William "Bill" Blair Pitcher The For Negro League Died

William "Bill" Blair, a former baseball pitcher for the Negro League, civic leader, and newspaper publisher died yesterday (Sunday) at the age of 92.

He was born in Dallas, Texas.  Later in his teen years, he went to Booker T. Washington High School. Then he continued his education at Prairie View A&M University. During World War II, He joined the Army and was the youngest black First Sergeant.

For 5 years (1946-1951), William Blair was a pitcher for the Negro League. The Indianapolis Clowns was one of the teams he played for. During his time playing for the Negro League, Blair started a newspaper called  Highlight News, but went on to create The Elite News, formerly named SouthWest Sports News.

Blair was a major figure in Texas history. His newspaper, The Elite News, was the primary sponsor for the annual Martin Luther King's Day Parade, and the newspaper also focused its coverage on African-American issues for many years. He was a fighter for civil rights. Dallas honored him by renaming the Rochester Park after him in 2011.

"His failure, was that he didn't know how to say no even in light of insurmountable opposition and obstacles, he would try to overcome. He just believed in what he could do." - Darryl Blair (son)

His funeral will be Friday, April 25th... His message to the world: "do what you can do." The world has lost a great warrior and visionary... and he will forever be remembered.

RIP

-Kia C.