Bill Cash

William Walker Cash (February 21, 1919 – September 12, 2011), nicknamed "Ready", was an American baseball player who became an all-star catcher in the Negro leagues. He batted and threw right-handed. Cash earned his nickname when he was benched and protested to a team manager, "When I put on the uniform, I'm ready to play". Cash spent his entire Negro league career with the Philadelphia Stars. He also played minor league baseball for the Chicago White Sox's farm teams and teams in Mexico, Canada, and Venezuela (Guerilus). After his retirement from baseball, Cash was an active member of the Philadelphia community Early life Cash was born to Arthur "Buster" Cash and Lela Lloyd Cash in 1919. He was born in Round Oak, Georgia. The family moved to an area of Philadelphia called Eastwick-Elmwood in 1924. his family lived in the Meadows area near the Philadelphia International Airport. Cash graduated from Overbrook High School in Philadelphia in 1939. At Overbrook, Cash was the only black player on the baseball and he quit the squad to play semi-pro ball elsewhere. Cash spent four years playing for semi-pro teams in Philadelphia, including the Camden Giants, the Black Meteors, and the Philadelphia Daisies (Negro Leagues Baseball Museum). Webster McDonald, manager of the Daisies, introduced Cash to Goose Curry, manager of the Philadelphia Stars, when he felt that Cash was ready to move up (Negro Leagues Baseball Museum). Curry ended up signing Cash to play for him.