1948 Homestead Grays season

Last updated
1948  Homestead Grays
League Negro National League (1933–1948)
Ballpark Forbes Field, Griffith Stadium
City Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C.
Record56–24–2 (.695)
League place1st
Managers Vic Harris
  1947 Seasons

The 1948 Homestead Grays baseball team represented the Homestead Grays in the Negro National League (NNL) during the 1948 baseball season. It was their fifteenth and final season played under the league, which disbanded after the season ended. It was the eleventh and final season managed by Vic Harris. The team compiled a 56–24–2 record (44–23–1 against NNL opponents) and finished first in the NNL for the tenth time in franchise history. They then beat the Baltimore Elite Giants in the Championship Series to win their ninth league pennant. They faced the Birmingham Black Barons in the 1948 Negro World Series and won the Series in five games for their third World Series title. The team, losing people such as Harris after 1948 ended, would disband in 1950.

The team played its home games at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh and Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. [1]

The team's key players inclued:

[2]

Other regular players included shortstop Sam Bankhead, second baseman Clarence Bruce, catcher Eudie Napier, and pitchers Bob Thurman, R. T. Walker, and Frank Thompson. [3] [4]

Standings

vs. Negro National Leaguevs. Major Black teams
Negro National League W L T Pct. GB W L T Pct.
(2) Homestead Grays 46242.65358254.690
(1) Baltimore Elite Giants 49292.625153302.635
Newark Eagles 32291.52439343.533
Philadelphia Stars 30332.47712½34353.493
New York Cubans 19291.3981630311.492
New York Black Yankees 9410.1802713480.213

(1) First half champion   (2) Second half champion

References

  1. "1948 Washington Homestead Grays". Seamheads.com. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  2. "1948 Washington Homestead Grays Batting". Seamheads.com. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3
  4. "1948 Homestead Grays Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 19, 2025.