User:Dstokesjr

 FAIRFIELD GRAY SOCKS The Fairfield Gray Socks was an amateur Negro baseball team based out of the Interurban Heights of Fairfield, Alabama. The team was managed by Cle Holmes and played in the all Negro Industrial Leagues in the greater Birmingham area. The Industrial League consisted of players from the local mills, mines, high schools, and colleges. The age range of the players varied as teams included teenagers and older adults.

The Gray Socks formed in the early to mid 1940’s and baseball for black men and boys was limited to the Industrial and Negro Leagues because segregation laws which prohibited interracial ball play from the little leagues to the major leagues. Because blacks were isolated from play on all levels, younger players in the heights competed against older adults for positions on the team. Most of these younger players were quick to mature and enhance their playing skills against very skilled ball players. The team played as the Fairfield Gray Socks until the early 1950's and later changed their name to the Fairfield All Stars.