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2257 Main Street | Munhall, PA 15120
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Bill Armour was a professional baseball player and manager. He was born in Homestead, PA on September 03, 1869, and died at the age of 53 in Minneapolis, MN on December 2, 1922. Armour played as an outfielder for several minor league teams between 1891-1896, before managing the Cleveland Indians, then called the Bronchos, from 1902-1904.
He moved to Detroit to manage the Tigers in the 1905-1906 seasons, and is credited with discovering Ty Cobb, aka "The Georgia Peach," who is still ranked as one of baseball's 100 Greatest Players of all time. Armour made major improvements to both teams records during his time with them.
Following the close of the 1906 season with the Tigers, Armour purchased the professional Minor League team, the Toledo Mud Hens, which he managed until his resignation in 1911 when he sold his share.
He pursued the purchase of another small State League team in Ohio and a short stint as a talent scout for the St. Louis Cardinals between 1911 and 1912, and moved on to manage the businesses of the Milwaukee and Kansas City clubs in 1913 and 1914, respectively. After retiring from baseball, he was heavily involved with a restaurant in Minneapolis.
Information and photo sources:
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"1901 Cleveland Blues". Baseball-Reference.com. baseball-reference.com. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
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Al Howell (November 24, 1906). "The Acquisition of the Toledo Club by William R. Armour Very Pleasing to Toledo Fans" (PDF). Sporting Life. p. 5.
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"Armour's Berth: The Capable and Popular Ex Cleveland Manager Will Undoubtedly Control the More Tractable Detroit Team Next Year" (PDF). Sporting Life. October 1, 1904. p. 11.
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"Armour's Death Causes Sorrow: Veteran Was Manager at Detroit When Ty Cobb Broke In". The Sporting News. December 7, 1922. p. 1.
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"Big Teams Carry Too Many Players: Eighteen Men Sufficient for Any One Team Says Veteran Bill Armour". New Castle News. April 28, 1913.
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"Bill Armour Goes Over Great Divide: Former Manager of Tigers Dies in Minneapolis". Detroit Free Press. December 3, 1922. p. 21.
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"Bill Armour Minor League Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
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"Bill Armour Quits Toledo Club: Former Tiger Manager Sells Out Holdings in Maumee City and Acquires Lancaster". Detroit Free Press. November 1911. p. 9.
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Meinert, Norman J. “HOMESTEAD CEMETERY 2257 Main Street Homestead, PA 15120 (412) 461-1818.” Homestead Cemetery, Homestead, PA, 5 Dec. 2012, sites.rootsweb.com/~njm1/08Homestead.html.
Section I Annex, Grave 21
Paul V. Birch is most known for his basketball career, and was once called one of the finest players produced by Pittsburgh. He was born on January 04, 1910 to Polish immigrants, Joseph and Frances (Lemke) Brzezicki, who had initially settled on farmland in Cumberland, Virginia. The family moved to Homestead by 1920, and in May of 1941, his parents applied to the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County for a name change of Brzezicki to Birch.
His basketball career started in 1929 at Homestead High School where he helped earn a WPIAL title, but he earned his All-American status at Duquesne University where he played from 1931 - 1934. Following graduation, he played professionally with the New York Celtics from 1935 - 1938 and 1940 - 1942, the Pittsburgh Pirates (a defunct team from the Nat'l Basketball League) from 1938 - 1939, and the Ft. Wayne Pistons (now located in Detroit) from 1941 - 1945, and later went on to coach in the early 1950s.
Between the years of 1938 - 1940, Paul also coached the Steelers, his alma mater team, at Homestead High. His squad made it to the 1939 state championship.
He married his second wife, Florence Militine Brenner, on July 18, 1945 in Fort Wayne.
Following his retirement from playing professionally, he again returned to Pittsburgh to coach the city's first professional team, the Pittsburgh Ironmen, which was one of 11 charter franchises within the newly formed Basketball Association of America, a precursor to the National Basketball Association. They were based in Duquesne Gardens. The Ironmen only played for one season in 1946, and finished dead last in the Western Division with a record of 15 - 45. The team permanently folded in 1947 before the start of their second season. The BAA and National Basketball League went on to form the National Basketball Association in 1949, and it's noted that the Ironmen are reasonably considered to be the worst team in the entire history of the NBA.
His returned to Fort Wayne as coach in the 1950s before making a final move back home as the coach of the former Rankin, later General Braddock, High School. He stayed through the 1970s, earning a state championship in 1973.
He was a member of the Western PA and Pittsburgh halls of fame. He died on June 5, 1982, at the age of 72.
Information sources:
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"Duquesne Basketball Champ, Coach Paul V. Birch, 72, Dies," Pittsburgh Press, 06 June, 1982, p. 74
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"Legal Notices," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10 May 1941, p. 20.
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"Paul Birch, All-America at Duquesne, dies at 72," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 07 June 1982, p. 28
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Pittsburgh Ironmen HISTORY,
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The Pittsburgh Ironmen: Steel City's long-forgotten NBA team, 08 October 2013
Rufus "Sonnyman" Jackson was a wealthy co-owner of the Homestead Grays. He was brought on by Cum Posey in 1934 when the team was re-incorporated within the newly formed Negro National League. Jackson served as both the President and Treasurer of the team and together, led the Grays through their powerhouse years.
Following Posey's death, Jackson ran the team and won the final pennant of the Negro National League in 1948.
A detailed biography of Mr. Jackson can be found in an article written by Ralph Carhart for the Society for American Baseball Research. To access the article, please click here.
Special thanks goes to Mr. Vince Ciaramella for his help and photos.
Information gratefully received from author, Vincent Ciaramalla:
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Carhart, Ralph. “Rufus Jackson.” Society for American Baseball Research, Admin /Wp-Content/Uploads/2020/02/sabr_logo.Png, 17 Sept. 2021, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/rufus-jackson/.
