North Omaha raised a lot of notable Black baseball players. While several from the last 50 years have been celebrated, there were more a century ago whose names and faces were lost to time. This is a biography of one of them, “Danger” Talbert (1878-1914).

Early Years

Before the 20th century, southeast Nebraska and northwest Missouri were tied together by a lot of bonds, especially economically and socially. Born in the small city of Platte City, Missouri, on March 8, 1878, Dangerfield F. Talbert was born into a town of Southerners and former enslavers. His parents were Henry Clay (b.1854) and Mary (b.1862), and they were likely born into enslavement. They were married in 1877, and between 1878 and 1891 they had five kids, including Dangerfield, Charlotta, Harrison, Fred, and Henry Jr.

The family moved to North Omaha in 1884 when Dangerfield was six years old. At that point, Black people from rural parts of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska were moving to Omaha for jobs with the railroads and packing plants. Talbert’s parents were among the migrants moving in.

Living in the Near North Side neighborhood, young Danger went to Lake School through the eighth grade. He was accepted at Omaha High School. In his sophomore year in 1893, young Danger was one of a dozen male students implicated in a hazing rite that hurt a student.The guilty students each gave $2.50, collecting $58 for the injured target of the hazing, and the responsible boys were reported to authorities.

Danger started playing baseball at Omaha High School in 1894.

When he was age 22 in 1900, Danger was a boxer in an exhibition held at the Midway Saloon at 12th and Capitol. Before a major battle was held there, he fought against “Orange O’Neal,” who was a “corker.” Their bout was a draw.

A Career in Baseball

“One of the most famous third basemen of the Negro baseball circuit of the former years…”

—1913 press announcement

At the turn of the 20th century, Negro league baseball was rising across the Midwest. In 1900, Dangerfield Talbert joined a professional team called the Chicago Unions owned by Frank Leland (1869-1914). Becoming the top team between Pennsylvania and Missouri, the Unions were a powerhouse and Talbert was a power player.

Playing third base, he played mostly for Chicago teams for the rest of his career. He was a right-handed batter and thrower, and was noted for his movements in the sports media of that era. Talbert played with the Giants until a court battle split the team in 1910. 

Over the years, he also played for a team in Iowa called the Algona Brownies, and a team in Havana called the Cuban X-Giants.

Toward the end of his career Talbert was referred to as “Old Reliable” by his team.

Death

Talbert was diagnosed with tuberculosis in April 1913. A former teammate named Andrew “Rube” Foster (1879-1930) immediately held a fundraiser game for Talbert’s expenses in Chicago, raising more than $250. A Chicago paper said, “Two teams picked from the stars of the four local Negro nines will play,” and reported that the game happened at the American Giants Park at 29th and Wentworth Avenue. A summary after the game said it happened at Schorling Park.

In September 1913, another benefit game was held in Omaha’s Rourke Park. Calling the game “farcical,” the Omaha World-Herald delighted in reporting that the Storz team destroyed the Midway Giants in that game, offering no details on the amount raised or on Talbert’s condition.

Living at his sister’s home in south Omaha, he suffered for a year with the newspapers reporting that, “Talbert is dying of consumption at his home in this city and is practically destitute.” He died at home in June 1914, and was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Today, there is no memorial, tribute or other remembrance of Talbert in Omaha. His gravesite at Laurel Hill Cemetery is unmarked. Maybe in the future that will change?

Dangerfield Talbert Timeline

• 1878: Born in Platte City, Missouri
• 1884: Family moved to Omaha
• 1892: Started attending Omaha High School
• 1894: Started playing baseball at Omaha High School
• 1900: Played with the Chicago Union Giants until 1904
• 1901: Played with the Chicago Giants until 1904
• 1902: Played with the Algona Brownies until 1903
• 1905: Played with the Cuban X-Giants that year
• 1906: Played with the Leland Giants until 1910
• 1910: Played with the Chicago Giants until 1911
• 1914: Died in North Omaha and buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery

You Might Like…

• History of the Omaha Colored Baseball League
• History of the Omaha Rockets Independent Black Baseball Team
• A Biography of Dorcas Lewis, an Early Baseball Great in North Omaha
• A Biography of Omaha’s Vasco Graham

MY ARTICLES ABOUT BLACK HISTORY IN OMAHA
MAIN TOPICS: Black Heritage Sites | Black Churches | Black Hotels | Segregated Hospitals | Segregated Schools | Black Businesses | Black Politics | Black Newspapers | Black Firefighters | Black Policeman | Black Women | Black Legislators | Black Firsts | Social Clubs | Military Service Members | Sports
PIONEER BLACK OMAHA: Black People in Omaha Before 1850 | The First Black Neighborhood | Black Voting in Omaha Before 1870 | Racist Laws Before 1900 |
EVENTS: Stone Soul Picnic | Native Omahans Day | Congress of Black and White Americans | Harlem Renaissance in North Omaha
RELATED: Race and Racism | Civil Rights Movement | Police Brutality | Redlining
NEBRASKA BLACK HISTORY: Enslavement in Nebraska | Underground Railroad in Nebraska | Grand Island |
TIMELINES: Racism | Black Politics | Civil Rights | The Last 25 Years

RESOURCES: Book: #OmahaBlackHistory: African American People, Places and Events from the History of Omaha, Nebraska | Bibliography: Omaha Black History Bibliography | Video: “OmahaBlackHistory 1804 to 1930” | Podcast: “Celebrating Black History in Omaha”

Elsewhere Online

• Dangerfield F. Talbert on findagrave.com
• Dangerfield F. Talbert on Wikipedia
• “Danger Talbert” on Seamheads.com