George Williams
Career: 1885-1902
Positions: 2b, 1b, 3b, of
Teams: Argyle Athletics (1885), Cuban Giants (1886-1890), New York Gorhams (1891), Cuban X-Giants (1902)
One of the original players recruited by Frank P. Thompson to play on the ballclub at the Argyle Hotel in Babylon, New York, for the entertainment of the summer guests, he continued with the team after the end of the tourist season, as the team added more players to form the Cuban Giants, the first black professional team.
Having gained experience with the Philadelphia Orions, a top amateur club, he ranked among the better players on the Cuban Giants, and although playing both infield and outfield, he was at his best as a second baseman. While he was with the team, the Cuban Giants were the colored champions in 1887 and 1888 and were considered the top ballclub of the era.
During his years with the Cuban Giants, the team often played as representatives of a host city in an otherwise all-white league. They represented Trenton, New Jersey, in the Middle States League in 1887 and 1889, and York, Pennsylvania, in the Eastern Interstate League in 1890. His career spanned eighteen seasons, and he also played with the other two top black teams of the era, the New York Gorhams and the Cuban X-Giants, before retiring from the diamond.
Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994.