On Thursday night, at Kutztown University, Scott will recall his four years in the Negro Leagues, which began dying in 1947, the year Robinson became the first black major leaguer in the 20th century. In a recent conversation from his home in Elizabeth, N.J., the retired mason covered the bases, discussing everything from facing legendary hitter Buck Leonard to laughing at racism. A splendid storyteller, he insisted he loved the game so much, he would have played for a sandwich.

Q: You've said that you could throw as hard as a mule could kick. So I'm guessing your fastball was your best pitch.

A: If you played in the Negro Leagues, you had to be up there at 90 to 95 [mph]. And you had to have good movement, too. Because if you didn't, they'd hit you right out of the ballpark. Everyone, from the catcher to the pitcher, was a good hitter.

To pitch in that league you had to have really great stuff. And you had to make them get off the plate. They had to be half afraid of you [laughs]. I never let 'em get set in the box, you know. And they'd go: "Man, you betta not be hittin' me!" And I'd go: "I'm not goin' to hit you; get back in there!" And then I'd throw 'em a good slow changeup curveball to cross 'em up [laughs].

Q: Who was the toughest hitter you faced?

A: That really was no problem: Buck Leonard [the hall of fame first baseman]. If he'd had went to the major leagues, he would have broke all kinds of records. He could hit anything. He was around age 45 when I pitched against him. He hit a home run off me in South Carolina, and the ball left the diamond just like an airplane taking off. Man, I don't see nobody hit like that anymore.

Q: In the South you slept on the bus because motels down there were closed to you. Did segregation really bother you? Did you think it was offensive?

A: I was born in Georgia, so being born there I understood [segregation]. It didn't really upset me. But for guys who were born in the North, they really didn't know what to do, how to act -- because they had a little bit more freedom than we had.

I remember one day we were getting off the bus in Mississippi and this white man says: "You better hit some black balls tonight because you ain't hittin' no white balls." And we laughed at him: Don't he know you can't see no black ball at night? [laughs]

You see, we just played and had fun; we never paid no mind [to racism], even when people called you different names. If it bothered you, it would make a bad person out of you, all your life. That's not the way I want to leave this earth; that's not the way I think God would want you to live.

Q: You attended spring training in 1951 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, your closest shot at getting to the majors. What happened?

A: They wanted to farm me out to Grand Forks, N.D., but I didn't go there because I'm a Georgia boy and everybody says it's cold up there and how you gonna play Baseball when it's cold? Playing Baseball in the cold is just about the worst thing there is; that sting never leaves your hand. Of course, I wasn't thinking that the weather gets warm in June [laughs].

I wish I hadda went, you know. I blew it. I went back home to Macon, Ga., and after a few years Sandersville [then a New York Giants farm team in Georgia] called me to play. We [Scott's teammates included Willie McCovey, a hall of fame first baseman] won the championship that year in 1955 and I retired -- on a good note.

You know, I didn't go to the ballpark for 30 some-odd years. I couldn't stand it, so I just stayed away. And then, in 1995, the [ New York ] Yankees invited the Negro League players over to the stadium. [Hall of fame outfielder] Larry Doby was there and he says: "Where did you go, man? I haven't seen you since the [Robinson] All-Stars."

Q: What do you think about major-league clubs holding the first honorary draft of Negro League players like Charley Pride, who played for the Memphis Red Sox before he became a big country singer?

A: I was there for the draft -- in Florida ... Orlando ... June 5. The Mets drafted me; they didn't want the Yankees to get me [laughs]. It was real nice, and it gave us a good goal. We want to get those 30 ballplayers they drafted to go to different cities and talk to these young kids and tell them about the great opportunity of being a Baseball player. It's going to be a wonderful thing and give us a little something to do.

You know, a lot of people don't realize that the Negro Leagues were well organized from 1920 to 1950. We were outdrawing the major leagues. We played at Yankee Stadium in the '40s and we'd have 50,000 people. The Yankees played there and they'd have 20. We were playing a different brand of Baseball, and we had black and white fans.

And the major leagues were looking at the competition and they didn't like it. They didn't just get Jackie because they wanted him; it was a money thing, too. And they could get these guys for nothin'. Hank Aaron: 700 home runs; they got him for $500. Can you imagine paying $500 for Hank Aaron?

They broke our league up, but anyone who played in the Negro Leagues from 1920 til 1950, you get a pension from Major League Baseball. So they tried to do what's right I guess. So I don't feel too bad.

I think about it often: I would have played for just a sandwich. Because we loved the game. And that's what it's all about. Baseball is America's greatest game. When you're talking about Baseball, you're talking about America, guys with a lot of character. We didn't have much money, but, man, we did have a lot of character.

geoff.gehman@mcall.com

610-820-6516

BOB SCOTT TALK

What: Former pitcher, who insists "I could throw harder than a mule could kick," talks about his four years in the Negro Leagues during a program with Lawrence Hogan, co-writer of the book "Shades of Glory: The Negro Leagues and the Story of African-American Baseball."

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

Where: Room 250, McFarland Student Union building, Kutztown University, College Boulevard, Kutztown

Cost: Free

Tip: Ask Scott about playing the infield with Jackie Robinson as part of Robinson's traveling all-star team in 1950

Parking: Metered lot (A-1) on College Boulevard near McFarland building; other campus lots require passes

What else: Exhibit of Negro League artifacts -- including balls signed by hall of famers Ernie Banks and Monte Irvin -- and Elise Dodeles' paintings of Hank Aaron, Cool Papa Bell and other Negro Leaguers, through Dec. 19, Rohrbach Library, Kutztown University

Info: 610-683-4000 (university), 610-683-4018 (McFarland), 610-683-4480 (Rohrbach), www.kutztown.edu