The first known baseball game between two black teams was held on November 15, 1859, in New York City.
Comprising mainly ex-soldiers and promoted by some well-known black officers, teams such as the Jamaica Monitor Club, Albany Bachelors, Philadelphia Excelsiors and Chicago Uniques started playing each other and any other team that would play against them. By the end of the 1860s, the black baseball mecca was Philadelphia, which had an African-American population of 22,000.
The Henson Base Ball Club of Jamaica, Queens, defeated the Unknowns of Weeksville, Brooklyn, 54 to 43. Immediately after the end of the American Civil War in 1865 and during the Reconstruction period that followed, a black baseball scene formed in the East and Mid-Atlantic states.
At the end of the 1867 season, "the National Association of Baseball Players voted to exclude any club with a black player." In some ways Blackball thrived under segregation, with the few black teams of the day playing not only each other but white teams as well.
"Black teams earned the bulk of their income playing white independent 'semipro' clubs." ===Professional baseball=== Baseball featuring African American players became professionalized by the 1870s.
Then the Compromise of 1877 removed the remaining obstacles from the South's enacting the Jim Crow laws.
The first known professional black baseball player was Bud Fowler, who appeared in a handful of games with a Chelsea, Massachusetts club in April 1878 and then pitched for the Lynn, Massachusetts team in the International Association. Moses Fleetwood Walker and his brother, Welday Wilberforce Walker, were the first two black players in the major leagues.
By about 1970, the term "Negro" had fallen into disfavor, but by then the Negro leagues were mere historic artifacts. ==History of the Negro leagues== ===Amateur era=== Because black people were not being accepted into the major and minor baseball leagues due to racism in the United States, they formed their own teams and had made professional teams by the 1880s.
They both played for the 1884 Toledo Blue Stockings in the American Association.
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". In 1885, the Cuban Giants formed the first black professional baseball team.
Then in 1886 second baseman Frank Grant joined the Buffalo Bisons of the International League, the strongest minor league, and hit .340, third highest in the league.
Two leagues can be considered the prototypes for Negro league baseball: Southern League of Colored Base Ballists, 1886 National Colored Baseball League, 1887 Eventually, some teams were able to survive and even profit by barnstorming small towns and playing local semi-pro teams as well as league games.
The first league, the National Colored Base Ball League, was organized strictly as a minor league but failed in 1887 after only two weeks owing to low attendance.
To make matters worse, on July 14, 1887, Cap Anson's Chicago White Stockings were scheduled to play the Newark Giants of the International League, which had Fleet Walker and George Stovey on its roster.
Two leagues can be considered the prototypes for Negro league baseball: Southern League of Colored Base Ballists, 1886 National Colored Baseball League, 1887 Eventually, some teams were able to survive and even profit by barnstorming small towns and playing local semi-pro teams as well as league games.
Newark capitulated, and later that same day, league owners voted to refuse future contracts to blacks, citing the "hazards" imposed by such athletes. In 1888, the Middle States League was formed and it admitted two all-black teams to its otherwise all-white league, the Cuban Giants and their arch-rivals, the New York Gorhams.
In 1890, the Giants returned to their independent, barnstorming identity, and by 1892, they were the only black team in the East still in operation on a full-time basis. ===Frank Leland=== Also in 1888, Frank Leland got some of Chicago's black businessmen to sponsor the black amateur Union Base Ball Club.
In 1890, the Giants returned to their independent, barnstorming identity, and by 1892, they were the only black team in the East still in operation on a full-time basis. ===Frank Leland=== Also in 1888, Frank Leland got some of Chicago's black businessmen to sponsor the black amateur Union Base Ball Club.
In 1890, the Giants returned to their independent, barnstorming identity, and by 1892, they were the only black team in the East still in operation on a full-time basis. ===Frank Leland=== Also in 1888, Frank Leland got some of Chicago's black businessmen to sponsor the black amateur Union Base Ball Club.
Their success became the prototype for black baseball for years to come. After the 1898 season, the Page Fence Giants were forced to fold because of finances.
Beginning in 1899 several Cuban baseball teams played in North America, including the All Cubans, the Cuban Stars (West), the Cuban Stars (East), and the New York Cubans.
A week later, only three teams were left. Because the original Cuban Giants were a popular and business success, many similarly named teams came into existence—including the Cuban X-Giants, a splinter and a powerhouse around 1900; the Genuine Cuban Giants, the renamed Cuban Giants, the Columbia Giants, the Brooklyn Royal Giants, and so on.
