Ira McKnight, from Indianapolis, Ind., will be inducted into the individual category of the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame as a player Aug. 17.
McKnight, as a youth, played many sports. He had his fair share of trouble in school and on the street. He played a lot of baseball and football, but wasn't the best student. His mother eventually sent him to Trenton, Tenn. to live with family.
The school McKnight went to in Tennessee didn't have baseball, football or track. They played mostly basketball. Eventually McKnight got his chance to play baseball and went to play for Memphis, Tenn. in 1952. He played third base, but really made it as a strong-arm catcher, starting in that position for the Memphis Red Sox as a rookie in 1952. After a short stint with Memphis, Ira returned to South Bend, Ind. to finish high school. He then went on to play with the Kansas City Monarchs, where he got a chance to be a catcher full time. In 1961, the Negro Leagues had folded and the legendary Satchel Paige, the all-star pitcher, rejoined the Kansas Monarchs team. McKnight got along well with Paige and was his primary catcher for three years as they travelled as part of Paige's USA all-stars.
McKnight was unsuccessful in his try-out with the New York Yankees, because of an already powerful roster coupled with the unjust nonacceptance of black athletes in pro sports at that time.
When McKnight was with the Kansas City club, he once collected eight straight hits in two games. Greatness surrounded him. However, his humble demeanor aside, he was in fact one of the steadiest slugging catchers of the late Negro League era.
One of the many stories McKnight told was how he lost his chance to play with the New York Yankees. That was when he was catching for the team's farm system, not an easy time to be a catcher with Yogi Berra and Elston Howard at the position.
After the Monarchs folded in 1963, and following a short tenure with a New York Yankees minor league team, McKnight got the chance to play baseball in Canada. He had a great deal of success with the Saskatoon Commodores and the North Battleford Beavers in the Saskatchewan Major Baseball League, as well as when he played with a team in Quebec.
McKnight also had a brief stint as a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays. He currently resides in Indianapolis.
