Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2024: Norman “Turkey” Stearnes

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Over the next two weeks leading up to Induction Day, 6 Sports will profile each of the four members of the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

We start with Negro Leagues legend Norman “Turkey” Stearnes.

Stearnes spent nine remarkable years with the Detroit Stars during his 19-year career in the Negro Leagues. He died in 1979.

He is known for his peculiar batting stance and reserved personality. There are a few theories about where his enduring nickname “Turkey” came from. One theory is that he got it from teammates who made fun of the way he stuck out his chest and waved his arms while running. However, Stearnes himself said he got it as a child because he had a pot belly when he was younger.

While he had his flaws on the field, his talent was undeniable, and when Major League Baseball officially added Negro League statistics to the record books earlier this year, he was even more firmly immortalized as one of the greatest players of all time.

He ranks in the top 10 all-time in batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS, yet many people are just getting to know his name.

“I’m starting to call him a ‘Top Ten Turkey’ now because he’s incredibly good at those three categories,” said Stearnes’ granddaughter Vanessa Rose. “And hopefully as the story progresses, we’ll learn more about how he compares to all the other great players in baseball history.”

Stearnes died before Rose was born, but she has spent a lot of time learning everything she can about her grandfather. She even wrote a book about his life and influence, called Hall of Fame DNA: The Life and Legacy of Norman “Turkey” Stearnesand hosted a podcast about the Negro Leagues for ABC News called “Reclaimed: The Forgotten League.”

Rose said her interest in her grandfather’s legacy was sparked by conversations with her grandmother, Nettie Stearnes. Her grandmother campaigned for her husband to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame 21 years after his death, which he finally achieved in 2000.

“She taught me all about his legacy and his statistics and the stories of his life during the Jim Crow laws, which was devastating,” Rose said. “But as Turkey Stearnes’ granddaughter, she showed me and really instilled in me that I have the same light within me that he did. You have the opportunity to strive for greatness like he did.”

Stearnes’ career ended six years before Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s racial segregation. Rose said her grandfather was never bitter about the racism he faced, although he was constantly reminded of the dream he was unable to realize during his playing career, when he took a second job working for the owner of the Detroit Tigers.

“He worked at the Briggs Manufacturing Company and Walter Briggs actually owned the Detroit Tigers at the time,” she said. “So since he owned the plant and the Tigers and my grandfather worked there, he could have easily recognized his talent… But because of segregation and Jim Crow and because of Walter Briggs’ own prejudices and beliefs, grandfather didn’t have that opportunity. He wasn’t bitter about it. I think he thought, this is just the way it is right now, so I’m going to keep doing my best and move forward. But he was grateful for the job he had, and it’s really amazing to think that a professional athlete works in an auto plant.”

The Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame will be the fifth Hall of Fame Stearnes has been inducted into. The tragedy for Stearnes, like so many other stars of the Negro Leagues, is that all of these honors and celebrations of his greatness came after his death.

“It’s really important to give flowers to the people here and recognize their greatness,” Rose said. “Especially when they’re this great. There are so many stories we miss because he’s not here to speak for himself.”

Rose added that toward the end of Stearnes’ life, he received a small gesture recognizing the dream he was not allowed to realize.

“Before he died, a writer named Joe Lapointe took him to Tiger Stadium and had him stand at home base, ready to bat,” she said. “There are some great pictures from that day.”

It was a nice gesture. However, Stearnes was only able to stand on the field where he should have shined.

“I think his story is just beginning in many ways, which is amazing, but at the same time I wish he could have given the speech in Cooperstown, for example. Or he could have made the trip to Cooperstown just to see it in all its glory.”