James Stephen Zapp (April 18, 1924 – September 30, 2016), nicknamed “Zipper”, was an American baseball outfielder who played baseball in the Negro leagues and minor leagues from 1945 to 1955. Spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Elite Giants, Zapp is described as an above-average power and contact hitter. When Zapp began playing in integrated baseball with the Paris Lakers of the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League, he broke the league’s RBI record total for a single-season, which still stands today. He died September 30, 2016, from complications Alzheimer’s Disease. Just prior to his death, he was still actively umpiring high school baseball games.
