Playing baseball at a professional level is a challenge in itself. But John W. Jackson Jr. or “Bud” Fowler traveled, trained and played for teams during a time when he wasn’t always welcome.

“He was often being forced out, whether it’s the opposition or even his teammates who preferred not to play with a Black player on their team,” said Jon Shestakofsky, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s communications and education vice president.

Bud Fowler grew up in Cooperstown in the mid-1800s. According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, located in present-day Cooperstown, he primarily played for a team in Massachusetts but traveled to substitute on other teams quite a bit.

“He had to move from team-to-team where other players of his caliber did not have to travel so much. It’s part of what made his legacy so difficult to unearth,” Shestakofsky said.

Shestakofsky said Bud Fowler helped pave the way for future African American baseball players.

“It’s a special story. Bud Fowler, known as the first professional Black baseball player had a career that spanned quite a bit of time across two decades as a player, as a catcher, as a pitcher and ultimately as a second baseman,” Shestakofsky said.

When Fowler was done with playing, he began helping get other Black athletes on the field.

“Following his playing days he invested his own time and energy into developing a Black baseball barnstorming team that helped to proliferate Black baseball across the country,” said Shestakofsky.

This summer Fowler will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Joining Fowler is David Ortiz, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva and Buck O’Neil in being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this summer.

Fowler moved to Frankfort in Herkimer County later in his life. He died on February 26, 1913.