Lloyd, Henry, John - Pop

JOHN HENRY LLOYD - ‘POP’

John Henry LLoyd was discovered in 1905 on the sandlots of Jacksonville by Rube Foster. He soon joined Foster's team, the Cuban X-Giants. From his stint with the X-Giants until he became player-manager of the Brooklyn Royal Giants in 1918, he established himself as a winner wherever he went. Between 1906 and 1918, he played with great teams such as the Philadelphia Giants, Leland Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, Chicago American Giants, and the New York Lincoln Stars.

Beginning in 1918 when he became the playing-manager of the Brooklyn Royal Giants, Lloyd jumped from one team to another until he settled with the Hilldale Daisies in 1922. The next year, Lloyd hit a sensational .418, leading Hilldale to its first pennant. He left the team to join the Bacharach Giants after he was fired due to some quarrels with the Daisies owner. John stayed with the Giants for 2 years before returning to New York in 1926 to manage/play with the Lincoln Giants. He stayed with this team until 1930 when he decided to go back to the Bacharach Giants. Lloyd played his final 2 years with the Giants.

Throughout his career he was praised by many people include the major league players and coaches. Many baseball historians say that he was one of the best black players ever, but the mighty Babe Ruth, disregarding his race, said he was the greatest baseball player of all time! Lloyd died in 1965, 12 years before he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.