Pops Turner

Biography

Elbert Carter Turner (September 11, 1901 – February 3, 1970), nicknamed "Cool", "Pop", and "Pops", was an American Negro league infielder and umpire, and a college baseball and college football coach at North Carolina College—now known as North Carolina Central University—in Durham, North Carolina. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Turner attended West Virginia State University, and was the school's starting quarterback. He began his Negro leagues career in 1921 while still in college, using the aliases "J. H. Wagner" and "Bert Wagner" to protect his amateur status. Turner played in the 1927 Colored World Series for the Bacharach Giants. Following his playing career, he went on to umpire in the Negro National League, and was head baseball coach at North Carolina College. In 1941, Turner coached the backfield for the football team at North Carolina College under Bill Burghardt. The following year, he succeeded Burghardt as head football coach.

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