BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 05: A general view of the Los Angeles Dodgers logo on an equipment bag in the dugout before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 5, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
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The history of baseball’s Negro Leagues is becoming increasingly distant with the passing of each player who experienced that era firsthand. Major League Baseball formally incorporated Negro Leagues statistics from 1920 through 1948 into its historical record, but the people who lived that history are now almost entirely gone.
MLB.com’s Brian Murphy reported in February that following the passing of Ron “Schoolboy” Teasley, Bill Greason became “the last living person to play in the Negro Leagues era that spanned from 1920-48. (The Negro National League disbanded for 1949, and after that, the Negro Leagues were considered a Minor League circuit.)”
That makes the death of a Florida baseball legend, whose career spanned the Brooklyn Dodgers and iconic Negro Leagues franchises like the New York Black Yankees, another notable loss for baseball history.
Former Brooklyn Dodgers Recruit ‘Rocky’ Portier Dies After Lifelong Baseball Career
Last month, news surfaced that an iconic baseball figure died after contributing to the legacy of the sport on numerous levels.
“James ‘Rocky’ Portier, a Key West baseball legend who played in the Negro leagues, attended Brooklyn Dodgers spring training and spent decades giving back to the game as an umpire, died Monday, Sept. 28,” JW Cooke reported for the Keys Citizens. “He was 88.”
Portier’s professional baseball journey connected several important chapters of the sport. A Florida native and 1956 graduate of Douglas High School, he played for the Indianapolis Clowns before getting a brief opportunity with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization.
He attended Dodgers spring training in Vero Beach, Florida, placing Portier around a franchise that was still navigating the early years of baseball’s integration after Jackie Robinson broke the modern color barrier with Brooklyn in 1947.
Portier went on to play catcher and outfield for the Indianapolis Clowns and New York Black Yankees from 1956 through 1958. In the 1960s, he transitioned into umpiring and became a fixture at baseball and softball fields in his native Key West for more than six decades.
“His contributions to the game earned national recognition,” Cooke added. “In 2018, Portier traveled to Cooperstown, New York, with the Southernmost Trappers 12-and-under baseball team and umpired at the Cooperstown Fields of Dreams, where he was inducted into its Hall of Fame and presented with a commemorative ring.”
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Key West proclaimed James “Rocky” Portier Day in 2021, noting his work with local youth and his long presence on local diamonds. In 2019, he was also honored during a Milwaukee Brewers Negro Leagues tribute and had his name placed on the Negro Leagues’ Wall of Fame.
Portier’s death comes as MLB continues working to preserve and expand awareness of Negro Leagues history. The league’s integrated historical database includes statistics for more than 2,300 players from the recognized 1920 to 1948 Negro Leagues period.
For baseball fans, Portier represented a living connection to a complicated but essential chapter of the sport. His time around the Dodgers, his years with the Black Yankees and Clowns, and his decades of service to young players in Key West gave him a unique place in baseball history.
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