Shortstop & mentor
John Henry “Pop” Lloyd is widely considered as the greatest shortstop in Negro League history.
He played for over a dozen teams in his 27-year career beginning in 1926. Locally, he played for the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, Hilldale Daisies and Philadelphia Giants, and regularly batted over .300.
Originally the Duval Giants of Jacksonville, FL, the Bacharach Giants were moved to Atlantic City in support of Henry Bacharach, who was running for mayor and hoped to gain popularity with black voters. The newly renamed Bacharach Giants began playing – and beating – any and all local teams, black, white, amateur and professional.
Paying it forward.
Lloyd fought to allow Negro League games at Yankee Stadium, opening a lucrative venue to black baseball.
An incredibly patient man, Lloyd managed several teams and was an excellent teacher of the game. After baseball, he served as a custodian in Atlantic City schools and continued to mentor young people, including pitcher Max Manning.
He was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
