# Russell Awkard

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{{short description|American baseball player}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name          = Russell Awkard
| image         = Russell Awkard.jpg
| position      = [Outfielder](/source/Outfielder)
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1917|10|7|mf=y}}
| birth_place   = [Howard County, Maryland](/source/Howard_County%2C_Maryland), U.S.
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2002|4|1|1917|10|7|mf=y}}
| death_place   = [Louisville, Kentucky](/source/Louisville%2C_Kentucky), U.S.
| bats          = Left
| throws        = Right
| debutleague   = [Negro league baseball](/source/Negro_league_baseball)
| debutdate     = 
| debutyear     = 1940
| debutteam     = [New York Cubans](/source/New_York_Cubans)
| finaldate     = 
| finalyear     = 1941
| finalteam     = [Newark Eagles](/source/Newark_Eagles)
| statyear      =
| statleague    =
| stat1label    = 
| stat1value    = 
| stat2label    = 
| stat2value    = 
| stat3label    =
| stat3value    =
| teams         =
* [New York Cubans](/source/New_York_Cubans) (1940)
* [Newark Eagles](/source/Newark_Eagles) (1941)
}}
'''Russell Alfred Awkard''' (October 7, 1917 – April 1, 2002) was an American [Negro league](/source/Negro_league) [outfielder](/source/outfielder) in the 1940s.

A native of [Howard County, Maryland](/source/Howard_County%2C_Maryland), Awkard initially played for the [Washington Royals](/source/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](/source/New_York_Cubans) in 1940. Awkard was a [World War II](/source/World_War_II) veteran, having served in the [US Army](/source/US_Army)'s [Quartermaster Corps](/source/United_States_Army_Quartermaster_Corps) in [England](/source/England), [France](/source/France) and [Belgium](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Bill_Clinton) along with other Negro league players arranged by [Bob Hieronimus](/source/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

{{Negro-league-baseball-outfielder-1910s-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Russell Awkard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Awkard) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Awkard?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.