George Sweatt, a Humboldt native born on December 12, 1893, graduated from Humboldt High School in 1912. After military service in World War I, he attended Pittsburg State University from 1920 to 1922, where he earned a teacher's certificate and became the school's first black athlete to receive a letter in football, basketball, and track. In 1922 he began a seven-year professional baseball career in the Negro National League, playing four years with the Kansas City Monarchs and three years with the Chicago American Giants and appearing in the first four Negro World Series. After baseball, he worked for the U.S. Postal Service until retiring in 1957 and remained active in coaching and youth organizations until his death on July 19, 1983.