Source: fox43.com --- Tuesday, May 30, 2017
YORK - He was known for his glove, his speed and his personality. "Country Jake" Stephens was a two-time Negro League All-Star who spent practically his entire life in York County. Yet most people have never heard of him. A group of Baseball historians decided it was time for that to change. Tucked away in a quiet corner of Mt. Zion Cemetery in York County, there's a very ordinary-looking headstone that reads "Paul Eugene Stephens." But he was better known as "Country Jake." On a chilly weekend in April, several members of the Society for American Baseball Research gathered at the cemetery for a special presentation. Ira Wolins from Philadelphia presented a permanent marker for Stephens' grave, recognizing the Wizard of York as the greatest fielding shortstop in the Negro Leagues. "I thought it might be a great idea to get a plaque made for him because his tombstone is very plain. It just has his name, birth date and death date," said Wolins. "No one knows that this guy from York played ball before Jackie Robinson." Now people will know. Wolins came up with the idea for the plaque five years ago after reading a book about Stephens. The historian raised part of the money for the marker by selling "Country Jake" bracelets at minor league Baseball games. He paid for the rest of it himself. But the plaque only tells part of the story. Born in 1900, Paul Stephens grew up in a part of East York known as Bullfrog Alley. They didn't hav ...
from Baseball http://ift.tt/2riCIsg
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