James Everett Bonner was born in Mansfield, Louisiana, the fourth of five children of Peter and Martha Ann (Lewis) Bonner. His parents divorced at an early age, and his mother remarried Rory Goldsmith, a sawmill worker. Goldsmith died when Jimmy was just a child, and by the age of 13 he was working as a courier for a drugstore.[1]
On September 8, 1936, Japanese-American businessman Harry H. Kono recruited Bonner to play for Dai Tokyo Baseball Club in the newly formed Japanese Baseball League. Dai Tokyo and the Nagoya Golden Dolphins had suffered from a lack of domestic talent, so they began to look towards the United States. On September 18, Bonner boarded the SS President Pierce bound for Japan, arriving on October 5. His salary was 400 yen a month, in contrast to the 140 yen average for a typical Tokyo Giants player.[1] The Japanese press heralded his arrival with headlines like "Black Pitcher Rushes onto the Scene, Excellent Fielder, Holder of Amazing Strikeout Record."[2] Bonner played several positions, including pitcher and first baseman.[1] His record on defense in Japan was generally disappointing; he was far more successful on the plate, with a batting average of 0.458 in 24 at-bats. In mid-November, Bonner was dismissed after only a month on the team.[3] Historians have come up with a variety of explanations for his poor performance as a pitcher in Japan, including a smaller strike zone due to the lower average height of Japanese men as well as the smaller and more slippery baseballs used in Japan compared to American balls.[1]
Later life and death
After returning to the United States, Bonner became a porter for the Pullman Company while continuing to play baseball semi-professionally. He joined the U.S. Army in 1943 and returned to Pullman after the war, where he worked until his death in 1963.[1]
References
12345678Sayama, Kazuo; Staples, Bill Jr. (2019). "Biography of Jimmy Bonner, Japan's First African American Ballplayer, by Ralph M. Pearce". In Ashwill, Gary (ed.). Gentle Black Giants: A History of Negro Leaguers in Japan. NBRP Press. pp.211–219. ISBN9781798510353.
