After Teasley's passing, Greason is last living player from Negro League era

Bill Greason’s life is one of a kind.

He grew up across the street from Martin Luther King Jr. in 1930s Atlanta. Greason served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and witnessed the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima in 1945. He made it as a professional baseball player for more than a decade without any formal training in the sport. Greason was teammates in the Negro Leagues with a 17-year-old Willie Mays, and he later mentored a young Bob Gibson before becoming a pastor and civil rights activist in Birmingham for more than 50 years.

Now Greason is the last of his kind. With the passing of Ron “Schoolboy” Teasley on Tuesday, Greason is the last living person to play in the Negro League era that spanned from 1920-48. (The Negro National League disbanded for 1949, and after that, the Negro Leagues were considered a Minor League circuit.)

Greason is also the oldest living Major Leaguer at 101 years old. He will turn 102 on Sept. 3.

• At 100, former Negro Leaguer Greason reflects on incredible life

Greason played with the Atlanta Black Crackers, Nashville Cubs and Asheville Blues from 1946-48. In ‘48, he pitched for the Birmingham Black Barons, who won the Negro American League pennant that season with a teenage Mays on the roster. Greason produced a 2.84 ERA over 69 2/3 innings for the Black Barons. He also had six hits in 23 at-bats and a .393 on-base percentage.

Seventy-six years later, Greason was a guest of honor for MLB’s game between the Giants and Cardinals at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, and he tossed out the ceremonial first pitch.

“I have many memories of this place, because we were the only team that played here other than the white team,” Greason said during an in-game interview on FOX. “It was a pleasure to be a part of such an experience that we had here.”

In 1954, Greason became a trailblazer for the Cardinals as the franchise’s first Black pitcher. He pitched in only three games for St. Louis, allowing eight runs (six earned) over four innings. He spent a few more years in the Minors, eventually crossing paths in 1958 with an up-and-coming Gibson while they were teammates at Triple-A Rochester.

Greason retired after the 1959 season and moved back to Birmingham, where he would become the pastor for Bethel Baptist Church in 1971. He remained in that role even after he turned 100 in 2024.

“I’m just thankful that God allowed me to be here this long,” Greason said then. “I’m thankful for life: God’s been good to me, and He is good to me. Allowed me to live the age that I am and to have the activities of my life. It’s surprising to me. I never thought I’d live this long after being in two wars, baseball and traveling. It’s been a blessing.”