Andrew Rube Foster was born in Calvert, Texas, on September 17, 1879.
The son of Andrew and Sarah Foster, Rube started a baseball tradition that would be followed by his brother Willie Bill Foster.
Rube quit school after the eighth grade, barnstorming with the Waco Yellow Jackets, an independent black team in 1897.
By 1902, Rube’s baseball abilities gave him an opportunity to play with the Chicago (Illinois) Union Giants.
After a short stint with Union Giants, Rube played for the Cuban X-Giants.
In 1903, Rube Foster was the top pitcher in black baseball, and was the pitcher of record as the Cuban X-Giants won the Black World Series.
Rube sometimes played with white semi-pro teams and exhibition games against white players.
Rube established himself as the premier pitcher challenging major league pitchers such as Rube Waddell, Chief Bender, Mordecai Brown, and Cy Young.
Honus Wagner stated that Rube Foster was one of the greatest pitchers of all times and one of the smartest pitchers he had ever seen.