Jim "Mudcat" Grant wasn't supposed to be a pitcher. Not really. In college, he was a reserve running back and a third baseman, but the Cleveland Indians saw something in his arm that he maybe hadn’t fully realized himself. They signed him for a handshake in 1954—no big bonus, no fanfare. Just a kid from Lacoochee, Florida, with everything to prove.
Most people know him for that legendary 1965 season with the Minnesota Twins, but Jim Mudcat Grant baseball is a story that goes way deeper than a single year of 21 wins. It’s about a man who stood up to a racist bullpen coach in 1960, walked out of the stadium, and accepted a season-ending suspension because he refused to let "fun" bigotry slide. It's about a guy who wrote the book on Black excellence in pitching before anyone else thought to document it.
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The Nickname Nobody Asked For
Ever wonder how a guy from Florida gets nicknamed after a Mississippi fish?
During his climb through the minor leagues, a teammate named Leroy Bartow Irby decided Grant looked like he was from Mississippi. Why? Who knows. He started calling him "Mudcat" because Mississippi was often called the Mudcat State. Then a coach—future Hall of Famer Red Ruffing—picked it up. Grant actually hated it at first. He tried to correct them. He told them he was a Florida boy.
It didn't matter. The name stuck like glue.
Eventually, he leaned into it. He realized that in the world of 1950s and 60s baseball, having a "character" name helped with the fans. But don't let the colorful name fool you. On the mound, he was business. He debuted in 1958 and immediately showed he belonged, winning 10 games as a rookie and striking out 111.
That Impossible 1965 Season
If you want to understand why Grant is a Minnesota hero, look at the stats from '65. Honestly, they're kind of absurd by today’s standards.
- Wins: 21 (led the American League)
- Winning Percentage: .750 (21-7 record)
- Shutouts: 6 (led the league)
- Innings Pitched: 270.1
He was the first Black pitcher in American League history to win 20 games. Think about that for a second. The AL had been integrated since 1947 when Larry Doby joined Cleveland, but it took nearly 20 years for a Black pitcher to hit that 20-win mark in that league.
Then came the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Grant didn't just pitch; he dominated. He won Game 1. Then, with the Twins facing elimination in Game 6, he threw a complete-game six-hitter. But the wild part? He hit a three-run home run in that same game. A pitcher! In the World Series! He basically willed the Twins into a Game 7. Even though they eventually lost to Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers, Grant’s performance cemented him as an icon.
The 1960 Bullpen Incident
A lot of modern sports writing ignores the grit it took to play in the 1960s. Jim Mudcat Grant baseball wasn't played in a vacuum.
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In September 1960, while Grant was with Cleveland, things came to a head. He was in the bullpen during the national anthem. He liked to sing along, but he changed the lyrics. Instead of "land of the free," he sang something like "this land is not so free."
Bullpen coach Ted Wilks, a Texan who wasn't exactly known for his progressive views, lost it. He hurled racial slurs at Grant. They nearly got into a fistfight.
Grant didn't stay to "talk it out." He went to the clubhouse, changed, and left the park. The team suspended him for the rest of the season. Manager Jimmy Dykes even used a derogatory term when explaining the suspension to the press. Grant didn't care. He told reporters he was sick of taking it.
That wasn't "cancel culture." That was a man risking his entire career because his dignity wasn't for sale.
Defining the "Black Aces"
After he retired in 1971 with 145 wins, Grant didn't just fade away. He noticed something. People were forgetting the history of Black pitchers. He saw that while Black position players were celebrated, the "thinking" position of pitcher was still viewed through a biased lens.
So he coined the term "Black Aces."
It refers to the elite group of African American pitchers who have won at least 20 games in a single MLB season. He eventually wrote a book about it in 2007: The Black Aces: Baseball's Only African-American Twenty-Game Winners.
At the time, there were only 13 men on that list.
- Don Newcombe
- Sam Jones
- Bob Gibson
- Mudcat Grant
- Ferguson Jenkins
- Earl Wilson
- Vida Blue
- Al Downing
- J.R. Richard
- Mike Norris
- Dwight Gooden
- Dave Stewart
- Dontrelle Willis
Later, CC Sabathia and David Price joined the club. Grant became the unofficial historian and "commissioner" of this group. He wanted young Black kids to see that they could be the ones on the mound, not just the ones chasing fly balls in the outfield.
Why We Still Talk About Him
Jim Grant passed away in 2021 at the age of 85. He lived long enough to see the game change, but he remained vocal about the declining number of Black players in Major League Baseball.
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He was a Renaissance man. He had a variety show in Minneapolis where he’d sing and dance. He was a broadcaster. He was an activist.
But mostly, he was a guy who knew his worth. When he was traded from Cleveland to Minnesota in 1964, the Cleveland front office was so embarrassed by the lopsided deal that they didn't even tell him. He found out because his equipment was missing from his locker. He just moved on and became the best pitcher in the league the next year.
Actionable Insights for Baseball Fans:
- Read the book: If you can find a copy of The Black Aces, get it. It’s the best resource for understanding the specific hurdles Black pitchers faced during and after the Jim Crow era.
- Check the 1965 World Series highlights: You can find footage of Grant’s Game 6 home run on YouTube. It’s a rare look at a pitcher who was a legitimate athlete at the plate.
- Support the Museum: The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City has extensive displays on Grant and the Black Aces. If you’re ever in the area, it’s a mandatory stop for any real baseball fan.
- Watch the ERA: When comparing modern pitchers to Grant, remember he was throwing 270+ innings. Modern "aces" barely hit 180. The physical toll he took to win those 21 games was massive.
Jim Mudcat Grant wasn't just a ballplayer; he was a bridge between the era of the Negro Leagues and the modern game we see today. He proved that you could have a sense of humor, a killer fast-ball, and a backbone of steel all at the same time.