MLB.com

CINCINNATI -- It would be tempting to say that Chuck Harmon has had the last laugh, though the incidents which amuse him now seemed less ticklish when they occurred.

Harmon, who in 1954 became the first African-American to play for the Cincinnati Reds, giggled as he recalled two policemen in Dallas stopping a taxi he was riding in simply because of his skin color. He guffawed at the memory of hearing Texas League fans refer to him and teammates using the N-word. He even joked about a death threat he received in New York while playing with the Reds.

"I guess it's not funny, but it's funny to me," Harmon said as he prefaced another anecdote illustrating the racism of the times.

Harmon's ability to derive humor from his memories is matched by the calm he needed to endure being a baseball pioneer. He joined the St. Louis Browns organization in the summer of 1947, less than two years after Jackie Robinson signed with the Dodgers, and estimates that he was among the first 10 blacks to receive professional contracts.