LeGrande played with legends
by Shawn Nowlin
The Roanoke community continues to celebrate the life of Larry LeGrande, a former outfielder and catcher considered by some to be one of the best players in the legendary Negro Baseball League.
Instrumental in dispelling the myth that Black players couldn’t compete with their White counterparts, LeGrande reached heights that few baseball players have ever eclipsed.
He was born in Roanoke on May 25, 1939, LeGrande died on April 13, 2023, due to cancer. He and his wife Mary, were married for over sixty years.
LeGrande developed a close relationship with many in the community over the years. “Anytime I had an opportunity to pick his brain, I took full advantage,” Steve Jackson said. “He was the most down-to-earth person you can imagine. Oftentimes, people who have accomplished great things have an arrogance to them. He certainly was not one of those individuals.”
LeGrande attended Carver High in Salem, an all-Black school during the Jim Crow era. Because the school didn’t have a baseball team, he honed his arm strength by tending to chickens and pigs on the family farm outside of Roanoke and digging fence post holes. His undeniable talents eventually attracted the eye of baseball scouts.
While playing for the Webster’s All-Stars of Blue Ridge, the left-handed hitting LeGrande was picked up by the Negro League’s Memphis Red Sox in 1957. Prior to joining the organization, he’d never played in front of more than 200 people. His first game in Birmingham attracted more than 10,000 to the ballpark.
Legrande spent the 1958 season with the Detroit Stars and played with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1959 as a catcher on the team with none other than the great Sachel Paige. He went on to play with the Sachel Paige Allstars from 1961 to 1963.
LeGrande spent three seasons in the Negro League. Once the only game available for Black players, the league had many notable players transition and dominate Major League Baseball (MLB), such as Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, and Willie Mays.
Mary recalls instances where police arrived at a motel the team was staying in to inform them that they had to leave without any refunds. When the Memphis Red Sox competed against other teams during off-season exhibitions, they often were run out of town, especially if they won the contest.
LeGrande’s last professional team was the St. Petersburg Saints, a minor league affiliate with the New York Yankees. When the team released him because they didn’t want to pay what was owed on the remainder of his contract, LeGrande was devastated. So much so that he didn’t watch any baseball for years.
When LeGrande returned to Roanoke, he worked at General Electric, retiring in 1997 after 33 years of employment.
Amy Lewis, who said she knew LeGrande for decades, recalls him helping a stranger when no one was looking. “He saw a mother struggling to pay for groceries so he offered to help. Not everyone would do that. Such gestures spoke to the type of man that he was,” Lewis said.
Current Wabash Valley College baseball player Jon LeGrande is Larry’s great-grandson.
Twenty-one years ago, as a local legend, LeGrande was inducted into the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame, just one of many well-deserved honors he accumulated throughout his life.
A public viewing was held at Hamlar-Curtis Funeral Home Friday, April 14. The following day, a Celebration of Life Service took place at First Baptist Church, Gainsboro.
