Andrew "Rube" Foster excelled in all facets of organized baseball -- he was a player for 24 seasons, an innovative and successful manager and a visionary executive who came to be known as the Father of Black Baseball.

As a supremely skilled pitcher, the 6-foot-4 Foster was credited with winning 51 games as a rookie in 1902. He picked up his nickname that year after beating Rube Waddell of the Philadelphia A's in an exhibition. Fans called him "the Black Rube."

Late in his career, after playing for and managing numerous teams, Foster longed to unite the disjointed, barnstorming Negro teams. In 1920, he led a meeting to establish the Negro National League, which ultimately produced such baseball greats as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard and James "Cool Papa" Bell. He was the league's first president.

For blacks who dreamed of playing baseball at the professional level but were barred from the major leagues, Foster was a godsend for keeping their dreams alive.

When Major League Baseball began to integrate, more than 16 years after Foster's death, the Negro leagues were in a position to contribute many talented players. Foster's vision and leadership had paved the way.

Rube Foster was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.

Foster was born Sept. 17, 1879, in Calvert, Texas. He died Dec. 9, 1930, in Kankakee, Ill.