Henry Allen Kimbro was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, where he grew up playing baseball in the city parks – Napier, Hadley, and others. He began his professional career with Tom Wilson’s Washington Elite Giants, a team that originated from the Nashville Elite Giants and later became the Baltimore Elite Giants in the Negro Baseball League. Known as one of the best lead-off men in the league, Henry Kimbro consistently hit line drives and used his speed to stretch a single into an extra base hit. With the combination of speed and a rifle arm, he was considered one of the best centerfielders to ever play the game. During his career, he achieved a lifetime batting average of .315 and appeared in six All-Star Games. In 1945 Henry Kimbro led the league in stolen bases and finished only one home run behind league leaders Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard. In 1946, he tied with Cool Papa Bell for league lead in at-bats, hit .371, and led the league in runs scored. In 1947, he hit .353 and tied for the lead in doubles. After his retirement from baseball, Henry Kimbro returned home to Nashville where he and his Cuban-born wife, Erbia Mendoza Kimbro, raised their children and successfully operated Bill’s Cab Company for 22 years. During this time, Mr. Kimbro received various honors for his baseball achievements. He was selected for the Baltimore Orioles Baseball Wall of Fame and the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Wall of Fame. He was honored during the 1993 Major League Baseball All-Stars Game. Other honors came from the Atlanta Braves Baseball Organization, the Negro League Baseball Museum, the Black Sports Writers Organization, and others. For a man who was limited to a 6th grade education, Henry Kimbro was most proud of sending his four children to colleges to obtain their degrees: Larry – B.S., Tennessee State University; Harriet – B.S., Fisk University, M.S., Florida State University, Ed.D, Temple University; Phillip – B.S., Fisk University; Maria – B.S. & M.S., Florida A&M University.
