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They had the smoke: HBCU legends who left mark in Major League Baseball

Hall of Famers Lou Brock, Andre Dawson and Larry Doby are among the future MLB stars who played at historically Black schools.
Led by future Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock (kneeling far left), Southern University won the 1959 NAIA national championship. Brock would to sign with the Chicago Cubs before getting traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. (Courtesy of Southern University sports information)
Led by future Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock (kneeling far left), Southern University won the 1959 NAIA national championship. Brock would to sign with the Chicago Cubs before getting traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. (Courtesy of Southern University sports information)
July 10, 2025

Former Atlanta Brave Marvin Freeman scoffs at the idea of having ever played a position other than pitcher — even in college.

“Man, the pitcher is the star of the show,” he said with a laugh Tuesday. “Everybody else is the supporting cast. The pitcher’s mound is a stage. No other spot on the field is raised up. I’ve always wanted that smoke.”

Marvin Freeman, who played for the Atlanta Braves from 1990-93, pitches during his college days at Jackson State University. (Courtesy of Marvin Freeman)
Marvin Freeman, who played for the Atlanta Braves from 1990-93, pitches during his college days at Jackson State University. (Courtesy of Marvin Freeman)

Freeman, who played college baseball at Jackson State University, a historically Black college in Mississippi, said that if given a chance to be seen, drafted and signed, HBCU ballplayers have always provided the smoke.

For generations, schools like Jackson State, Southern University, Florida A&M University, Grambling State University and Morehouse College have developed players who have gone on to become Hall of Famers, World Series MVPs, All-Stars, Gold Glove winners and legends of the Negro leagues.

Freeman said that opportunity is ripe now for the 50 players in Friday’s HBCU Swingman Classic at Truist Park to follow the path of other Black college legends like Lou Brock, Andre Dawson and Rickie Weeks.

“These guys have dreams, and they want to be put on the biggest stage to see if they can live them out,” said Freeman, who is now based in Powder Springs, where he is developing the next generation of pitchers through his Freeman Baseball Pro Performance Pitching training program.

“These kids rarely get this kind of exposure. I just hope they go out and put on a good show and prove to the world that HBCU players are just as capable as anybody else.”

Freeman, who played at JSU from 1982-84, said he went there out of Chicago because he was assured of playing time.

Marvin Freeman played at Jackson State University from 1982 through 1984 before being drafted in the second round by the Philadelphia Phillies. (Courtesy of Marvin Freeman)
Marvin Freeman played at Jackson State University from 1982 through 1984 before being drafted in the second round by the Philadelphia Phillies. (Courtesy of Marvin Freeman)

“I didn’t want to go to college and sit on the bench behind juniors and seniors for two years and not get a chance to develop my game at a higher level,” said Freeman, who was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the ninth round of the 1981 draft but did not sign. “That’s why I chose Jackson State.”

The choice paid off.

In 1984, Freeman was drafted in the second round by the Philadelphia Phillies. He spent 10 years in the big leagues, including three seasons with the Braves in the early 1990s, during the beginning of Atlanta’s era of dominance.

Other HBCU legends who became MLB stars

Along with Freeman, here’s a look at some of the greatest HBCU legends who left their mark on Major League Baseball.

Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock played for Southern University in the 1950s. After college, he tried out for the Chicago Cubs and signed as a free agent. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964 in what many experts say was the worst trade in baseball history. (Courtesy of Southern University sports information)
Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock played for Southern University in the 1950s. After college, he tried out for the Chicago Cubs and signed as a free agent. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964 in what many experts say was the worst trade in baseball history. (Courtesy of Southern University sports information)
Andre Dawson walked on to the FAMU baseball team as a freshman. He would go on to star for the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs on the way to a Hall of Fame career. (Courtesy of Florida A&M)
Andre Dawson walked on to the FAMU baseball team as a freshman. He would go on to star for the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs on the way to a Hall of Fame career. (Courtesy of Florida A&M)
Larry Doby (right), who played at historically Black Virginia Union University, was the second Black player in the major leagues and entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. (David Jennings/AP 1998)
Larry Doby (right), who played at historically Black Virginia Union University, was the second Black player in the major leagues and entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. (David Jennings/AP 1998)
Rickie Weeks won two college batting titles at Southern University. In 2003, Weeks was named Baseball America College Player of the Year and won the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top amateur player. He was the second player selected in the 2003 draft, the highest ever for a historically Black college player. (Courtesy of Southern University sports information)
Rickie Weeks won two college batting titles at Southern University. In 2003, Weeks was named Baseball America College Player of the Year and won the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top amateur player. He was the second player selected in the 2003 draft, the highest ever for a historically Black college player. (Courtesy of Southern University sports information)
Florida A&M's Hal McRae was selected by the Reds in the sixth round of the 1965 draft with the 117th overall pick. (Courtesy of Florida A&M)
Florida A&M's Hal McRae was selected by the Reds in the sixth round of the 1965 draft with the 117th overall pick. (Courtesy of Florida A&M)
Marquis Grissom played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, including being part of the Braves' 1997 World Series team. (Special to the AJC 2015)
Marquis Grissom played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, including being part of the Braves' 1997 World Series team. (Special to the AJC 2015)
Donn Clendenon graduated as a letterman in nine sports at Atlanta's Booker T. Washington High School before rejecting a scholarship to UCLA to stay home and attend Morehouse College. In the 1969 World Series, Clendenon batted .357 (5-for-14) with three home runs and four RBI for the Mets and was named World Series MVP. (AP 1969)
Donn Clendenon graduated as a letterman in nine sports at Atlanta's Booker T. Washington High School before rejecting a scholarship to UCLA to stay home and attend Morehouse College. In the 1969 World Series, Clendenon batted .357 (5-for-14) with three home runs and four RBI for the Mets and was named World Series MVP. (AP 1969)
One of the game's great speedsters, the St. Louis Cardinals' Vince Coleman (right) ranks sixth all time in stolen bases and stole more than 100 bags in a season three times. (Mark Duncan/AP 1988)
One of the game's great speedsters, the St. Louis Cardinals' Vince Coleman (right) ranks sixth all time in stolen bases and stole more than 100 bags in a season three times. (Mark Duncan/AP 1988)
The Braves' Ralph Garr led the National League in hitting in 1974 with a .353 average. (AJC file)
The Braves' Ralph Garr led the National League in hitting in 1974 with a .353 average. (AJC file)
Reliever Marvin Freeman pitched for the Braves from 1990 to 1993 but had his greatest season in 1994 with the Rockies (10-2, 2.80 ERA en route to finishing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting). (Otto Greule/Allsport)
Reliever Marvin Freeman pitched for the Braves from 1990 to 1993 but had his greatest season in 1994 with the Rockies (10-2, 2.80 ERA en route to finishing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting). (Otto Greule/Allsport)
Buck O'Neil, here being introduced before a minor league all-star game in 2006, was a champion of Black ballplayers during and after his career. He died in 2006 and was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022. (Charlie Riedel/AP 2006)
Buck O'Neil, here being introduced before a minor league all-star game in 2006, was a champion of Black ballplayers during and after his career. He died in 2006 and was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022. (Charlie Riedel/AP 2006)

About the Authors

Ernie Suggs is an enterprise reporter covering race and culture for the AJC since 1997. A 1990 graduate of N.C. Central University and a 2009 Harvard University Nieman Fellow, he is also the former vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists. His obsession with Prince, Spike Lee movies, Hamilton and the New York Yankees is odd.

Zaire Breedlove is an intern for AJC's UATL and a journalism major at Kennesaw State University. In the past, he's written and managed The Sentinel, and served as a Reporter for Fresh Take Georgia at the Center for Sustainable Journalism, focusing on Immigration and statewide political coverage.