Negro Leagues: was Chick Meade a white man passing as black to play and manage?

Larry Lester is heavily involved in the development of the Negro Leagues database, which is where I did most of my research below. He is also the chair of the SABR Negro Leagues Research Committee, which is where I got his email ID. He is the only source I have that Chick Meade was a white man passing as black in order to participate in the Negro Leagues. Here is the short email exchange I had with Lester:

from: Kenneth Matinale
to: larrylester42@gmail.com
date: Dec 27, 2020, 10:20 AM
subject: Were the Negro Leagues segregated?

Were there any players who were obviously white? If not, why not?

from: LarryLester42 <larrylester42@gmail.com>
to: Kenneth Matinale
date: Dec 27, 2020, 10:41 AM
subject: Re: Were the Negro Leagues segregated?

Yes, in 1950 the Chicago American Giants signed three white players.
Between 1914 to 1922, Fred "Chick" Meade, passed as a Black player to avoid the law.

Respect, Redemption & Recognition,
Larry Lester, CEO
NoirTech Research, Inc.
P.O. Box 380146
Kansas City, MO 64138
www.LarryLester42.com
816.589.7940 mobile
Book Store: https://tinyurl.com/ycbv67n3
"We are drowning in information, but starving for knowledge."

from: Kenneth Matinale
to: LarryLester42 <larrylester42@gmail.com>
date: Dec 27, 2020, 10:50 AM
subject: Re: Were the Negro Leagues segregated?

Kenneth Matinale <ken.matinale@gmail.com>
Dec 27, 2020, 10:50 AM
to LarryLester42

Thanks. I'll look into it.

____________________

Note: Middle name difference for Chick Meade:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=meade-000chi

Full Name: Frederick J. Meade

http://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=meade01chi&tab=bat&mult=Indiv&sort=Year_a&adv_sort=Year_a

Frederick Fleming Meade

This has been brought to the attention of baseball-reference.com

Chick Meade:

Played:

Year	Team	Lg	Age	Pos	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	HBP	SH	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
1914	BAS	WES	23	SS	13	56	52	6	8	0	3	1	8	3		2		0	2	.154	.185	.327	.512	45
1914	PHG	EAS	23	RF	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0		0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	-100
1916	ABC	WES	25	2B	4	14	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		2		0	1	.000	.154	.000	.154	-54
1919	HIL	EAS	28	3B	13	46	41	4	5	1	2	0	4	0		3		0	2	.122	.182	.244	.426	37
1921	BBS	EAS	30	3B	7	26	24	1	3	0	0	0	0	0		2		0	0	.125	.192	.125	.317	-19
1922	HBG	IND	31	3B	8	33	30	2	6	0	0	1	5	0		2		0	1	.200	.250	.300	.550	57

Managed:

Year	Team	Lg	Age	Rank	G	W	L	T	W%	LG	WS	Ballpark
1915	Cuban Giants	EAS	24	6	2	0	2	0	.000			Doll's Park (Buffalo, NY)
1922	Harrisburg Giants	IND	31	11	9	2	7	0	.222			Island Park (Harrisburg, PA)
2	2				11	2	9	0	.182	0	0
Year	Team	Lg	Age	Rank	G	W	L	T	W%	LG	WS	Ballpark
1	Cuban Giants II				2	0	2		.000	0	0
1	Harrisburg Giants				9	2	7	0	.222	0	0

Meade might have been in military service in 1917 and 1918 in World War I. 

