Norman “Turkey” Stearnes

Norman Stearnes was not just one of Detroit’s greatest ballplayers ever, he was one of the great all-around sluggers in baseball history. Born in Nashville, he first left his home state to play for the Montgomery (AL) Gray Sox in 1921, a squad that went on to capture the league pennant (against a team from Nashville, coincidentally enough). Stearnes impressed enough to catch on with a club in Memphis in 1922 where he caught the eye of the Detroit Stars’ Bruce Petway. Petway signed Stearnes to play for Detroit – as soon as the youngster finished school.

Stearnes was a sensation in 1923, batting .362 with a league-leading 14 triples among his 49 extra-base hits in 69 games. He led the Negro National League in both triples and homers in 1924, then in hits, triples, homers, RBIs, and total bases in 1925, and was well on his way to superstardom for the Stars. In 1929 he captured his first batting title, hitting .390, a feat he achieved again two years later with a .376 average in 1931.

In all, Turkey Stearnes played 639 games for the Stars from 1923-1931, hitting 139 homers with a .360 average, launching an 18-year professional career that saw him lead his Major Negro League in home runs seven times between 1924 and 1940. Throughout his career and upon retirement, Stearnes resided in his adopted hometown of Detroit.

He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2000.