In 1901 the Giants folded because of a lack of a place to play.
Leland bought the Giants in 1905 and merged it with his Unions (despite the fact that not a single Giant player ended up on the roster), and named them the Leland Giants. ===Rube Foster=== The Philadelphia Giants, owned by Walter Schlichter, a white businessman, rose to prominence in 1903 when they lost to the Cuban X-Giants in their version of the "Colored Championship".
The following season, Schlichter, in the finest blackball tradition, hired Foster away from the Cubans and beat them in their 1904 rematch.
Leland bought the Giants in 1905 and merged it with his Unions (despite the fact that not a single Giant player ended up on the roster), and named them the Leland Giants. ===Rube Foster=== The Philadelphia Giants, owned by Walter Schlichter, a white businessman, rose to prominence in 1903 when they lost to the Cuban X-Giants in their version of the "Colored Championship".
Philadelphia remained on top of the blackball world until Foster left the team in 1907 to play and manage the Leland Giants (Frank Leland renamed his Chicago Union Giants the Leland Giants in 1905). Around the same time, Nat Strong, a white businessman, started using his ownership of baseball fields in the New York City area to become the leading promoter of blackball on the East coast.
Two important leagues of this era are: International League of Independent Professional Base Ball Clubs, 1906. National Association of Colored Baseball Clubs of the United States and Cuba, 1907–1909. Early Negro leagues were unable to attract and retain top talent due to financial, logistical and contractual difficulties.
Philadelphia remained on top of the blackball world until Foster left the team in 1907 to play and manage the Leland Giants (Frank Leland renamed his Chicago Union Giants the Leland Giants in 1905). Around the same time, Nat Strong, a white businessman, started using his ownership of baseball fields in the New York City area to become the leading promoter of blackball on the East coast.
Two important leagues of this era are: International League of Independent Professional Base Ball Clubs, 1906. National Association of Colored Baseball Clubs of the United States and Cuba, 1907–1909. Early Negro leagues were unable to attract and retain top talent due to financial, logistical and contractual difficulties.
Foster also was able to turn around the business end of the team as well, by demanding and getting 40 percent of the gate instead of the 10 percent that Frank Leland was getting. By the end of the 1909, Foster demanded that Leland step back from all baseball operations or he (Foster) would leave.
Leland took the players and started a new team named the Chicago Giants, while Foster took the Leland Giants and started to encroach on Nat Strong's territory. As early as 1910, Foster started talking about reviving the concept of an all-black league.
After 1910, Foster renamed his team the Chicago American Giants to appeal to a larger fan base.
The All Nations team would eventually become one of the best-known and popular teams of the Negro leagues, the Kansas City Monarchs. On April 6, 1917, the United States entered World War I.
By the end of the war in 1919, Foster was again ready to start a Negro baseball league. On February 13 and 14, 1920, talks were held in Kansas City, Missouri that established the Negro National League and its governing body the National Association of Colored Professional Base Ball Clubs.
But, because of the Chicago Race Riot of 1919, the National Guard still occupied the Giants' home field, Schorling's Park (formerly South Side Park).
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". In 1885, the Cuban Giants formed the first black professional baseball team.
The last professional club, the Indianapolis Clowns, operated as a humorous sideshow rather than competitively from the mid-1960s to the 1980s. In December 2020, Major League Baseball announced that it was classifying the seven "Negro Major Leagues" as major leagues, recognizing statistics and approximately 3,400 players who played from 1920 to 1948. == Etymology == During the formative years of black baseball, the term "colored" was the accepted usage when referring to African-Americans.
By the end of the war in 1919, Foster was again ready to start a Negro baseball league. On February 13 and 14, 1920, talks were held in Kansas City, Missouri that established the Negro National League and its governing body the National Association of Colored Professional Base Ball Clubs.
Foster, as booking agent of the league, took a five percent cut of all gate receipts. ===Golden age=== On May 2, 1920, the Indianapolis ABCs beat Charles "Joe" Green's Chicago Giants (4–2) in the first game played in the inaugural season of the Negro National League, played at Washington Park in Indianapolis.
On March 2, 1920 the Negro Southern League was founded in Atlanta, Georgia.
None materialized prior to 1920 and by 1950, due to integration, they were in decline.
commemorative postage stamps, to honor the all-black professional baseball leagues that operated from 1920 to about 1960.
In 1921, the Negro Southern League joined Foster's National Association of Colored Professional Base Ball Clubs.
