Neil O. Churchill (February 13, 1891 – September, 1969) was a car dealer in Bismarck, North Dakota who funded an integrated baseball team in the mid-thirties more than a decade before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Business
Churchill joined Wickham Corwin's Bismarck automobile dealership in 1925 and the company became Corwin-Churchill Motor Co. A colleague said he "was a hell of a salesman—a smart fellow and real promoter." In 1937, when Corwin moved to Fargo, Churchill stayed in Bismarck. When Churchill retired in 1952 he sold his share of the business to the Corwin family.
Baseball
Immediately after World War I Churchill took up baseball with the Bismarck semi-pro team and became their star player.
References
- Roper, Scott C. 1994. "A Summer in North Dakota: Uncovering Satchel Paige's 1935 Season." Baseball Research Journal 23, 51–54.