Loo Oates Aboard Big Red With The Indianapolis
Clowns
by: John Devard
The early days
Loo Oates traces his early baseball
skills to the footsteps of his father, Jack Oates, his uncle, T-Meat Raynor
and much older players like Bruce Bennett who taught him the ropes around the
sandlot on his way to becoming a member of the Indianapolis Clowns, and his
pitching coach, Charles Middlebrooks, who was instructmental in him eventually
ending up in the Atlanta Braves farm system.
I played in a summer league in Newton Grove
when I was 12 or 13' said Oates. I was playing with guys in the army, in
college and guys 18 or 19. They threw me to the wolves and made me
play.
Not only was Oates a tremendous
hitter, he was the "ace" of the Clowns staff who threw three or four times
a week, winning almost 100% of his games. "Oates estimates he won maybe 30 games
his first year." In high school (Carver High School) Oates says he only lost
maybe two-three games.
Baseball was so important to Oates, that he
would help his cousins and neighbors with their chores so they could play ball. Our entertainment on the weekend was church and
baseball stated Oates.
Back then baseball was like a religion to
black people.
During the summers, Oates, whose father
knew he had the talent to be a baseball player, would go to a camp in Ocean
City, New Jersey run by the Philles and play, working at his uncle's service
station to earn money.
High school
Upon his return to Carver, his desire
to play baseball was intensified by a teacher's unwitting remarks.
She said something to me you
should never say to a10th-grader. She said. "you should forget about that
nonsense of playing baseball. Go down to that pickle plant and get you a job. To
this day, I will not eat pickles. I knew I was either going to play baseball or
go to college.
Becoming a Clown
Oates arrived at the Clowns camp with
300 other hopefuls, but only 40 made the two teams and a player had to be
versitable by playing more than one position. But from the outset, the
Clowns owner would not let Oates do anything but pitch. He used him to sell
programs and do the PA announcements. The star attraction, Nature Boy Williams,
traveled with his own car, a pink caddy convertible.
Oates arrived with a devastating
fast ball, a nasty curve and with the break of camp, had been assigned to
the Clowns main team. He credits pitching coach, Charles Middlebrooks with
teaching him the slider to complete his arsenal, which made him almost
un-hittable. Like the Harlem Globe Trotters, the Clowns carried their own team,
The New York Stars. That's when the main star, "Nature Boy Williams," made
the statement, "O", you got to take it easy on the stars, or you have to pitch
for the A team... scolding him about striking out the stars."
Oates and the rest of the Clowns were
forced to sleep in jails or wealthy blacks home. Oates very seldom had to do the
jail scene, because he was on the A-Team, but like the rest of the team, they
would make sandwiches to avoid being denied service in restaurants and most
times would time their arrival at their destination shortly before game time.
Oates states, that the movie, Bingo Long and The Traveling All-stars was a great
take-off of the Clowns, with Sam"Birmingham Sam" Bryson and Dero "The Dwarf"
Alston playing roles in the film.
Showing out
The part Oates liked best about
playing with the Clowns was, when the seventh, eighth, and ninth batter
came to the plate, he would called the infielders/outfielder in and they
would lay around the infield chatting while he struck out the side. The salary
was okay said Oates, who made between $600 and $800 a month. The showman like
Nature Boy Williams commanded much higher salaries.
Oates wanted to be in the
minors
From the very beginning, Oates had a
contentious relationship with Clowns owner, Ed Hamman. Hamman was known for overpricing the contracts of his players, Oates
recalled. He knew that the Braves tried to purchase his contract from Hamman
before the Clowns broke spring training camp his first year. Hamman even had me
riding with him in his car to games stated Oates. I guess that was a way to
keep me close.
Sold to Atlanta
But after playing for the Clowns for
two years, Hamman finally sold Oates contract to the Braves for $10,000. Before Oates would report to the Braves camp in
Waycross Ga. on the advice of his pitching coach, Charles Middlebrooks, Oates
refused to report and Hamman eventually gave him $1.000.00. Oates never spoke to
Hamman after his contract was sold, and in conversations, he finds any
mention of Hamman distasteful. Another reason Hamman wanted Oates on the
A-Team, Oates surmised that he wanted to keep him away from Middlebrooks, still
a very good pitcher, but a savvy veteran who knew the ropes and took Oates under
his wings. He was accused of favoring Oates, by pitching him more than the other
pitchers. Middlebrooks simple explanation was. "He's my ace.
Saying goodbye
Oates eventually developed arm
trouble,and finished his career playing in Canada, but had to retire due to
arm trouble,"which he contributed" to the many games pitched for the
Clowns. He pursued his educational goals at Long Island University in New
York and studied anthropology, simply because "people told me I couldn't do it."
Oates did do it and, after earning an MBA from Adelphi, and a law degree
from Brooklyn Law School. He went on to star with the great Brooklyn USA famed
softball team in Brooklyn New York in the 70's.
For Oates, playing with the Clowns was
the beginning of his education. When I left the Clowns I had played in 40
states, Canada and Mexico," he said. I took away a full understanding of what
you had to do, understanding the next level of playing ball and the next
level of playing life.
In retirement
Today, Oates is retired due to health
problems, from the company he founded in 1989, the Black Pages Today Network,
relinquishing the reins to his daughters,
but continues to write a weekly column and is working on a book "The Boys of Big
Red" a look at the life and times of an Indianapolis Clown. Once you do
your best, that's all you can do stated Oates.
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