Wareham Community Comes Together to Honor Joe Campinha
Sunday evening on Spillane Field, the Wareham Gatemen recognized the first Cape Verdean professional baseball catcher, Joe Campinha, for being one of the pioneers who helped break the color barrier in baseball's minor leagues.
"Yes, he was a very important part of that struggle," said Campinha's daughter, Dr. Josepha Campinha-Bacote, President and Founder of Transcultural C.A.R.E. Associates. Insightfully, Campinha-Bacote talked about the inequities of American society, back then and continuing to today. "The struggles are similar," she said.
When asked to describe her dad, she said, "He never missed one day of work. He pushed us all hard and insisted, say if I got an A on my report card, he'd say, 'Next time make that A an A+.'"