1997 Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame Inductee
Category: BASEBALL
Parents: John and Alberta Copeland
Wife: Lena
Daughter: Janis
Sons: Warren, Eli Jr., Charles
Eli grew up on the north side of Flint and attended Flint Public Schools, graduating from Central High School in 1937. He was know for his hitting and seldom struck out. You could always depend on Eli for a clutch hit. He played in 17 games and only struck out twice.
Diz Kirkendall, an outstanding premier pitcher for the Ft. Wayne (Indiana) Zollner Pistons, said Eli was the best hitter in softball.
Eli retired from General Motors Parts Division as a salaried supervisor after 35 years of service.
BASEBALL
1937, 38, 39 Led Yellow Dogs in hitting – 389 average
1940 Class A Championship – Over Muskegon 5 to 4 (Eli triple drove home the winning run)
1943 Buick C.I.O. batting average – 302 Second-team RBI’s – 23
1945 One of first Flint softball players in World Tournament
First Flint Softball Team-M&S Orange World Tour (2nd place)
Majors Regional Champs, Indianapolis, Indiana
1948 Third-team batting – 241 average
Joe Louis Punchers Softball career of over 15 years (M&S Orange, Yellow Dogs, Joe Louis Punchers, James Lumber)
1983 Inducted into the Michigan Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame Petoskey, Michigan.
