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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".
James Thomas "Cool Papa" Bell was an American center fielder in Negro league baseball from 1922 to 1946. He is considered to have been one of the fastest men ever to play the game. Stories demonstrating Bell's speed are still widely circulated. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. He ranked 66th on a list of the greatest baseball players published by The Sporting News in 1999.
Leon Day was an American professional baseball pitcher who spent the majority of his career in the Negro leagues. Recognized as one of the most versatile athletes in the league during his prime,Day could play every position,with the exception of catcher,and often was the starting second baseman or center fielder when he was not on the mound. A right-handed pitcher with a trademark no wind-up delivery,Day excelled at striking batters out,especially with his high-speed fastball. At the same time,he was an above-average contact hitter,which,combined with his effectiveness as a baserunner and his tenacious fielding,helped cement Day as one of the most dynamic players of the era.
Joshua Gibson was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. Baseball historians consider Gibson to be among the very best power hitters and catchers in baseball history. In 1972,he became the second Negro league player to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
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 Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City,Missouri and owned by J. L. Wilkinson,they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1930. J. L. Wilkinson was the first Caucasian owner at the time of the establishment of the team. In 1930,the Monarchs became the first professional baseball team to use a portable lighting system which was transported from game to game in trucks to play games at night,five years before any major league team did. The Monarchs won ten league championships before integration,and triumphed in the first Negro League World Series in 1924. The Monarchs had only one season in which they did not have a winning record. The team produced more major league players than any other Negro league franchise. It was disbanded in 1965.
William Julius "Judy" Johnson was an American professional third baseman and manager whose career in Negro league baseball spanned 17 seasons,from 1921 to 1937. Slight of build,Johnson never developed as a power threat but achieved his greatest success as a contact hitter and an intuitive defenseman. Johnson is regarded as one of the greatest third basemen of the Negro leagues. In 1975,he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame after being nominated by the Negro Leagues Committee.
This list comprises players who have appeared in Negro league baseball.
Ernest Judson Wilson,nicknamed "Boojum",was an American third baseman,first baseman,and manager in Negro league baseball. He played for the Baltimore Black Sox,the Homestead Grays,and the Philadelphia Stars between 1922 and 1945. Wilson was known for possessing a unique physique,a quick temper,and outstanding hitting skills. One of the Negro leagues' most powerful hitters,his career batting average of .351 ranks him among the top five players.
The Birmingham Black Barons were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1920 until 1960. They shared their home field of Rickwood Field in Birmingham,Alabama,with the white Birmingham Barons,usually drawing larger crowds and equal press.
Cumberland “Cum”Willis Posey Jr. was an American baseball player,manager,and team owner in the Negro leagues,as well as a professional basketball player and team owner.
John Preston "Pete" Hill was an American outfielder and manager in baseball's Negro leagues from 1899 to 1925. He played for the Philadelphia Giants,Leland Giants,Chicago American Giants,Detroit Stars,Milwaukee Bears,and Baltimore Black Sox. Hill starred for teams owned by Negro league executive Rube Foster for much of his playing career.
The Philadelphia Stars were a Negro league baseball team from Philadelphia. The Stars were founded in 1933 when Ed Bolden returned to professional black baseball after being idle since early 1930. The Stars were an independent ball club in 1933,a member of the Negro National League from 1934 until the League's collapse following the 1948 season,and affiliated with the Negro American League from 1949 to 1952.
Andrew Lewis Cooper,nicknamed "Lefty",was an American left-handed pitcher in baseball's Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. An alumnus of Paul Quinn College,Cooper played nine seasons for the Detroit Stars and ten seasons for the Kansas City Monarchs,and briefly played for the Chicago American Giants. The Texan was 6 feet 2 inches (188 cm) tall and weighed 220 pounds.
The Hilldale Athletic Club were an American professional Negro league baseball team based in Darby,Pennsylvania,west of Philadelphia.
The Harrisburg Giants were a U.S. professional Negro league baseball team based in Harrisburg,Pennsylvania. Originally formed in April 1890 by Colonel William "C.W." Strothers as an amateur team,they became semi-professional by 1894. They joined the Eastern Colored League (ECL) for the 1924 season with Hall of Fame center fielder Oscar Charleston as playing manager. The Giants became known primarily for their hitting;along with Charleston,outfielder/first baseman Heavy Johnson,winner of the batting triple crown for the 1923 Kansas City Monarchs,was signed away from the rival Negro National League. Speedy outfielder Fats Jenkins,a well-known professional basketball player and member of the New York Rens,also played for Harrisburg throughout its tenure in the ECL.
The Pittsburgh Keystones was the name of two historic professional Negro league baseball teams that operated in 1887 and again in 1921 and 1922. The first team was a member of the first black baseball league in 1887,the League of Colored Baseball Clubs. The league only lasted a week,which resulted in a 3-4 record for the Keystones,and included Weldy Walker,the second African-American to play in the major leagues and future hall of famer,Sol White.
The Philadelphia Pythians was one of the earliest Negro league baseball clubs,founded in 1865. African-American leaders Jacob C. White Jr. and Octavius V. Catto established the team. The Pythians were composed of primarily business and middle class professionals from the surrounding areas of Washington,D.C.,Philadelphia,and New York City. Just two years after the Civil War ended,in 1867,the Pennsylvania State Convention of Baseball,located in Harrisburg,denied the "Pythian Base Ball Club" out of Philadelphia. The team dissolved after Catto's death in 1871 and a new team formed under the Pythian name in the National Colored Base Ball League in 1887. The new team's first season went 4-1. However,due to financial troubles,the team folded after only one season.
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.
William Robert Pope,nicknamed "Wee Willie",was an American Negro league pitcher for the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays between 1946 and 1948.
References
- ↑ Riley, James A. (1994). The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues . New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-0959-6.