Chick Meade:

Frederick Fleming Meade


Born: March 2, 1891 in Fairmont, WV

Bats: R

Throws: R

Ht: 5'8"

Wt: 182

  

For the two years Meade managed:

1915 Cuban Giants
(6th place in the Eastern Independent Clubs )
Home Ballpark: Doll's Park (Buffalo, NY)

Eastern Independent Clubs 1915

		vs All Teams
#	Team	W	L	T	W%	GB		R/G	RA/G	Managers	Ballpark
1	New York Lincoln Giants	17	6	1	.739	-		8.5	4.7	Knucks James	Olympic Field (New York, NY)
2	New York Lincoln Stars	24	15	2	.615	1.0		5.8	3.7	John Henry Lloyd, Bill Pettus	Lenox Oval (New York, NY)
3	Long Branch Cubans	12	13	2	.480	6.0		4.0	5.0	Dick Henriquez	Asbury Park Grounds (Asbury Park, NJ)
4	Almendares Cubans	3	4	0	.429	6.0		3.9	5.9		No Home Ballpark
5	Philadelphia Giants	1	8	0	.111	9.0		2.8	6.2	Jimmy Fuller	No Home Ballpark
6	Cuban Giants	0	2		.000	6.5		3.0	9.5	Chick Meade	Doll's Park (Buffalo, NY)
6	Havana Reds	0	4	0	.000	7.5		3.8	6.8	Inocente Mendieta

1922 Harrisburg Giants
(11th place in the Independent Clubs )
Home Ballpark: Island Park (Harrisburg, PA)

Team history:

Year	Team	Lg	Rank	W	L	T	W%	LG	WS	Manager	Ballpark
1927	Harrisburg Giants	ECL	2	38	31	0	.551			John Beckwith	Island Park (Harrisburg, PA)
1926	Harrisburg Giants	ECL	4	27	22	0	.551			Oscar Charleston	Island Park (Harrisburg, PA)
1925	Harrisburg Giants	ECL	2	48	24	1	.667			Oscar Charleston	Island Park (Harrisburg, PA), West End Grounds
1924	Harrisburg Giants	ECL	5	30	31	0	.492			Oscar Charleston	Island Stadium (Harrisburg, PA)
1923	Harrisburg Giants	IND	4	5	7	0	.417			Bill Pettus	Island Park (Harrisburg, PA)
1922	Harrisburg Giants	IND	11	2	7	0	.222			Chick Meade	Island Park (Harrisburg, PA)
6	1			150	122	1	.551	0	0

Independent Clubs 1922

		vs All Teams
#	Team	W	L	T	W%	GB		R/G	RA/G	Managers	Ballpark
1	Homestead Grays	3	0	1	1.000	5.5		9.3	5.5	Cum Posey	Rankin Car Barn Field (Pittsburgh, PA)
2	Richmond Giants	31	17	3	.646	-		5.8	4.5	Bill Pettus	Mayo Island Park (Richmond, VA), Boulevard Park (Richmond, VA)
3	Brooklyn Royal Giants	6	4	0	.600	6.0		6.8	4.7	Eddie Douglass	Dexter Park (Queens, NY)
4	Cuban Stars East	11	8	2	.579	5.5		5.4	4.9	Pelayo Chacón	Dexter Park (Queens, NY)
5	Baltimore Black Sox	24	26	2	.480	8.0		4.5	5.3	Bill Pierce, Louis Miller	Maryland Park (Baltimore, MD)
6	New York Lincoln Giants	8	10	3	.444	8.0		5.0	6.0	Joe Williams	Catholic Protectory Oval (Bronx, NY)
7	New York Bacharach Giants	30	37	1	.448	10.5		5.2	5.4	John Henry Lloyd	New York Oval (Bronx, NY)
8	Hilldale Club	20	26	2	.435	10.0		5.1	5.3	Bill Francis	Hilldale Park (Darby, PA)
9	Original Bacharach Giants	10	14	2	.417	9.0		4.2	4.5	Dick Lundy	Harlan Field (Wilmington, DE)
10	Philadelphia Royal Stars	3	8	1	.273	9.5		5.2	4.9	Chappie Johnson	Shetzline Park (Philadelphia, PA)
11	Harrisburg Giants	2	7	0	.222	9.5		3.7	7.1	Chick Meade	Island Park (Harrisburg, PA)

No other useful information, including possible military service, on Chick Meade was found. He had this slim entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_Meade