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".
Joseph Williams,nicknamed "Cyclone Joe" and "Smokey Joe",was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro league baseball. He is considered one of the greatest pitchers of all-time and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
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.
John Henry Lloyd,nicknamed "Pop" and "El Cuchara",was an American baseball shortstop and manager in the Negro leagues. During his 27-year career,he played for many teams and had a .343 batting average. Lloyd is considered to be the greatest shortstop in Negro league history,and he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
Norman Thomas "Turkey" Stearnes was an American baseball outfielder in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Charles Wilber "Bullet" Rogan,also known as "Bullet Joe",was an American pitcher,outfielder,and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro baseball leagues from 1920 to 1938. Renowned as a two-way player who could both hit and pitch successfully,one statistical compilation shows Rogan winning more games than any other pitcher in Negro leagues history and ranking fourth highest in career batting average. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.
Theodore Roosevelt "Double Duty" Radcliffe was a professional baseball player in the Negro leagues. An accomplished two-way player,he played as a pitcher and a catcher,became a manager,and in his old age became a popular ambassador for the game. He is one of only a handful of professional baseball players who lived past their 100th birthdays,next to Red Hoff and fellow Negro leaguer Silas Simmons.
The East–West All-Star Game was an annual all-star game for Negro league baseball players. The game was the brainchild of Gus Greenlee,owner of the Pittsburgh Crawfords. In 1933 he decided to match the Major League Baseball All-Star Game with Negro league players. Newspaper balloting was set up to allow the fans to choose the starting lineups for that first game,a tradition that continued through the series' end in 1962. Unlike the white All-Star game which is played near the middle of the season,the Negro All-Star game was held toward the end of the season.
Elwood"Bingo" DeMoss was a baseball player and manager in the Negro leagues from 1905 to 1943.
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.
Samuel "Toothpick" Jones was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Cleveland Indians,Chicago Cubs,St. Louis Cardinals,San Francisco Giants,Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles between 1951 and 1964. He batted and threw right-handed.
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.
Lemuel Hawkins was an American first baseman in Negro league baseball. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs,Chicago Giants and Chicago American Giants from 1921 to 1928. He was 5'10" and weighed 185 pounds.
William Lindsay,nicknamed "The Kansas Cyclone" and "Lightning",was a Negro leagues pitcher for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League.
John Thomas "Topeka Jack" Johnson was a Negro leagues second baseman and manager for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League. He was also a professional boxer and trainer,and his nickname may have resulted from the need to distinguish him from the heavyweight champion Jack Johnson.
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.
The Kansas City Giants were a professional Negro leagues baseball team,based in Kansas City,Kansas from 1909 to 1911. The Kansas City Giants teams played as a member of the Western Independent Clubs. The Kansas City Giants played home games at Riverside Park.