The National League was having trouble maintaining continuity among its franchises: three teams folded and had to be replaced after the 1921 season, two others after the 1922 season, and two more after the 1923 season.
Within days of calling a truce with Strong, Bolden made an about-face and signed up as an associate member of Foster's Negro National League. On December 16, 1922, Bolden once again shifted sides and, with Strong, formed the Eastern Colored League as an alternative to Foster's Negro National League, which started with six teams: Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, Baltimore Black Sox, Brooklyn Royal Giants, New York Cuban Stars, Hilldale, and New York Lincoln Giants.
The National League was having trouble maintaining continuity among its franchises: three teams folded and had to be replaced after the 1921 season, two others after the 1922 season, and two more after the 1923 season.
The National League was having trouble maintaining continuity among its franchises: three teams folded and had to be replaced after the 1921 season, two others after the 1922 season, and two more after the 1923 season.
The black World Series was referred to as the Colored World Series from 1924 to 1927, and the Negro World Series from 1942 to 1948. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People petitioned the public to recognize a capital "N" in negro as a matter of respect for black people.
Finally Foster and Bolden met and agreed to an annual World Series beginning in 1924. 1925 saw the St.
A gas leak in his home nearly asphyxiated Rube Foster in 1926, and his increasingly erratic behavior led to him being committed to an asylum a year later.
The black World Series was referred to as the Colored World Series from 1924 to 1927, and the Negro World Series from 1942 to 1948. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People petitioned the public to recognize a capital "N" in negro as a matter of respect for black people.
In 1927, Ed Bolden suffered a similar fate as Foster, by committing himself to a hospital because the pressure was too great.
The Eastern League folded shortly after that, marking the end of the World Series between the NNL and the ECL. After the Eastern League folded following the 1927 season, a new eastern league, the American Negro League, was formed to replace it.
References to black baseball prior to the 1930s are usually to "colored" leagues or teams, such as the Southern League of Colored Base Ballists (1886), the National Colored Base Ball League (1887) and the Eastern Colored League (1923), among others.
By 1930, essentially every major US outlet had adopted "Negro" as the accepted term for blacks.
In the face of harder economic times, the Negro National League folded after the 1931 season.
On August 6, 1931, Satchel Paige made his first appearance as a Crawford.
Some of its teams joined the only Negro league then left, the Negro Southern League. On March 26, 1932 the Chicago Defender announced the end of Negro National League. ===Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Gus Greenlee=== Just as Negro league baseball seemed to be at its lowest point and was about to fade into history, along came Cumberland Posey and his Homestead Grays.
Williams got together in January 1932 and founded the East-West League.
By May 1932, the Detroit Wolves were about to collapse, and instead of letting the team go, Posey kept pumping money into it.
On opening day, April 30, 1932, the pitcher-catcher battery was made up of the two most marketable icons in all of black baseball: Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. In 1933, Greenlee, riding the popularity of his Crawfords, became the next man to start a Negro league.
The name of the new league was the same as the old league Negro National League which had disbanded a year earlier in 1932.
On opening day, April 30, 1932, the pitcher-catcher battery was made up of the two most marketable icons in all of black baseball: Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. In 1933, Greenlee, riding the popularity of his Crawfords, became the next man to start a Negro league.
In February 1933, Greenlee and delegates from six other teams met at Greenlee's Crawford Grill to ratify the constitution of the National Organization of Professional Baseball Clubs.
The first game, known as the East-West All-Star Game, was held September 10, 1933, at Comiskey Park in Chicago before a crowd of 20,000. ===World War II=== With the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States was thrust into World War II.
The first game, known as the East-West All-Star Game, was held September 10, 1933, at Comiskey Park in Chicago before a crowd of 20,000. ===World War II=== With the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States was thrust into World War II.
The black World Series was referred to as the Colored World Series from 1924 to 1927, and the Negro World Series from 1942 to 1948. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People petitioned the public to recognize a capital "N" in negro as a matter of respect for black people.
The Negro World Series was revived in 1942, this time pitting the winners of the eastern Negro National League and midwestern Negro American League.
Cox. After Landis' death in 1944, Happy Chandler was named his successor.
He later said in his biography that he could not, in good conscience, tell black players they couldn't play baseball with whites when they'd fought for their country. In March 1945, the white majors created the Major League Committee on Baseball Integration.
His list was eventually narrowed down to three: Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe and Jackie Robinson. On August 28, 1945, Jackie Robinson met with Rickey in Brooklyn, where Rickey gave Robinson a "test" by berating him and shouting racial epithets that Robinson would hear from day one in the white game.
