Fleet Walker

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Moses Fleetwood Walker (October 7, 1856 in Mount Pleasant, Ohio - May 11, 1924 in Cleveland, Ohio), known as "Fleet" Walker, was one of the first African-American major league baseball players.

Born in Mount Pleasant, Ohio, Walker was the son of a doctor. He enrolled in Oberlin College in 1878 and played on the college's first varsity baseball team. He then attended University of Michigan law school in 1881, playing for their baseball team as well.

In 1883 he signed with the Toledo Blue Stockings, an amateur Northwestern League team, as a catcher. Toledo joined the professional American Association in 1884. Walker made his major league debut on May 1, 1884 versus the Louisville Eclipse. Fleet's brother Welday Walker also played 5 games for Toledo that year.

Walker has been historically credited as the first African-american major league baseball player. Recent research by the Society for American Baseball Research indicates William Edward White, who played one game for the Providence Grays in 1879, may have been the first.