Bill Cash (baseball)
American baseball player
William Walker Cash [″Ready″] (February 21, 1919 – September 12, 2011) an African American baseball player who was an all-star catcher in the Negro Leagues. He batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Round Oak, Georgia. Cash, who was known to have a good throwing arm and be a reliable hitter, earned his nickname when he was benched and protested to a team manager, “When I put on the uniform, I’m ready to play”.[1] He spent his entire Negro League career with the Philadelphia Stars, but also played minor league baseball for the Chicago White Sox’s farm teams and teams in foreign countries such as Mexico, Canada, and Venezuela (Guerilus). Even after his retirement from baseball, Cash was a very active member of the Philadelphia community
Early life
Cash was born to Arthur “Buster” Cash and Lela Lloyd Cash in 1919.[2] The family, including Bill’s three older brothers, moved to an area of Philadelphia called Eastwick-Elmwood in 1924.[2] Specifically, his family lived in the Meadows, an area near the Philadelphia International Airport. Bill remained in Philadelphia for the duration of his childhood and graduated from Overbrook High School in 1939.[2] At Overbrook High, Cash was the only black player on the baseball and he quit the squad to play semi-pro ball elsewhere.[3] He spent four years playing for various semi-pro teams in Philadelphia, including the Camden Giants, the Black Meteors, and the Philadelphia Daisies (Negro Leagues Baseball Museum). Webster McDonald, manager of the Daisies, introduced Bill to Goose Curry, manager of the Philadelphia Stars Negro League team, when he felt that he was ready for the bigger stage (Negro Leagues Baseball Museum). Curry ended up signing Cash to play for him.
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