Eugene Walter Baker (June 15, 1925 –
December 1, 1999) was an American Major League Baseball infielder who played for the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates during
eight seasons between 1953 and 1961, and was selected for the National League team in the 1955
All-Star Game. He threw and batted right-handed, and was listed at
6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m), 170 pounds (77 kg). A native
of Davenport, Iowa, Baker
starred on the basketball and track teams at Davenport High School,
and played sandlot baseball, then
went into the United States Navy, being
stationed at Ottumwa Naval Air Station and
Iowa Pre-Flight School. After his release from the Navy, he played for
the Kansas City Monarchs of
the Negro American League as
their regular shortstop during 1948 and 1949. In 1950, Baker joined
the Cubs' organization, playing briefly at Springfield and Des Moines before joining the Los Angeles Angels, of the
Triple-A and Open Classification Pacific Coast League,
where he impressed all with his fielding and baserunning. Bobby Bragan, manager of the Angels’ chief rivals, the Hollywood Stars, said Baker was "as good a shortstop as
I’ve ever seen – and that includes Pee Wee Reese." The Cubs purchased Gene
Baker's contract and he made his major league debut September 20, 1953. A few
days after acquiring Baker, the Cubs acquired another shortstop, future Hall of
Famer Ernie Banks, and moved
Baker to second base, perhaps believing he would be able to adapt to a
different position more easily than the younger Banks. He primarily
played second base for the
Cubs and Pirates during eight seasons. He was a reserve infielder for the
1960 World Series champion
Pirates and made three pinch-hit appearances during the Series. In 1961, Baker became
the first African-American manager in Organized Baseball when
the Pirates named him skipper of their Batavia Pirates farm club in the New York–Penn League. In 1962, he became the first black coach in
Organized Baseball when the Pirates named him player-coach of their
Triple-A International League affiliate Columbus Jets. In 1963, the Pirates promoted him to coach on
the Major League team. He was the second black coach in the big leagues,
following Buck O'Neil by a
half-season. He is also credited with being the first black manager in Major League Baseball when
he took over for ejected Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh on September 21, 1963. Baker
then spent many years as a scout for the Pirates. He died in Davenport at the age of
74. He is buried in Rock island National
Cemetery.