Moses Fleetwood Walker (October 7, 1857 - May 11, 1924) is credited with being the first African-American to play professional baseball at the major league level. Before baseball leagues converged together in a united Major League Baseball, "Fleet" played professionally in 1884 with the Toledo Blue Stockings .

Fleetwood was a catcher in the days before catchers wore any equipment, even to the point of being bare-handed. His brother Welday later joined him on Toledo in 1883. In 1884 the Northwestern League folded and Toledo joined the American Association. His own teammate and star pitcher, Tony Mullane , reportedly stated "whenever I had to pitch to him I used to pitch anything I wanted without looking at his signals." Mid-way through the year, Fleet suffered a season-ending injury, and Toledo ended the year going out of business. Fleet played the following two season in the minor leagues, until joining the International League in 1887. There he caught for star pitcher George Stovey as the first known black battery. That season, Hall of Fame star player Cap Anson refused to play with "Fleet" on the field.

Shortly thereafter, American Association and the National League both officially banned African-American players from playing professionally. Baseball would remain segregated until 1947 when Jackie Robinson popularly "broke the color barrier" in professional baseball.

Negro League Baseball Players Association

Major League Baseball Hall of Fame

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