When Ron Whittington went looking for a new character to portray as part of his National Chautaugua Tour presentation, he did not have to look far. Wherever he turned the name of the late Judy Johnson–a star player in the old Negro Leagues and Delaware's only member of the Baseball Hall of Fame–kept turning up.

"People would come up to me after church, and tell me something they knew about Judy Johnson," Whittington said. "It just seemed that everything was leading me in that direction."

William Julius "Judy" Johnson was born on Oct. 26, 1899, in Snow Hill, Md., and moved with his family to Wilmington in 1905. In the years just after World War I, he lived in the neighborhood around 2nd and 3rd Streets, between DuPont and Clayton, and he spent many Saturdays playing baseball in the nearby park that now bears his name. He died in 1989.

Whittington first met Mr. Johnson when the retired local legend was scouting for the Philadelphia Phillies and was looking over several promising high school players at a game between DeLaWarr and McKean.

"I had hit a really long home run to right center, off McKean's Teddy Zink, who was one of the best high school pitchers of that time," Whittington said. "Judy came up to me and congratulated me, then he wanted to know why I did not pull the ball."

The message that Mr. Johnson was trying to get across was that Whittington would have to learn how to swing with his hips if he wanted to take his game to the next level.

"He knew so much about the game, that he could tell things like that just by looking at what you did," Whittington recalled. "And, he was right, because although I played semipro baseball I never did make it to the next level."

When he decided many years after that first meeting to portray Mr. Johnson, Whittington knew he wanted to make his presentation as historically accurate as possible.

"I knew I had to get an authentic uniform, so I went to Al's Sporting Goods in Wilmington and told them what I was looking for," Whittington said. "They referred me to Mitchell & Ness of Philadelphia, and they told me to call Ebbet's Field Flannel, a company that makes throwback uniforms."

With a summer deadline for his presentation fast approaching and no uniform in sight, Whittington cancelled his order and went to UD theater chairperson Sandy Robbins for help. Robbins referred Whittington to Barbara-Lampros Hughes, costume shop manager for the Professional Theater Training Program, who introduced him to Joanne Nardo. After ironing out several details, Nardo was able to create a uniform like the one Mr. Johnson wore when he played with the Homestead Grays in the early 1930s.

Next, Whittington turned to a new medium for tracking down old baseball equipment. Using the Internet, he was able to get a 1932 Enos Slaughter mitt and a pair of the fat-handled hickory bats that were so popular in the years before World War II.

A pair of leather-soled spikes, courtesy of Wilmington Blue Rocks owner Matt Minker, gave Whittington all the props he needed for his fast approaching debut as Judy Johnson.

One of the most cherished items in Whittington's growing list of Negro League memorabilia is a baseball autographed by Mr. Johnson and Cool Pappa Bell, a gift from UD English professor Kevin Kerrane. Kerrane had coauthored several stories on Johnson, including Judy Johnson: Reminiscences by the Great Ball Player, which appeared in a 1977 issue of Delaware Today.

"Kevin and Bill Conlin, of the Philadelphia Daily News had written a book, Batting Cleanup, Bill Conlin, and I told him how I just missed getting an autographed baseball with 25 signatures of Negro League stars including Judy Johnson," Whittington said. "Not long afterwards, I received a package in the mail, and it turned out to be the autographed baseball that Kevin had mentioned in our conversation."

With all his props now in place, Whittington was ready to begin his Judy Johnson performance for the National Chautauqua Tour, which provides presentations across the United States, including such luminaries as Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain, and Star Trek's Avery Brooks as singer Paul Robeson.

Summer presentations by Whittington this year included the Festival of Nations, in Reading, Pa., and the Black Family Reunion in Wilmington's Christina Park.

Whittington also gave a presentation of Judy Johnson at an event in Tulsa, Okla., held to commerate the Tulsa Riots which occur red in 1921.

During the African-American Festival in Brandywine Park in Wilmington during July, Whittington strolled around the grounds, offering to field questions about the man who wore No. 5 for the Homestead Grays.

Whittington gave an on-campus presentation to a large group of young people who came to learn about the life and times of Delaware's most illustrious baseball star and the Negro Leagues in which Mr. Johnson played.

To highlight Mr. Johnson's achievements both on and off the field, Whittington told the audience about the Negro Baseball Leagues, with a roster of teams that included the Kansas City Monarchs, the Brown Dodgers and three teams that Mr. Johnson played for–the Hillsdale Daiseys, Homestead Grays and the Pittsburg Crawfords.

While serving a player-manager of the Grays, Mr. Johnson signed Josh Gibson, who would eventually hit over 900 home runs, including the only ball ever to sail out of Yankee Stadium.

Whittington told the young audience about another player, Leroy "Satchel" Paige, one of the first players to make the transition from the Negro Leagues to the major leagues.

"Satchel Paige had a hesitation pitch, where he would wind up, then stop just before releasing the ball," Whittington said. "Sometimes, to work the crowd up, he would tell the outfielders to come in off the field, then he would proceed to retire to opposing side."

While mention of the Negro Leagues conjures up the names of now famous stars like Gibson, Paige and Judy Johnson, Whittington noted that it also marks a period in American history where playing in the big leagues was decided by race rather than talent.

After showing a film about the Negro League players, Whittington told his audience that these men were real-life heroes, who played for the love of the game and not the money.

Whittington said he tries to convey what men like Mr. Johnson were like by answering questions in the manner in which the baseball legend would speak to young people of today.

"Judy Johnson was a very humble man, and he would always let the other fellow have the glory," Whittington said. "If Judy Johnson inspired someone else, he would be happy about it, because that's just the way he thought as a player, athlete and manager."

When asked how he was doing, Mr. Johnson had a favorite reply that everything was fine because, "The sun is shining and there is a ball game on."

After giving a recent presentation, a youngster who had listened to Whittington told him about the connection he had discovered between himself and Judy Johnson.

"This young man told his grandmother about my presentation," Whittington said. "His grandmother told him that he was a cousin to Judy Johnson, and that she remembers Mr. Johnson when the family lived in Snow Hill, Md."

Whittington, who also does a presentation of Private William Owens, an African-American from Delaware who fought during the Civil War with the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, said he believes it is important to remember these individuals and the times in which they lived.

"I look at our kids, and I think that they may know only little pieces of our history," Whittington said. "We need to get out and tell the true story. I know that my generation must pass down the history or it will be forgotten."

–Jerry Rhodes