The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African 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.
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 MLB 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.
Wilber Joe 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.
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.
Walter "Dobie" Moore was an American shortstop and right-handed batter in the Negro leagues who played his entire career with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro National League. His career ended after only seven seasons when he shattered his already injured leg while escaping a woman who had shot him.
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 St. Louis Stars,originally the St. Louis Giants,were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently from as early as 1906 to 1919,and then joined the Negro National League (NNL) for the duration of their existence. After the 1921 season,the Giants were sold by African-American promoter Charlie Mills to Dick Kent and Dr. Sam Sheppard,who built a new park and renamed the club the Stars. As the Stars,they eventually built one of the great dynasties in Negro league history,winning three pennants in four years from 1928 to 1931.
The 1924 Colored World Series was a best-of-nine match-up between the Negro National League champion Kansas City Monarchs and the Eastern Colored League champion Hilldale. In a ten-game series,the Monarchs narrowly defeated Hilldale 5 games to 4,with one tie game. It was the first World Series between the respective champions of the NNL and ECL. It was the second year of existence for the ECL,but no agreement could be reached in 1923 for a postseason series,owing primarily to unresolved disputes between the leagues. Five members of the Baseball Hall of Fame participated in the series:Biz Mackey,Judy Johnson,and Louis Santop played for Hilldale,while Bullet Rogan and JoséMéndez played for the Monarchs. In addition,Monarchs owner J. L. Wilkinson was also inducted into the Hall.
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."
Carroll Ray "Dink" Mothell was a catcher and utility player who played for 15 years in the Negro leagues. Known for his versatility,Mothell played every position. It was said you could use him "most any place,any time."
Walter Lee "Newt" Joseph was an American third baseman and manager in Negro league baseball.
Clifford W. Bell was an American pitcher in Negro league baseball. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs,Memphis Red Sox,and Cleveland Cubs from 1921 to 1931.
George Alexander "Sharky" Sweatt was an American second baseman in Negro league baseball. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs and Chicago American Giants from 1922 to 1927.
George Washington "Dibo" Johnson was an American baseball outfielder in the Negro leagues.
The 1925 Colored World Series was the second edition of the championship series in Negro league baseball. The series featured a rematch between the Hilldale Club of Darby,Pennsylvania,champion of the Eastern Colored League (ECL),and the Kansas City Monarchs,champion of the Negro National League (NNL) and winner of the previous year's match in the first Colored World Series. In 1925,Hilldale won the best-of-nine series,five games to one.
The 1926 Colored World Series was the championship tournament for the 1926 season of Negro league baseball. It was the third overall Series played. It matched the Chicago American Giants,champions of the Negro National League (1920–1931),and the Bacharach Giants of Atlantic City,New Jersey,champions of the Eastern Colored League. Initially planned as a best-of-nine series,two ties meant that the series went eleven games. Chicago won just once in the first six games,but games 1 and 4 had ended in ties,meaning that they only trailed three games to one when the Series shifted to Chicago. They were down to their final game after losing the eighth game,but the Chicago American Giants proceeded to win the next three games to complete the comeback and win their first ever World Series.
Sherwood Brewer was a member of the Negro leagues.
