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".
Oscar McKinley Charleston was an American center fielder and manager in Negro league baseball. Over his 43-year baseball career, Charleston played or managed with more than a dozen teams, including the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords, Negro league baseball's leading teams in the 1930s. He also played nine winter seasons in Cuba and in numerous exhibition games against white major leaguers. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976.
Dennis Joseph "Dan" Brouthers was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball whose career spanned the period from 1879 to 1896, with a brief return in 1904. Nicknamed "Big Dan" for his size, he was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and weighed 207 pounds (94 kg), which was large by 19th-century standards.
Henry Curtis Thompson was an American player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball who played primarily as a third baseman. A left-handed batter, he played with the Dallas Green Monarchs (1941), Kansas City Monarchs, St. Louis Browns (1947) and New York Giants (1949–56).
The Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Clubs, more commonly known as the Eastern Colored League (ECL), was one of the several Negro leagues, which operated during the time organized baseball was segregated.
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. Wilkinson was the first white 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 Baseball team did. The Monarchs won ten league championships before integration, and triumphed in the first Negro World Series in 1924. The Monarchs had only one season in which they did not have a winning record and produced more major league players than any other Negro league franchise. It was disbanded in 1965.
Ulysses Franklin Grant was an American baseball player in the 19th century. Early in his career, he was a star player in the International League, shortly before race-based restrictions were imposed that banned African-American players from organized baseball. Grant then became a pioneer in the early Negro leagues, starring for several of the top African-American teams of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is widely considered to have been the greatest African-American player of the 19th century. In 2006, Grant was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1922 throughout the world.
The Cuban Giants were the first fully salaried African-American professional baseball club. The team was originally formed in 1885 at the Argyle Hotel, a summer resort in Babylon, New York. Initially an independent barnstorming team, they played games against opponents of all types: major and minor league clubs, semiprofessional teams, even college and amateur squads. They would go on to join various short-lived East Coast leagues, and in 1888 became the "World Colored Champions". Despite their name, no Cubans played on the team. The "Cubes" remained one of the premier Negro league teams for nearly 20 years, and served as a model that future black teams would emulate.
The New York Lincoln Giants were a Negro league baseball team based in New York City from 1911 through 1930.
The Harrisburg Giants were a U.S. professional Negro league baseball team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Thomas P. "Oyster" Burns was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned 15 seasons, 11 of which were spent with the Major League Baseball (MLB) Wilmington Quicksteps (1884), Baltimore Orioles, Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1888–1895), and New York Giants (1895). Burns, who predominately played as an outfielder, also played as a shortstop, second baseman, third baseman, and pitcher. Over his career, Burns compiled a career batting average of .300 with 870 runs scored, 1,392 hits, 224 doubles, 129 triples, 65 home runs, and 834 runs batted in (RBI) in 1,188 games played. Although the majority of his career was spent in the major leagues, Burns also played in minor league baseball. He made his MLB debut at the age of 19 and was listed as standing 5 feet 8 inches (173 cm) and weighing 183 pounds (83 kg).
King Solomon "Sol" White was an American professional baseball infielder, manager and executive, and one of the pioneers of the Negro leagues. An active sportswriter for many years, he wrote the first definitive history of black baseball in 1907. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
The Philadelphia Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1902 to 1911. From 1904 to 1909 they were one of the strongest teams in black baseball, winning five eastern championships in six years. The team was organized by Sol White, Walter Schlichter, and Harry Smith.
William S. Monroe was an American infielder in baseball's Negro leagues. He was also known by the nickname of "Money." During a 19-year career from 1896 to 1914, he played on many of the greatest teams in black baseball. He was a good hitter and slick fielding third base and second baseman who was compared to major league star Jimmy Collins. Monroe played all four infield positions, but spent his prime seasons at third base and second base.
The following is a timeline of franchise evolution in Major League Baseball. The histories of franchises in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NA), Union Association (UA), and American Association (AA) before they joined the National League (NL) are also included. In 1900 the minor league Western League renamed itself the American League (AL). All of the 1899 Western League teams were a part of the transformation with the Saint Paul Apostles moving to Chicago and to play as the White Stockings. In 1901 the AL declared itself a Major League. For its inaugural major league season the AL dropped its teams in Indianapolis, Buffalo and Minneapolis and replaced them with franchises in Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore and the Kansas City Blues moved to Washington to play as the Senators.
George L. Williams was an American baseball infielder who played on and managed predecessor teams to the Negro leagues.
James Bernard Mahady was a professional baseball player who primarily played as a second baseman and pitcher. His career spanned seven seasons, including one in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Giants (1921). However, Mahady's time in the majors was limited to just one game, during which he did not have any plate appearances. The majority of his career was spent in the minor leagues as a pitcher. He batted and threw right-handed. In the minors, he compiled a 69–50 record. During his playing career, Mahady stood at 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg).
The New York Gorhams were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1886 to 1892. During their short existence the Gorhams grew to be one of the most successful black professional clubs in the country and challenged the supremacy of the Cuban Giants.
