Junius Alexander Bibbs (October 31, 1910 – September 11, 1980), nicknamed "Rainey", was an American infielder in baseball's Negro leagues from about to . Early life Junius Bibbs was born in Henderson, Kentucky to Lloyd Bibbs, a veteran of World War I and first commander of the American Legion Post in Terre Haute, Indiana, and Catherine Carr, whose family had ties to the prominent families of Henderson, including the Powells and the Starlings. Bibbs' early life was spent growing up in an extended household that included his great-grandmother, Lizzie Powell, a former slave who had amassed some property; his grandfather, James Alexander Carr, whose father had died as a Union Army soldier at the end of the Civil War; and his grandmother Maria Carr, the first African-American librarian in Henderson. The Bibbs family, including his sister Eloise, moved to Terre Haute, when he was about 10 years old. While there, Bibbs attended Paul Lawrence Dunbar Elementary school and lettered in track, baseball and football at the former Wiley High School, from which he was graduated in 1927. He was one of the 7.7 percent of the African American population older than age 25 that had a high school diploma in 1940. The Indiana State years Though many African Americans chose to attend historically Black colleges and universities in the South, Bibbs opted to remain in his own community and attend what was then Indiana State Teachers College, now known as Indiana State University. In 1937, Bibbs became one of the 1.3 percent of African Americans who had a four-year college degree by 1940. While earning his BS degree in science and education, Bibbs became a star fullback on the college's football team. Known as "the only race player on Indiana's collegiate gridiron," his absence in an October 1935 game is given as a reason for the team's 12–0 loss against Cape Girardeau. Bibbs was a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Baseball career While attending college, the switch hitter began his baseball career, playing with the Indianapolis ABCs and the Detroit Stars. His 1937 record with the Cincinnati Tigers—reportedly batting .404 that season—led to his selection to the West squad of the All-Star game. Elizabeth Brizentine-Taft also reported in The Indianapolis Recorder that Bibbs at one time played first base for the "Grays," presumably the Homestead Grays. Part way through his season with the Chicago American Giants in 1938,