Born in Bellaire, Ohio, White\'s early life is not well-documented. According to the 1870 and 1880 U.S. Census, his family (parents and two oldest siblings) came from Virginia. His father, Saul Solomon White, apparently died when White was very young. White\'s mother, Judith, supported Sol and four siblings with her work as a "washer woman." White "learned to play ball when quite a youngster."\n', '

As a teenager White was a fan of the Bellaire Globes, local amateurs. The journalist Floyd J. Calvin recounts the story of how White got a chance to play for his team. The Globes were playing a team from Marietta, Ohio. "One of the Globes players got his finger smashed and since they all knew Sol, the captain pushed him into the game. Sol always remembered that game for the captain and second baseman of the Marietta team was none other than Ban B. Johnson, in later years president of the American League and a leading sportsman of the West. Sol takes pride in having played against Ban when he was an obscure captain of a hick town club."\n', '

White quickly made a name for himself as a ballplayer. By the time he was 16, he "attracted the attention of managers of independent teams throughout the Ohio Valley and his services were in great demand." Originally a shortstop, White eventually "developed into a great all-round player filling any position from catcher to right field." In 1887 he joined the Pittsburgh Keystones of the National Colored Base Ball League as a left fielder and later second baseman. He was batting .308 when the league folded after a week of play. He then joined the Wheeling (West Virginia) Green Stockings of the Ohio State League and batted .370 with a slugging percentage of .502 as the team\'s third baseman.\n', '

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