Lyman Bostock Sr.
From BR Bullpen
Lyman Wesley Bostock Sr.
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 215 lb.
- Born March 11, 1918 in Birmingham, AL USA
The father of Lyman Bostock, Lyman Bostock Sr. was a pull-hitting first baseman in the Negro Leagues. He played for the 1938 Brooklyn Royal Giants after their glory days and entered top-flight competition in 1940 with the Birmingham Black Barons. Bostock hit .310 as a rookie, leading the club. In '41, he was one of the top performers in the Negro American League. He batted .442 to win the batting title and was 1 for 2 with an RBI in the East-West Game. Lyman hit .307 the next season.
Bostock served in the US Army during World War II. When he returned to baseball, he was overweight and out-of-shape. He hit .265 only in 1946. Moving to the Chicago American Giants in 1947, he batted .336 for Chicago in '49 at age 31. He then spent the next four or five years in the Manitoba-Dakota League before retiring from baseball.
After baseball, Lyman Sr. worked for the postal service for 28 years then became an artist after retirement.
Sources: The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway, Black Baseball's National Showcase by Larry Lester, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley
