I didn’t even consider playing pro ball
until I lost my railroad job in the Depression,
though after I started playing I made up for lost time,
enough so that people called me the black Lou Gehrig,
quite a compliment in two ways:
as a player and as a man
When Jackie debuted I was forty;
if that designated hitter had been around
I would have played because I could still hit
But I’m not the least bit bitter
about coming up when I did;
I had a good life and career
THE POETRY OF THE GAME