Illustration by GARY CIERADKOWSKI (studiogaryc.com)
Felton “Skipper” Snow was born in Alabama but called Louisville home. And the city is proud to claim him. Born in 1905, Felton moved with his family to Louisville when he was 10.
As a young adult, Felton showed great athletic promise and began playing for Louisville Negro League baseball teams in 1929. He first played for a team in the Negro Southern League, then moved to the Negro National League in 1931, when he played for the Louisville White Sox.
Over the next two decades, Felton played and managed in the Negro Leagues. His primary position was third base, but during his career, he played every position except catcher and first base. He was known for his strong throwing arm.
Snow played on several different teams. He was first listed as a manager in 1936. He managed the Washington Elite Giants, for whom he also played. Although that was the first year he was listed as a manager, it has been said that he actually began managing that team a few years earlier while actively playing.
After his playing days ended, Felton managed teams in the Negro League until 1946. He then managed minor league teams until 1949.
Felton returned to Louisville after retiring from baseball. He worked at the Charleston Armory in southern Indiana until a workplace injury forced him to retire. He then worked at a barber shop in the Saint Matthews area of Louisville.
Snow died on March 16, 1974, and was buried in an unmarked grave at Eastern Cemetery … unmarked until recently.
Family Ties
Billy Snow and his wife, Chavantee, call Louisville home. Billy has lived in the city his entire life. Chavantee moved to Louisville to marry Billy after meeting him in her home country, Thailand, where Billy was stationed as a serviceman in the United States Air Force. For 28 years, they owned Thai Café, a small Louisville restaurant that served Thai food from Chavantee’s authentic recipes. Billy is Felton Snow’s nephew, and like his famous uncle, Billy both worked at his place of employment (his restaurant) and managed it. He and his wife opened the restaurant after he retired from many years of working for the U.S. Postal Service.
Billy has fond memories of his uncle. When Billy was a child, Uncle Felton coached his Little League team along with Billy’s father. Billy remembers his uncle telling him and the other boys on the team to keep the bat off their shoulders. Rather than resting the bat on top of their shoulders like young boys tend to do, Felton instructed the boys on his team to lift the bat up off their shoulders, lean forward to lean into the pitch, and be ready when the pitch came.
Billy shared that Felton coached the 1945 Negro League East-West All-Star game in which Jackie Robinson played. Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers farm team in 1945 shortly after that game. It was another two years before Robinson moved to the major leagues.
Billy said that his uncle always felt he had played at least a small part in helping Robinson get noticed. Billy related that his whole family became Dodgers fans after Robinson broke the color barrier and made the team. They often traveled to Cincinnati to watch whenever the Dodgers played the Reds.
Honoring an Athlete
In the summer of 2022, a few groups in Louisville and some anonymous private donors pooled their resources to purchase a beautiful graveside monument for Felton Snow’s grave. The groups included the local Society for American Baseball Research chapter, Louisville Urban League, Louisville Bats baseball team, and Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory.
A ceremony was held on Sept. 1, 2022, more than 48 years after Felton’s death, at his gravesite. The new monument detailing his contributions to baseball was unveiled. The following day, Felton was recognized at the Louisville Bats’ home game as they retired his jersey number, No. 2. A sign with the image of a large baseball with No. 2 in the center hangs on the wall of Louisville Slugger Field next to similar signs with other retired numbers. Artist Gary Cieradkowski (whose illustration graced the cover of Kentucky Monthly’s December 2022/January 2023 issue) created a baseball card in Snow’s honor.
Billy Snow proudly threw the first pitch at that game in honor of his beloved uncle. Billy was surrounded and cheered on by family members who had traveled many miles to attend the ceremony and game as well as his many friends.
Felton Snow played and managed teams in the Negro League for 20 years. During his time in baseball, he played with or managed some of baseball’s greatest players, including Satchel Paige, Robinson and Roy Campanella.
Last September, the city paid its respects to this great baseball player and manager and showed his family its gratitude.