Alfred Surratt
Alfred G. "Slick" Surratt (November 9, 1922 – February 15, 2010)[1] was an American baseball outfielder in the Kansas City Monarchs, a Negro league baseball franchise based in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1947 until 1952.[2] Surratt later co-founded the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City in 1990.[2]
Surratt was born in Danville, Arkansas.[2] He moved to Kansas City, Missouri, after eighth grade to live with his father.[2] He served in the United States Army during World War II, receiving an honorable discharge in 1946.[2]
In 1947, Surratt joined the Detroit Stars, another Negro league team.[2] He soon moved back to Kansas City in 1947, where he was a reserve outfielder for the Kansas City Monarchs until his retirement from the league in 1952.[2]
Surratt began working at the Ford Motor Company's assembly plant in Claycomo, Missouri that same year.[2] He continued to work for Ford at Claycomo for the next 51 years.[2]
Surratt was an original founding member of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which opened in Kansas City in 1990.[2] He also served on the museum's board of directors.[2] Starting in the early 1990s, he became known as a raconteur of the Negro Leagues.
Surratt died at a nursing home in Kansas City on February 15, 2010, at the age of 87.[2] He was survived by his wife, Tommie, and son, Alfred Surratt Jr.[2]