NEW YORK - Details emerged Monday concerning the revelation that an ancestor of the Rev. Al Sharpton was a slave owned by relatives of the late Senator Strom Thurmond. Records show that Sharpton's great-grandfather Coleman Sharpton, a slave owned by Julia Thurmond, was traded to the Yankees in a three way deal that sent an ancestor of Babe Ruth to the Boston Red Sox, thereby setting in motion the events that would lead to the fabled "Curse of the Bambino" some 70 odd years later. Julia Thurmond received an ancestor of the late Richard Petty in the trade, settingthe stage for South Carolina to become the birthplace of NASCAR in the 1850's. Detailed records uncovered after more than 140 years showed that Coleman Sharpton, "bats right, throws right" and "can hit for both power and average." Coleman Sharpton was eventually freed by an ancestor of George Steinbrenner and became a pioneer in the 'bling' industry, marketing flashy post civil war jewelry to freed slaves.