Greenlee started the league in 1945 as a way to get back at the owners of the Negro National League teams for throwing him out.
In midsummer 1945, Rickey, almost ready with his Robinson plan, pulled out of the league.
The league folded after the end of the 1946 season. Pressured by civil rights groups, the Fair Employment Practices Act was passed by the New York State Legislature in 1945.
On October 23, 1945, Montreal Royals president Hector Racine announced that, "We are signing this boy." Early in 1946, Rickey signed four more black players, Campanella, Newcombe, John Wright and Roy Partlow, this time with much less fanfare.
It continued through 1948 with the NNL winning four championships and the NAL three. In 1946, Saperstein partnered with Jesse Owens to form another Negro league, the West Coast Baseball Association (WCBA); Saperstein was league president and Owens was vice-president and the owner of the league's Portland (Oregon) Rosebuds franchise.
The league folded after the end of the 1946 season. Pressured by civil rights groups, the Fair Employment Practices Act was passed by the New York State Legislature in 1945.
On October 23, 1945, Montreal Royals president Hector Racine announced that, "We are signing this boy." Early in 1946, Rickey signed four more black players, Campanella, Newcombe, John Wright and Roy Partlow, this time with much less fanfare.
By 1948, the Dodgers, along with Veeck's Cleveland Indians had integrated. The Negro leagues also "integrated" around the same time, as Eddie Klep became the first white man to play for the Cleveland Buckeyes during the 1946 season. These moves came despite strong opposition from the owners; Rickey was the only one of the 16 owners to support integrating the sport in January 1947.
With the integration of Organized Baseball, beginning 1946, all leagues simply lost elite players to white leagues, and historians do not consider any Negro league "major" after 1950. A number of leagues from the major-league era (post-1900) are recognized as Negro minor leagues.
After the integration of the major leagues in 1947, marked by the appearance of Jackie Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers that April, interest in Negro league baseball waned.
By 1948, the Dodgers, along with Veeck's Cleveland Indians had integrated. The Negro leagues also "integrated" around the same time, as Eddie Klep became the first white man to play for the Cleveland Buckeyes during the 1946 season. These moves came despite strong opposition from the owners; Rickey was the only one of the 16 owners to support integrating the sport in January 1947.
The last professional club, the Indianapolis Clowns, operated as a humorous sideshow rather than competitively from the mid-1960s to the 1980s. In December 2020, Major League Baseball announced that it was classifying the seven "Negro Major Leagues" as major leagues, recognizing statistics and approximately 3,400 players who played from 1920 to 1948. == Etymology == During the formative years of black baseball, the term "colored" was the accepted usage when referring to African-Americans.
The black World Series was referred to as the Colored World Series from 1924 to 1927, and the Negro World Series from 1942 to 1948. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People petitioned the public to recognize a capital "N" in negro as a matter of respect for black people.
It continued through 1948 with the NNL winning four championships and the NAL three. In 1946, Saperstein partnered with Jesse Owens to form another Negro league, the West Coast Baseball Association (WCBA); Saperstein was league president and Owens was vice-president and the owner of the league's Portland (Oregon) Rosebuds franchise.
By 1948, the Dodgers, along with Veeck's Cleveland Indians had integrated. The Negro leagues also "integrated" around the same time, as Eddie Klep became the first white man to play for the Cleveland Buckeyes during the 1946 season. These moves came despite strong opposition from the owners; Rickey was the only one of the 16 owners to support integrating the sport in January 1947.
Most signed minor league contracts and many languished, shuttled from one bush league team to another despite their success at that level. The Negro National League folded after the 1948 season when the Grays withdrew to resume barnstorming, the Eagles moved to Houston, Texas, and the New York Black Yankees folded.
So the Negro American League was the only "major" Negro league operating in 1949.
None materialized prior to 1920 and by 1950, due to integration, they were in decline.
With the integration of Organized Baseball, beginning 1946, all leagues simply lost elite players to white leagues, and historians do not consider any Negro league "major" after 1950. A number of leagues from the major-league era (post-1900) are recognized as Negro minor leagues.
After integration, the quality of the Negro leagues slowly deteriorated and the Negro American League of 1951 is generally considered the last major league season.
Chandler's decision to overrule them may have been a factor in his ouster in 1951 in favor of Ford Frick. ===End of the Negro leagues=== Some proposals were floated to bring the Negro leagues into "organized baseball" as developmental leagues for black players, but that was recognized as contrary to the goal of full integration.
