decline of, 326–27
Double Victory Campaign of, 151, 152, 170–74, 176, 178, 191, 235, 272
Ethiopian war covered by, 158
financial difficulties of, 66, 69
Fort Bragg report of, 167, 173
founding of, 50–51, 61–62
Greenlee-Posey feud and, 110
Hoe printing press of, 8, 76, 77, 327
J. E. Hoover’s campaign against, 173
as largest black newspaper, 22
leadership shuffle at, 166
Lewis hired as business manager of, 66
Louis championed by, xv, 2, 4, 7–8, 9, 10, 14, 16–17, 18, 22, 154–55, 256
on Louis’s victory over Schmeling, 21–22
“Neediest Family Drive” of, 79
Nixon Family Fund campaign of, 286–89
Nixon murder and, 284
Nunn named managing editor of, 166
Pittsburgh Crawfords coverage in, 108
Prattis hired by, 154–55
in price-hike scheme with Chicago Defender, 69–70
Robinson coverage by, 259
Robinson-Dodgers scoop of, 257–58
Robinson’s “diary” in, 243, 260, 262, 263, 264
Smith as sports editor of, 231–32, 234
sports coverage of, 2–3
Thompson’s letter to, 170
Vann as majority owner of, 72
Vann’s focus on crime stories in, 64–65
war correspondents of, 178, 180–88
Willkie endorsed by, 163–64, 165
“The Women” column in, 289–90, 294, 297, 301
women reporters at, 282
; see also specific writers
writers at, 70–71; see also specific writers and editors
see also Vann, Robert Lee
Pittsburgh Courier Band Poll, 221–22
Pittsburgh Courier Newsies Club, 197
Pittsburgh Crawfords, xv, 88, 89, 90, 98–99, 326, 335
Bell signed by, 109–10
dominance of, 112–13
exhibition games played by, 112, 113
Gibson and Johnson traded by, 120
Gibson with, 99, 107–8, 111, 117
Grays players poached by, 107–8
Greenlee Field built for, 107
Greenlee-Posey rivalry and, 106–9, 110, 111, 115, 119, 121
Greenlee’s purchase of, 99–100
Greenlee’s sale of, 121
Greenlee’s signing of players for, 104–5
Paige’s defection from, 116–17
Paige’s return to, 117–18
Paige with, 105–6, 111, 112–16
Pittsburgh Gazette, 62
Pittsburgh High School, 47
Pittsburgh Music Institute, 135
Pittsburgh Penguins, 326
Pittsburgh Pirates, 100, 120, 230, 235, 237–38, 256, 263–64, 326
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 275, 320, 323
Pittsburgh Press, 62, 64, 196
Pittsburgh Renaissance, 22–23, 313–14, 317, 327–28
Pittsburgh Star-Telegraph, 111
Pittsburgh Steelers, 98, 326
Pitt, William (the Elder), 30
Poetics (Aristotle), 338
Point Breeze (neighborhood), xxiii, 32, 43–44
Pollock, Jackson, 216
Pompez, Alex, 99–100, 113
Poole, W. T., 84
Port Tobacco, Md., 25–26
Port Tobacco River, 25
Posey, Alexander, 25–26
Posey, Angeline Stevens “Anna,” 24, 27–28, 31–32, 45–46, 71
marriage of Cap and, 29
as schoolteacher, 28–29
Posey, Beatrix, 47
Posey, Cumberland “Cap,” Sr., 24, 31–32, 49, 58
Carnegie and, 38–39
childhood and adolescence of, 25–26
coal businesses of, 37–38
death of, 71
Frick’s partnership with, 38–39
Homestead mansion of, 45–46
marriage of Anna and, 29
as steamboat engineer, 27
Vann and, 59–60
Posey, Cumberland “Cum,” Jr., xv, 47–48, 111, 256
athletic talent of, 48–49
death of, 244–45
East-West League formed by, 104, 106–9
as Grays owner-manager, 100–102, 104, 114
Greenlee’s rivalry with, 106–9, 115, 119, 121
hired as Grays manager, 49
integration of baseball pushed by, 120
poaching of ballplayers by, 101, 102
womanizing by, 101
Posey, Elizabeth Willis, 25
Posey, Stewart Hayes “See,” 47, 48, 102, 107
Posey Coal Dealers and Steam Boat Builders, 37
Posey family, 47
