Jimmy Claxton

James Edgar Claxton (December 14, 1892 – March 3, 1970) was a Canadian-American professional baseball pitcher, the first black man to play organized white baseball in the twentieth century, and the only known negro league baseball player born in Canada.

Early life and background Jimmy Claxton was born on December 14, 1892, in Wellington, British Columbia, to American parents. Claxton's parents were 32-year-old William Edgar Claxton, a miner from Lynchburg, Virginia, and 18-year-old Emma Richards from Illinois. Claxton's mother had turned 18 just 24 days before the wedding, which was January 14, 1892. The Claxtons moved to Tacoma, Washington, when Jimmy was three months old.

The Claxton family was of a multiracial background, including people of black, Native American, French, Irish, and English ancestry. Jimmy and his siblings have been classified as white, black, and mulatto by various census-takers. Claxton's World War I draft registration card lists his race as Ethiopian. The minister officiating the marriage of Claxton's parents noted "The bridegroom is a coloured man; the bride a white woman" on the marriage record,

After leaving the Oaks, Claxton played for Shasta Limited, an all-black semi-professional team based in northern California. While with the Shastas, he set a bush league record by striking out nineteen players in a single game. He won a state semi-professional championship while pitching with the Shastas.

He pitched his final game at age 63, during an old-timer's game in Tacoma, Washington.

Claxton died on March 3, 1970, in Tacoma.