Odebea Kirksey

The Sun (Omaha, NE), May 20, 1931

Another mystery man from the 1931 Union Giants was a pitcher named Kirksey, sometimes listed as Kirkson in box scores.  He started out with the team early in the season and lasted only about a month.  

Despite the brief stint, he seemingly pitched well for Gilkerson.  In fact, in late May, Kirksey pitched a one-hitter against the Jamestown, ND team.  The Union Giants won the game easily, 7-0.    One of the last line scores that Kirksey shows up in was from June 11, 1931.  Kirksey started the game but was relieved at some point by Hurley McNair.  The Union Giants scored four runs in the 9th inning of the game to defeat the Sioux City Stockyards team in De Smet, South Dakota.

Kirksey, it turns out, was Odebea Kirksey from Omaha, Nebraska.  Prior to playing for Gilkerson, Kirskey had pitched for the Cultural Center Red Sox in the Omaha Colored Baseball League.   On May 20, 1931, the Omaha newspaper, The Sun, wrote, "The report is that Odaby* Kirksey is getting $40 a week and expenses with the Union Giants.  That's a lot of money for a kid like him and it will take a lot of hours at the packing houses to give him that much money.  No wonder they are grabbing at chances to play baseball when they can make as much in three hours as they can make all day and see the country with it."  

Kirksey must of had a good reason for leaving the Union Giants so quickly.  Whatever it was, it didn't have anything to do with his arm.  Kirksey soon returned home to Omaha where he was back pitching for the CC Red Sox before the end of the month.  In 1933, he was still pitching in the Omaha "colored" league, this time for the South Omaha Globe Trotters.  Beyond these few meager facts, much of Kirksey's short life remains a mystery.  

Kirksey died in 1936 at the age of 24.  The Omaha newspapers first reported it on July 30th.  They gave no cause of death but indicated that he had been in the hospital.  

Source:  Find A Grave

*The Omaha newspapers had trouble spelling Kirksey's full name.  Here are just some of the variations I found over the years:  Odaby, Odeabea, Odeble, Odebeh and Odbie Kuksy.