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Ciaramella, Vincent T., et al. Greats in the Graveyard: A Guide to Baseball Players and Personalities Buried in Allegheny County. Independently Published, 2020.
Old Section E, Lot 99
Alex Jones was a Major League Baseball player. He was born on Christmas Day, December 25, 1869 in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
He made his 1889 professional debut as a left-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Allegheny's. He also played with the Louisville Colonels and Washington Senators in 1892, the Philadelphia Phillies in 1894, and the Detroit Tigers in 1903.
He had a career 7 wins, 15 losses, in 200.3 innings pitched, with 65 stikeouts and a 3.73 earned run average. His stats may be found here.
Mr. Jones died on April 4, 1941 at the age of 71 in Woodville, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He was survived by his daughter, Alice Jones; a grandson, Richard Jones; and siblings, Ralph Jones and Mrs. George Schauer.
Mr. Jones does not have an individual headstone, but the family lot is marked by a family stone.
Special thanks goes to Mr. Vince Ciaramella for his help.
Information gratefully received from author, Vincent Ciaramalla:
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Ciaramella, Vincent T., et al. Greats in the Graveyard: A Guide to Baseball Players and Personalities Buried in Allegheny County. Independently Published, 2020.
A detailed biography of Cum Posey can be found in an article written by Brian McKenna for the Society for American Baseball Research. To access the article, please click here.
Cumberland Willis Posey, Jr., was a professional basketball and baseball player. He was born on June 20, 1890, in Homestead, PA, and died in Pittsburgh, PA from cancer complications in 1946, at the age of 55.
Posey was considered to be the best Black basketball player of his time, leading Homestead High School to a 1908 championship. He played for Penn State before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh where he earned a degree in pharmaceuticals. There, he formed the Monticello Athletic Association team that won the Colored Basketball World's Championship in 1912.
In 1911, he began playing baseball for the Homestead Grays. By 1916, he was managing the team, and became owner in 1920. He is famed with building the team into the leading East franchise of the Negro Leagues, winning 9 consecutive pennants from 1397-1945, among several others.
Posey was posthumously inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Information gathered from:
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Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 03 February 2021), memorial page for Cumberland Willis Posey Jr. (20 Jun 1890–28 Mar 1946), Find a Grave Memorial no. 11404, citing Homestead Cemetery, Munhall, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave.
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McKenna, Brian. “Cum Posey.” Society for American Baseball Research, Admin /Wp-Content/Uploads/2020/02/sabr_logo.Png, 17 Sept. 2021, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/cum-posey/.
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Meinert, Norman J. “HOMESTEAD CEMETERY 2257 Main Street Homestead, PA 15120 (412) 461-1818.” Homestead Cemetery, Homestead, PA, 5 Dec. 2012, sites.rootsweb.com/~njm1/08Homestead.html
Seward Hayes "See" Posey, the second of three children, was born on 03 October 03, 1887 in Harden Station, Pennsylvania, to parents, Captain Cumberland Willis "CW" and Angeline "Annie" (Stevens) Posey. He was the brother of Beatrice (Posey) Baker and Cumberland Willis "Cum" Posey, Jr.
He played both baseball and basketball, but spent the better part of the 1910's playing with the Loendi Club and the Monticello Athletic Association under team captain, Cum Posey, his brother.
Later, See was Manager of the Homestead Grays in the 1932 season following Cum's departure to the Detroit Wolverines. He also acted as head of the front office for the Homestead Grays.
According to his death certificate, See died on August 25, 1951 at the age of 63 from a coronary occlusion, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and compression to the lower and middle back following a fall at his 13th Avenue residence three weeks prior.
His funeral arrangements were handled by Evan P. Baker, his nephew, of 2oo E. 11th Avenue, Homestead. He was buried on August 28, 1951 following a service at the Clark Memorial Baptist Church in an unmarked grave within the Posey family lot.
Special thanks given to Mr. Vince Ciaramella.
Information gathered from:
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Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, PA; Pennsylvania (State). Death Certificates, 1906-1968; Certificate Number Range: 064801-067350
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See Posey Obituary (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 27 Aug 1951, Mon, Page 20)
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Seward Posey Obituary (The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 27 Aug 1951, Mon, Page 22)
Unconfirmed Annex Location
Charles Henry "Lefty" Williams was a professional pitcher for the Homestead Grays. Born on September 24, 1894 in Tanners, VA, Williams pitched his first season in 1921 for the Grays.
With the exception of the 1932 season where he pitched with the Detroit Wolves, Williams played for Homestead throughout his entire career, retiring in 1935. He died in Homestead at the age of 57 on April 26, 1952.
Special thanks goes to Mr. Vince Ciaramella.
Information gathered from:
“Lefty Williams.” Lefty Williams - Seamheads Negro Leagues Database, www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=willi01lef.
Old Section J, Lot 48, Unmarked Grave
Henry, born 21 Nov 1865, was born in Germany to parents, Theodore John and Fredericke Elizabeth (Meyers) Jungmann.
Following his immigration to the United States, he was a Major League Baseball player. He played a total of 13 games as an infielder for the National League's Pittsburgh Alleghenys (now knows as the Pirates) during the 1890 season.
He married Emily L. Woods on 16 Aug 1887 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. He died on 24 Jan 1936 at the age of 70.
Age: 21
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 175 lbs.
First Game Date: 19 Apr 1890
Final Game Date: 23 May 1890
Throws: Right
Information gratefully received from author, Vincent Ciaramalla:
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Ciaramella, Vincent T., et al. Greats in the Graveyard: A Guide to Baseball Players and Personalities Buried in Allegheny County. Independently Published, 2020.
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