Post Office, U.S., Courier investigation of, 174–75
Potomac River, 25
Povich, Shirley, 11
Powell, Adam Clayton, Jr., 175, 290
Powell, Bud, 223, 225
Powers, Jimmy, 243
Prattis, Helen Sands, 155, 163
Prattis, Lillian Sherman, 154–55
Prattis, Patricia, 163
Prattis, Percival Leroy “P.L.,” 2–3, 157–58, 161, 168, 191, 282, 327
anti-discrimination crusade of, 273, 274
in Chicago, 153–54
Courier war correspondents overseen by, 178, 179, 182, 183–84
Double Victory Campaign and, 170
FBI investigation of, 173, 175
and FDR administration’s censorship campaign, 174
Helen Sands’s marriage to, 155, 163
Joe Louis marriage scoop of, 155
Julia Bumry Jones’s relationship with, 155
Lillian Sherman’s marriage to, 154–55
named Courier executive editor, 166
Nunn’s relationship with, 155, 167
segregated Army base stories of, 166–67, 173
in World War I, 156
Presley, Elvis, 220
Prevalence of Ritual, The (Bearden), 333
“Prisoner of Love” (song), 214, 221
Proctor, Jacob, 46
Proctor, Virginia Woodson, 46
Pulitzer, Joseph, 49, 60
Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 332, 334
Pullman Company, 74–75
Pullman Porters and Maids Association, 171
Purdy, Claude, 329, 333
Pythian Temple on the Hill (Pittsburgh), 87, 125, 194, 198
Queen, Howard, 182, 183
race riots, 168, 210, 322–23
Racine, Hector, 242–43
racism:
August Wilson and, xvi, 307–8
Robinson and, 232–33, 245, 247, 249–50, 251, 253–54, 261–62
see also discrimination; segregation
racketeers, 93–95, 97, 112, 137–38, 335
Radcliffe, Ted, 107
Radio Golf (Wilson), 338–39
railways, 31, 33
“Rain Check” (song), 148
Rainey, Ma, 324, 330
Raisin in the Sun, A (Hansberry), 331
Ramage, Lee, 5
Randolph, A. Philip, 68, 74–75, 274, 290
Randolph, Lillie, 141
Rashad, Phylicia, 339
Razaf, Andy, 172
RCA, 220
Reconstruction, 57, 81
“Red Summer” race riots (1919), 168
Reed, David, 156
Reese, Pee Wee, 264
Reformers, 46
Republican Party, xv, 96
blacks’ loyalty to, 78–79, 82
R. Hoe and Company, 8
Richards, Lloyd, 331, 332
Richards, Wallace, 313
Richmond, Va., 57
Richmond Planet, 57, 73
Rickey, Branch, xv, 237, 256
Robinson and, 233, 242, 256–57, 258–59
Wendell Smith and, 240–42, 243, 247–48, 258
Riddle, Nelson, 219
Ritchey, Dahlen, 317
Rivera, A. M., Jr., 284
Roach, Max, 223
Robeson, Paul, 149, 236
Robinson, Bill “Bojangles,” 20, 111, 116, 141, 157
Robinson, Felix, 282
Robinson, Jackie, xv, 230, 239, 245–46
Army service of, 239
college sports career of, 239
death of, 268
with Dodgers, 257–66
with Kansas City Monarchs, 233, 239, 241–42
with Montreal Royals, 242–43, 247–54, 256–58
in Panama exhibition games, 257
racism and, 232–33, 245, 247, 249–50, 251, 253–54, 261–62
Red Sox tryout of, 240
Rickey’s relationship with, 256–57, 258–59
Rickey’s signing of, 233, 242
rift between Wendell Smith and, 266–67
in Royals spring training, 250–51
short temper of, 232, 240, 241, 251, 267
as Sporting News Rookie of the Year, 266
teammates’ growing solidarity with, 264
in trip to Daytona Beach, 231–33, 248
Wendell Smith’s relationship with, 233, 246–48, 254, 263, 268, 326
Robinson, Rachel Isum, 232, 248, 249, 250, 254
Rockefeller, Nelson, 300
“Rocks in My Bed” (song), 148
Rogers, Joel Augustus, 158, 168
Romero, Constanza, 338, 339
Rooney, Art, 98
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 2, 78, 159–60, 173, 181, 188
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (cont.)
“Black Cabinet” of, 157, 175
black newspapers viewed as seditionist b
y, 174
death of, 240
in 1932 election, 78–85, 97
in 1936 election, 159–60
in 1940 election, 163–64, 165
Vann’s criticisms of, 160
Vann’s meetings with, 80, 162
wartime censorship and, 173–74
Rosamond, Samuel, 45, 46, 50
Roseland Ballroom (New York City), 199
Roulette Records, 220, 221
Rouzeau, Edgar, 181–82, 285
Rowe, Billy:
as Courier entertainment columnist, 175, 288
as Courier war correspondent, 184, 189
as Robinson’s chauffeur, 231–33, 247–50, 260
Roxborough, John, 4, 5, 6–7, 8, 9, 12, 17, 18, 21, 166
runaway slaves, 40, 42–43
Russell, “Pistol Johnny,” 104
Russell, Ross, 225
Russell, Sylvester, 71
Ruth, Babe, 111
Sadie (Hines’s aunt), 130, 131
St. Clair, Stephanie, 93
St. James AME Church (Cleveland), 82
St. James AME Church (Pittsburg), 133
St. James Literary Forum, 81
St. Louis Cardinals, 112, 262–63, 265
St. Louis Stars, 104, 109
Saint-Mihiel, Battle of, 92
St. Paul, Minn., 329
St. Paul Saints, 251
“Salt Peanuts!” (song), 209
Sanford, Fla., 247, 248
San Juan Hill, 82
Saperstein, Abe, 111, 288
Saving Private Ryan (film), 184
Savoy Ballroom (Pittsburgh), 125, 198, 202
Schalk, Toki, 270, 271, 318
Schenley High School (Pittsburgh), 130, 131, 222
Schenley Hotel (Pittsburgh), 235
Schmeling, Max, 15, 18
in Louis rematch, 1–2, 19–21
Louis’s first fight with, 13–15
Schuller, Gunther, 204
Schultz, Dutch, 136
Schuyler, George, 71
Science Museum of Minnesota, 329–30
Scoop (Waugh), 158
Scott, Cyril, 134
Scott, Jimmy, 325
Scott, Shirley, 325
Scottsboro Boys, 7
“Seabreeze” (song), 333
“Second Balcony Jump” (song), 212
segregation:
in education, 47, 73, 293
of housing, 67–68, 323
urban renewal and, 323
see also desegregation; military, U.S., blacks in
Selassie, Haile, Emperor of Ethiopia, 157, 158
Selective Training and Service Act, 163
Sengstacke, John, 165, 166, 236
Biddle’s meeting with, 175–76
Courier purchased by, 327
Serchio Valley, 182
784th Tank Battalion, 184
Seven Guitars (Wilson), 335
Seven Years War, 29
Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (Kinsey), 290
Shadyside (neighborhood), xxiii, 44, 126, 145
Shafer, Raymond, 322
Shallenberger, O. B., 45
Sharpsburg, Pa., 33
Shearing, George, 218, 219
Shepherd, Samuel, 290–91
Shuffle Along (musical revue), 123
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