Cyril Byron
| Cyril Byron | |
|---|---|
 Byron in 2012 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: April 15, 1920 New York, New York | |
| Died: October 20, 2015 (aged 95) Fort Washington, Maryland | |
| Negro league baseball debut | |
| 1946, for the Baltimore Elite Giants | |
| Last appearance | |
| 1946, for the Baltimore Elite Giants | |
| Career statistics | |
| Batting average | .200 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 0 |
| Teams | |
Cyril Osbourne Byron Sr. (April 15, 1920 – October 20, 2015) was an American Negro league catcher and a member of the Tuskegee Airmen who served in World War II.
Biography
[edit]A native of New York, New York and the son of Jamaican immigrants, Byron graduated from Morris High School in 1939. He went on to be a star quarterback at Morgan State College. In 1941, Byron joined the Tuskegee Airmen and served in North Africa and Sicily in World War II. After the war, he played for the Baltimore Elite Giants in 1946, and graduated from Morgan State with a degree in chemistry in 1947.
Unable to find work as a research chemist, he spent four years as an officer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) Police Department. According to the PANYNJ, he is believed to be the first black officer in the agency's history.[1]
While working for the PAPD's George Washington Bridge Command, Byron earned a master's degree in education from New York University in 1952.[1] He earned a doctorate from Temple University in 1974. He enjoyed a long career as a professor, coach, and administrator at Fort Valley State College, Coppin State College, and Baltimore City Community College, retiring in 1991.
Byron was inducted into the Morgan State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973, the Baltimore Community College Hall of Fame in 2011 and Coppin State University Hall of Fame in 2012. He and other Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 by President George W. Bush, and he attended the two inauguration ceremonies of Barack Obama at Obama's invitation. Byron died in Fort Washington, Maryland in 2015 at age 95.[2][3][4][5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Guzman, Mercedes (February 17, 2016). "The Jackie Robinson of the PAPD: Dr. Cyril O. Byron, Sr". Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
- ^ "Cyril Byron". seamheads.com. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ "Oral Histories: Cyril Byron". Oral Histories. fordham.edu. October 9, 2006. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
- ^ "Hall of Fame: Cyril Byron". coppinstatesports.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
- ^ Frederick N. Rasmussen (October 31, 2015). "Cyril O. Byron Sr., 95, a Tuskegee Airman who later became an educator, dies". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
External links
[edit]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
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- 1920 births
- 2015 deaths
- Baltimore Elite Giants players
- Coppin State Eagles men's basketball coaches
- Morgan State Bears football players
- Tuskegee Airmen
- 21st-century African-American people
- 20th-century African-American sportspeople
- New York University alumni
- Temple University College of Education alumni
- American sportspeople of Jamaican descent
- Coppin State University faculty
- Junior college athletic directors in the United States
- African-American college athletic directors in the United States
- Fort Valley State Wildcats football coaches
- Fort Valley State University faculty
- College football officials
- African-American referees and umpires
- Phi Beta Sigma members
- African-American Episcopalians
- Negro league baseball catcher stubs