Mack Pride
Mack A. Pride Jr. was a professional pitcher who played in Negro League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed.
Born in Sledge, Mississippi, Pride was one of 11 children of poor sharecroppers. Though he loved music, one of Pride's lifelong dreams was to become a professional baseball player. Notably, his younger brother, Charley Pride, pitched in Negro League Baseball before becoming a famed country music singer.
Mack spent two seasons in the Negro American League pitching with the Memphis Red Sox in the 1955 season and for the Kansas City Monarchs in 1956. He picked up the nickname "Mack the Knife" during his time in the league.
Afterwards, Pride maintained an active role as a minister on religious broadcasting television programs, while also singing at weddings, in night clubs and funerals. Furthermore, he held various occupations for more than 40 years and coached Little League Baseball in his sparetime.
In 2008, Major League Baseball staged a Special Draft of the surviving Negro League players, doing a tribute for those ballplayers who were kept out of the Big Leagues because of their race. MLB clubs each drafted a former NLB player, as Mack was selected by the Colorado Rockies and his brother Charley by the Texas Rangers.