Memoir of a longtime Negro League player and manager, who played briefly as a 39-year-old rookie for the Cleveland Indians in 1952.
Within two years it had been reduced to minor league caliber and it played its last game in 1958. The last All-Star game was held in 1962, and by 1966 the Indianapolis Clowns were the last Negro league team still playing.
commemorative postage stamps, to honor the all-black professional baseball leagues that operated from 1920 to about 1960.
Within two years it had been reduced to minor league caliber and it played its last game in 1958. The last All-Star game was held in 1962, and by 1966 the Indianapolis Clowns were the last Negro league team still playing.
Within two years it had been reduced to minor league caliber and it played its last game in 1958. The last All-Star game was held in 1962, and by 1966 the Indianapolis Clowns were the last Negro league team still playing.
By about 1970, the term "Negro" had fallen into disfavor, but by then the Negro leagues were mere historic artifacts. ==History of the Negro leagues== ===Amateur era=== Because black people were not being accepted into the major and minor baseball leagues due to racism in the United States, they formed their own teams and had made professional teams by the 1880s.
After the publication of Robert Peterson's landmark book Only the Ball was White in 1970, the Hall of Fame found itself under renewed pressure to find a way to honor Negro league players who would have been in the Hall had they not been barred from the major leagues due to the color of their skin. At first, the Hall of Fame planned a "separate but equal" display, which would be similar to the Ford C.
The Hall relented and agreed to admit Negro league players on an equal basis with their Major League counterparts in 1971.
A special Negro league committee selected Satchel Paige in 1971, followed by (in alphabetical order) Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Martín Dihigo, Josh Gibson, Monte Irvin, Judy Johnson, Buck Leonard and John Henry Lloyd.
The first white player with the Indianapolis Clowns tells of his 1973 season of barnstorming.
Privately published, 1977; reprinted 1995.
The last professional club, the Indianapolis Clowns, operated as a humorous sideshow rather than competitively from the mid-1960s to the 1980s. In December 2020, Major League Baseball announced that it was classifying the seven "Negro Major Leagues" as major leagues, recognizing statistics and approximately 3,400 players who played from 1920 to 1948. == Etymology == During the formative years of black baseball, the term "colored" was the accepted usage when referring to African-Americans.
The Clowns continued to play exhibition games into the 1980s, but as a humorous sideshow rather than a competitive sport. == Negro major leagues == While organized leagues were common in black baseball, there were only seven leagues that are considered to be of the top quality of play at the time of their existence.
Except for Doby, their play in the Negro leagues was a minor factor in their selection: Aaron, Banks, and Mays played in Negro leagues only briefly and after the leagues had declined with the migration of many black players to the integrated minor leagues; Campanella (1969) and Robinson (1962) were selected before the Hall began considering performance in the Negro leagues. From 1995 to 2001, the Hall made a renewed effort to honor luminaries from the Negro leagues, one each year.
Privately published, 1977; reprinted 1995.
Except for Doby, their play in the Negro leagues was a minor factor in their selection: Aaron, Banks, and Mays played in Negro leagues only briefly and after the leagues had declined with the migration of many black players to the integrated minor leagues; Campanella (1969) and Robinson (1962) were selected before the Hall began considering performance in the Negro leagues. From 1995 to 2001, the Hall made a renewed effort to honor luminaries from the Negro leagues, one each year.
The list of 39 had been pared from a roster of 94 candidates by a five-member screening committee in November, 2005.
Also drafted, by the New York Yankees, was Emilio Navarro, who, at 102 years of age at the time of the draft, was believed to be the oldest living professional ballplayer. ==Museum== The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is located in the 18th and Vine District in Kansas City, Missouri. ===Postage stamp recognition=== On July 17, 2010, the U.S.
Louis Negro League Ballplayers For Negro Leagues Players, A Final Recognition, The New York Times, 30 June 2010 Black Diamonds: An Oral History of the Negro Leagues (six audio programs) History of baseball in the United States Defunct baseball leagues African-American cultural history African-American sports history
The last professional club, the Indianapolis Clowns, operated as a humorous sideshow rather than competitively from the mid-1960s to the 1980s. In December 2020, Major League Baseball announced that it was classifying the seven "Negro Major Leagues" as major leagues, recognizing statistics and approximately 3,400 players who played from 1920 to 1948. == Etymology == During the formative years of black baseball, the term "colored" was the accepted usage when referring to African-Americans.
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