{{short description|American baseball player}} {{Infobox baseball biography | name = Russell Awkard | image = Russell Awkard.jpg | position = Outfielder | birth_date = {{Birth date|1917|10|7|mf=y}} | birth_place = Howard County, Maryland, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2002|4|1|1917|10|7|mf=y}} | death_place = Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. | bats = Left | throws = Right | debutleague = Negro league baseball | debutdate = | debutyear = 1940 | debutteam = New York Cubans | finaldate = | finalyear = 1941 | finalteam = Newark Eagles | statyear = | statleague = | stat1label = | stat1value = | stat2label = | stat2value = | stat3label = | stat3value = | teams = * New York Cubans (1940) * Newark Eagles (1941) }} '''Russell Alfred Awkard''' (October 7, 1917 – April 1, 2002) was an American Negro league outfielder in the 1940s.
A native of Howard County, Maryland, Awkard initially played for the Washington Royals,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nlbpa.com/the-athletes/awkard-russell|title=nlbpa.com - Awkard, Russell|work=nlbpa.com}}</ref><ref name="legacy.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?pid=279727|title=Russell Awkard Obituary - Washington D.C., DC - The Washington Post|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> and joined the New York Cubans in 1940. Awkard was a World War II veteran, having served in the US Army's Quartermaster Corps in England, France and Belgium.<ref name="legacy.com"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Negro Leaguers Who Served With The Armed Forces in WWII |url=https://www.baseballinwartime.com/negro.htm |publisher=baseballinwartime.com |accessdate=August 5, 2021}}</ref> He was considered to be one of the Negro league's finest players.{{according to whom|date=September 2021}}<ref>{{cite book | last=Elias | first=R. | title=The Empire Strikes Out: How Baseball Sold U.S. Foreign Policy and Promoted the American Way Abroad | publisher=New Press | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-59558-528-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o1YkeL_97hIC&pg=PA1942-IA4 | access-date=2015-04-29}}</ref> He was featured in an article in ''USA Today'' titled "The Name is Awkard, with one W." in 1993.<ref>{{cite book | last=Heaphy | first=L. A. | title=The Negro Leagues, 1869-1960 | publisher=McFarland & Company | year=2003 | isbn=978-0-7864-1380-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Ar01UYDl7UC&pg=PA286 | access-date=2015-04-29}}</ref> Prior to his death, he met with Bill Clinton along with other Negro league players arranged by Bob Hieronimus.<ref>{{cite book | last=Glenn | first=S. | title=Don't Let Anyone Take Your Joy Away: An Inside Look at Negro League Baseball and Its Legacy | publisher=iUniverse | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-595-40075-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mpe5jWpMirQC&pg=PA79 | access-date=2015-04-29}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Baseballstats|mlb=820642|br=a/awkarru01}} and [https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=awkar01rus Seamheads]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Awkard, Russell}} Category:1917 births Category:2002 deaths Category:New York Cubans players Category:Newark Eagles players Category:African Americans in World War II Category:United States Army personnel of World War II Category:Baseball outfielders Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:African-American United States Army personnel Category:Baseball players from Howard County, Maryland
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