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The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in 1920 that are sometimes termed "Negro Major Leagues".
William Hendrick Foster was an American left-handed pitcher in baseball's Negro leagues in the 1920s and 1930s, and had a career record of 143–69. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996. Foster was the much-younger half-brother of Rube Foster, a Negro league player, pioneer, and fellow Hall of Famer.
The first Negro National League (NNL) was one of the several Negro leagues that were established during the period in the United States when organized baseball was segregated. The league was formed in 1920 with former player Rube Foster as its president.
Norman Thomas "Turkey" Stearnes was an American baseball outfielder in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" Foster, they were charter members of Foster's Negro National League. The American Giants won five pennants in that league, along with another pennant in the 1932 Negro Southern League and a second-half championship in Gus Greenlee's Negro National League in 1934.
The Cincinnati Tigers were a professional Negro league baseball team that was based in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Baltimore Elite Giants were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues from 1920 to 1950. The team was established by Thomas T. Wilson, in Nashville, Tennessee as the semi-pro Nashville Standard Giants on March 26, 1920. The team was renamed the Elite Giants in 1921, and moved to Baltimore, Maryland in 1938, where the team remained for the duration of their existence. The team and its fans pronounced the word "Elite" as "ee-light".
The Hilldale Athletic Club were an American professional Negro league baseball team based in Darby, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia.
The Indianapolis ABCs were a Negro league baseball team that played both as an independent club and as a charter member of the first Negro National League (NNL). They claimed the western championship of black baseball in 1915 and 1916, and finished second in the 1922 NNL. Among their best players were Baseball Hall of Fame members Oscar Charleston, Biz Mackey, and Ben Taylor.
Henry William "Heine" Meine, sometimes "Heinie" Meine, was a professional baseball player. Meine was a right-handed pitcher who played for the St. Louis Browns in 1922 and for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1929 to 1934. He was given the nickname "The Count of Luxemburg" on account of his operating a speakeasy/tavern in the Luxemburg section of St. Louis. He led the National League in wins and innings pitched in 1931 and compiled a 66–50 record in seven seasons of Major League Baseball.
The Negro Southern League (NSL) was one of the several Negro baseball leagues created during the time organized baseball was segregated. The NSL was organized as a minor league in 1920 and lasted until 1936. It was considered a major league for the 1932 season and it was also the only organized league to finish its full schedule that season. Prior to the season, several established teams joined the NSL, mainly from the collapsed Negro National League.
Oscar "Heavy" Johnson (1895–1960) was a baseball player in the Negro leagues. He played catcher and outfielder. Johnson was one of the Negro league's foremost power hitters in the 1920s, reportedly weighing 250 pounds, and known for hitting home runs. Longtime MLB umpire Jocko Conlan once said that Johnson "could hit a ball out of any park."
Cornelius Randall Robinson was a professional baseball player in the Negro leagues. Cornelius was also known by his nicknames Neil, Neal, and Shadow. He primarily played centerfield, but also played short stop, left field, and third base. He played from 1930 to 1952, mostly for the Memphis Red Sox. He also played with the Homestead Grays and Cincinnati Tigers. He was best known as a power hitter. Robinson had several seasons with a batting average greater than .300, and in 1939 and 1940, he won back-to-back Negro American League home run titles.
The Memphis Red Sox were an American Negro league baseball team that was active from 1920 to 1959. Originally named the Barber College Baseball Club, the team was initially owned and operated by Arthur P. Martin, a local Memphis barber. In the late 1920s the Martin brothers, all three Memphis doctors and businessmen, purchased the Red Sox. J. B. Martin, W. S. Martin, and B. B. Martin, would retain control of the club till its dissolution in 1959. The Red Sox played as members, at various times, of the Negro Southern League, Negro National League, and Negro American League. The team was never a titan of the Negro leagues like wealthier teams in northern cities of the United States, but sound management lead to a continuous thirty-nine years of operation, a span that was exceeded by very few other teams. Following integration the team had five players that would eventually make the rosters of Major League Baseball teams and two players that were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Porter Moss was an American Negro league baseball submarine style pitcher who played primarily for the Cincinnati Tigers and the Memphis Red Sox and was a three-time participant in the Negro league All-Star game. While returning to Memphis after a game, Moss was murdered in an altercation at the age of 34.
The Cumberland Colts were a minor league baseball team based in Cumberland, Maryland between 1916 and 1932. The Cumberland Giants of the Pennsylvania-Ohio-Maryland League in 1906 and the 1907 Cumberland Rooters of the Western Pennsylvania League preceded the Colts. The Colts played as members of the 1916 Potomac League, the Blue Ridge League from 1917 to 1918 and Middle Atlantic League from 1925 to 1932. The Colts were a minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees in 1931 and 1932. With the Colts winning league championships in 1918, 1927 and 1931, Cumberland played home games at South End Park and then Community Park.
The Bessemer Stars was the initial nickname of Negro leagues baseball teams based in Bessemer, Alabama in 1921 and 1927. The Bessemer Stars played as members of the 1921 Negro Southern League, while the Bessemer Grey Sox joined the league in 1927.
Nashville, Tennessee, has hosted Minor League Baseball (MiLB) teams since the late 19th century but has never been home to a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. The city's professional baseball history dates back to 1884 with the formation of the Nashville Americans, who were charter members of the original Southern League in 1885 and played their home games at Sulphur Spring Park, later renamed Athletic Park and Sulphur Dell. This ballpark was the home of Nashville's minor league teams through 1963. Of the numerous teams to play there, the best known was the Nashville Vols, who competed from 1901 to 1963, primarily in the Southern Association.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "StackPath" (PDF). www.negrosouthernleaguemuseumresearchcenter.org.
- 1 2 3 The Negro Southern League: A Baseball History, 1920-1951, By William J. Plott (2025) McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-7544-5
- ↑ "1920 Knoxville Giants | The Calendar of The 1920 Knoxville Giants". negroleagues.bravehost.com.
- 1 2 The Negro Southern League: A Baseball History, 1920-1951, By William J. Plott (2015) p, 9. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-7544-5
- 1 2 "StackPath" (PDF). www.negrosouthernleaguemuseumresearchcenter.org.
- 1 2 "Negro Leagues Baseball".