A native of
Mobile, Alabama, Herman attended
Tuskegee University. While playing and scouting for the
Chattanooga Black Lookouts in 1925, Herman discovered
Satchel Paige, a younger player who had a hometown connection to Herman from Mobile. Herman himself went on to play for the
Memphis Red Sox in 1932. He later became active in
Democratic party politics, eventually being elected to the Mobile County Democratic Committee. This made him the first
African American elected official in the state of Alabama since
Reconstruction. He actively encouraged voter participation among other African Americans. He was also active in the
Knights of Peter Claver, the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the
YMCA, and helped invigorate
Mardi Gras celebrations among Blacks in the area, founding the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association, the oldest Black
Carnival group in the city. He died in Mobile in 1975 at age 76. == Personal life ==