Leading in the polls

Oscar Charleston, the Hall of Fame center fielder and player-manager with the oft-forgotten Harrisburg Giants of the 1920s, starts at first base for the East team during the Negro League's second all-star game 89 years ago today at Chicago's old Comiskey Park.

Charleston, seen here in another of Dick Perez's outstanding works of art, is 37 at the time and playing for the fabulous 1934 Pittsburgh Crawfords.

He also gets more votes – 6,334 – than any of the East's position players in the fan balloting for the game.