Dan Bankhead - first Black MLB pitcher

Dan Bankhead - first Black MLB pitcher

From Dan Time by Dan McArdle

March 19, 2026 · 44 min · Season 2 · Episode 108

About this episode

This episode celebrates the career and impact of Dan Bankhead, the first African-American pitcher in Major League Baseball, featuring an interview with Rory Costello.

At long last, we celebrate the career and impact of Dan Bankhead - long recognized as the first African-American pitcher to appear in Major League Baseball (which at the time excluded the Nego Leagues). In December 2020, MLB designated the Negro Leagues from 1920-1948 as Major League status. Rory Costello from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) has written extensively about Dan's career - and he joins me for this exclusive Danversation! This interview could not have been possible without the help of my friend & award-winning artist Doc Settles. Doc's watercolor portrait of Bankhead has been featured in Alabama Heritage magazine. Please follow Doc on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DocSettlesArt https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/dan-bankhead/ This installment is intended to be the first in a series of Dan Bankhead episodes. Thanks for following the Dan Time Podcast! @dantimepod - socials dantimepod@gmail.com Photo Credit: Doc Settles

People in this episode

Host: Dan McArdle

Guest: Rory Costello

Topics covered

  • baseball
  • African-American history
  • MLB
  • interviews
  • sports
  • art

Keywords

  • Dan Bankhead
  • MLB
  • first Black pitcher
  • Rory Costello
  • Negro Leagues
  • baseball history
  • Doc Settles
  • art

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Society for American Baseball Research, Alabama Heritage

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