The Rev. William “Bill” Greason, a Montford Point Marine, Baptist minister, oldest living Major League Baseball player and last surviving Negro Leaguer, has turned 102.

His long record of military service, athletic achievement, ministry and citizenship reflects a life built around helping others.

Greason grew up in the Depression era Jim Crow South but refused to let prejudice define him. He moved forward with dignity, humility and humor, measuring his legacy with a simple question: Did I help someone?

Born in Atlanta on Sept. 3, 1924, Greason grew up across the street from Martin Luther King Jr. in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood. His father, James, worked as a laborer, while his mother, Lizzie, took in laundry for white families.

Greason once hoped to enter medicine rather than professional sports. “I wanted to become a doctor and played two years of semi-pro football, but the Lord had other ideas for me, and I didn’t argue with him.”

Before his baseball career and decades in the pulpit, Greason joined the Montford Point Marines, the first group of African Americans to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 8802 had opened military service to Blacks, though under segregation.

At Booker T. Washington High School, Greason captained the softball team and participated in boxing, football, baseball, basketball, tennis and wrestling.

He enlisted in Macon, Georgia, at age 17 on May 13, 1943.

Image Credit: DoW

Greason trained at Montford Point, a remote installation in coastal North Carolina where the first Black Marines had cleared land, laid roads, dug latrines and built essential facilities.

More than 20,000 Marines ultimately passed through Montford Point, including 13,000 who served in the Pacific during World War II.

Private Greason deployed with the 66th Supply Platoon, 34th Marine Depot Company, V Amphibious Corps.

His unit reached Iwo Jima several days after the initial invasion and unloaded ammunition and critical supplies under enemy fire.

The battle took two of his closest friends, Hubert “Claro” Duverney and James Wilkins.

Greason disobeyed instructions to keep advancing and carried the wounded Duverney to a medical tent, but Duverney died two days later, while Wilkins also perished and was memorialized with a Purple Heart.

“Two of my best friends were killed on that island. I prayed and said, ‘Lord, if you get me off this island, whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it,’” Greason told MLB.

After Iwo Jima, Greason spent 13 months with the American occupation force in Japan, stationed in Sasebo and Nagasaki. He was discharged on April 1, 1946, then confronted the difficulty of finding decent work in the Jim Crow South despite his military experience and mechanical skills.

Greason asked the Marine reserves for help finding a baseball opportunity.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Anne R. Keene

In a letter received June 3, 1946, he wrote, “I am now unemployed. I would appreciate it very much if you could contact some team, it doesn’t matter where, but I am sure I have what it takes to make any team, and I would like a chance to prove myself, if given the chance.”

The opportunity came quickly for a player who called baseball a “Gift from God.” Greason pitched for the Nashville Black Vols in 1947 and the Birmingham Black Barons from 1948 to 1951, developing a strong fastball and drawing attention from scouts.

His baseball momentum paused when he returned to service during the Korean War and played at Camp Lejeune.

Greason won all but one game for the Lejeune Leathernecks and even defeated a team featuring Brooklyn Dodgers ace and future Hall of Famer Don Newcombe.

After eight years in the Corps, Greason requested release from the reserves because team owners hesitated to sign players who could be recalled.

The Marines released him on July 25, 1952, and three days later he became the first Black player for the Oklahoma City Indians of the Double A Texas League.

Greason reached the majors in 1954 as the St. Louis Cardinals’ first Black pitcher.

On Memorial Day, the 29 year old pitched before 35,000 spectators at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs during the first game of a doubleheader.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Anne R. Keene

He retired from baseball in 1959 after time with Cardinals farm teams and in Puerto Rico with Roberto Clemente.

Greason and his wife, Willie, settled in Birmingham, where he worked for Pizitz Department Store and joined the 16th Street Baptist Church.

The Sept. 15, 1963, church bombing that killed four young girls became a spiritual turning point for Greason, who later earned a doctoral degree in divinity. Whether serving as a Marine, pitcher or minister, he remained committed to the team rather than himself.

In 2012, Greason joined roughly 400 Montford Point Marines in Washington, D.C., to receive the Congressional Gold Medal.

Today, he serves as a Veteran Ambassador for Heart and Armor and remains proud to wear a Marine Corps ballcap bearing the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor.

“I’ve been through a lot of stuff. I know nobody, but God brought me out,” Greason said in 2021. “No matter what happens in the world, nothing is impossible with God.”