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James Plunkett
Born in Danville, Virginia, James Plunkett (c. 1896-1986) spent much his early life moving from job to job as tobacco farmer, bricklayer, railroad worker, and bartender. Over the course of three interviews conducted in 1983 and 1984, Plunkett recounted his childhood in Virginia, his move north at age 20, and the “sporting life” that he enjoyed once in Philadelphia, going to speakeasies, drinking bootleg liquor, chasing women, and playing the “numbers racket.”