Moses Yellow Horse

Moses J. Yellowhorse (January 28, 1898 – April 10, 1964) was a Native American professional baseball pitcher from Oklahoma. He played two seasons in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1921 and 1922. Yellowhorse was Skidi Pawnee.

Early life Moses "Mose" J. Yellowhorse was born in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) to Clara and Thomas Yellowhorse in January 28, 1898. His parents were Skidi Pawnee and had been forced to walk to Indian Territory from their Pawnee homelands in Nebraska. there had been previous major league baseball players of Native American ancestry. These included Louis Sockalexis (Cleveland Spiders, 1897–1899), Charles Albert (Chief) Bender (primarily the Philadelphia Athletics, 1903–1917), and John (Chief) Meyers (primarily the New York Giants, 1909–1917).

Alcoholism and later life By 1923, news of Yellowhorse's drinking problems reached the Pawnee tribal members in Oklahoma. In addition to the physical problems he had as a result of the drinking, this created tension between Yellowhorse and the tribe. After he retired from baseball, he spent the next 18 years working jobs that did not provide him with much disposable income. His continued drinking remained a divider between him and the tribe.

1945 was an important year for Yellowhorse. For unknown reasons, he stopped drinking cold turkey, and was able to find steady work. His first job was with the Ponca City farm team, and his second job was with the Oklahoma State Highway Department. Yellowhorse also served as groundskeeper for the Ponca City ballclub in 1947 and coached an all-Indian baseball team. Eventually, his relationship with the tribe improved and he became an honored member; a sports field was named after him in Pawnee, Oklahoma. He was also able to remain sober for the remainder of his life. Yellowhorse died on April 10, 1964, at the age of 66 in Oklahoma.

Dick Tracy and Yellow Pony Like Yellowhorse, cartoonist Chester Gould was also born on the Pawnee Indian reservation. Gould used Yellowhorse in his Dick Tracy comic strip as the model for a character named Yellow Pony. Other than the name, the only real similarity between live model and comic strip character was a big, strong physique.

Statistics Season W L G IP HR BB SO HBP ERA WHIP 5 3 10 48.1 1 13 19 0 2.98 1.200 3 1 28 77.2 0 20 24 2 4.52 1.442