Gilkerson's Union Giants

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Gilkerson's Union Giants
Information
LeagueIndependent (1919-1935)
Location Spring Valley, Illinois
Established 1919
Disbanded 1935
Ownership Bob Gilkerson

Gilkerson's Union Giants were an independent semi-professional baseball team that barnstormed mainly in the Midwest from 1919 to 1935. Comprised entirely of African American and Cuban players, the team was owned and managed by Robert Gilkerson, a former player and manager in the pre-Negro Leagues era.

Contents

The Union Giants were based in Spring Valley, Illinois but had no home field and did not belong to any league.  Instead, for more than fifteen years, the team traveled across the Northern Plains, Upper Midwest and even into Canada.  In later years the team’s annual tour pushed even farther west, eventually reaching the Pacific Coast.  In total, Gilkerson’s Union Giants played in at least eighteen different states and four Canadian provinces.

A typical season for the Union Giants started in late April with up to two weeks of "spring training" and exhibition games in Illinois before heading west or north. They would often stay on the road until early October, playing more than 120 games a year.  Gilkerson liked to keep his team playing every day, sometimes multiple times a day, even if that meant traveling between games.  Their opponents were mostly white local teams in rural towns and smaller cities.  They also played against other barnstorming clubs such as the House of David team, the Tennessee Rats and the All Nations Club.  Over the years, the Union Giants won multiple semipro tournaments in Iowa, Nebraska and Canada where they faced stronger competition, including teams from the Western League.

The Union Giants earned a reputation for being one of the best traveling teams of the era.  Between 1920 and 1929, Gilkerson’s club won over 1,000 games out of just 1,301 played.   Their best year from this period was 1927 when they won nearly 84% of their contests. [1]

One of the reasons for their success and popularity was the consistent quality of the team.  Gilkerson had a knack for finding talented young players which he often coupled with veterans of the game.   Many stars of the Negro Leagues either started or finished their careers playing for Gilkerson with the most notable being Hall of Famer Cristóbal Torriente.

By the 1930’s Gilkerson had expanded his operation to include a traveling basketball team, also known as Gilkerson’s Union Giants, that barnstormed along some of the same routes as the baseball team. [2]   By the mid 1930’s however, the financial pressures brought on by the Depression and other factors led to the demise of the Union Giants.

Notable players

References

  1. ↑ "The 1920's: A Decade of Winning" . Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  2. ↑ "The Basketball Team" . Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  3. ↑ "The Throwing Arm of Happy Evans" . Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "19310719Oregonian.pdf". Google Docs.
  5. ↑ "Joe Lillard: Under An Assumed Name" . Retrieved January 13, 2026.

Further reading


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