Negro league baseball

:Part of the History of baseball in the United States series.

Professional baseball

With the formation of the National Association of Professional Baseball Players in 1871, amateur baseball became a thing of the past. Research shows that the first professional black baseball player may have been William Edward White, who played one game in 1879 for the Providence Grays of the National League. Also accepted as the first black professional player is Bud Fowler who played for Stillwater, Minnesota club of the minor league Northwestern League in 1884. Several African-American players did manage to attain big league status. Among the very first was Moses Fleetwood Walker who played for the Toledo Blue Stockings during their first year in the American Association. Walker lasted until mid-season when an injury gave the team an excuse to release him. Then, in 1886, Frank Grant joined the Buffalo Bisons of the International League, hitting .340, third highest in the league.

Related Topics:
National Association of Professional Baseball Players - William Edward White - 1879 - Providence Grays - National League - Bud Fowler - Stillwater - Minnesota - Minor league - Northwestern League - 1884 - African-American - Moses Fleetwood Walker - Toledo Blue Stockings - American Association - 1886 - Frank Grant - Buffalo Bisons - International League

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first black professional baseball team was formed in 1885 when former waiters and porters from the Argyle Hotel in Babylon, New York were spotted by a white businessman from Trenton, New Jersey, Walter Cook. Cook named the team the Cuban Giants so that he could attract more white fans. Shortly after the Giants formation, the Jacksonville, Florida newspaper, the Leader, assembled the first Negro league, the Southern League of Base Ballists. The Southern League was comprised of ten teams: the Memphis Eclipse, the Georgia Champions of Atlanta, the Savannah Broads, the Memphis Eurekas, the Savannah Lafayettes, the Charleston Fultons, the Jacksonville Athletics, the New Orleans Unions, the Florida Clippers of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Macedonias. The league played its first game on June 7, a game between the Eclipse and the Unions in New Orleans, Louisiana. The league, deep in debt, lasted only one year.

Related Topics:
1885 - Babylon - New York - Trenton - New Jersey - Walter Cook - Cuban Giants - Jacksonville - Florida - Southern League of Base Ballists - Memphis Eclipse - Georgia Champions - Atlanta - Savannah Broads - Memphis Eurekas - Savannah Lafayettes - Charleston Fultons - Jacksonville Athletics - New Orleans Unions - Florida Clippers - Jacksonville Macedonias - June 7 - New Orleans - Louisiana

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The success of the Cubans led to the creation of the second Negro league in 1887 called the National Colored Base Ball League. The league was founded with nine teams: Boston Resolutes; New York Gorham; Philadelphia Pythians; Washington Capital Cities; Pittsburgh Keystones; Norfolk Red Stockings; Cincinnati Crowns; Lord Baltimores and the Louisville Fall Cities. The Giants and the Keystones took first and second place in the first two years, with the Giants crowned as inaugural champions in 1888. Walter S. Brown, a black Baltimore businessman and league president, applied for and was granted official minor league status by the National League. This move "prevented" any other team from signing any of the players from the League, but also locked the players in the league to their teams because of the reserve clause. One month into the season, the Resolutes folded. A week later, there were only three teams left.

Related Topics:
1887 - National Colored Base Ball League - Boston Resolutes - New York Gorham - Philadelphia Pythians - Washington Capital Cities - Pittsburgh Keystones - Norfolk Red Stockings - Cincinnati Crowns - Lord Baltimores - Louisville Fall Cities - 1888 - Walter S. Brown - Baltimore

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It should be noted that, due in no small part to the popularity and success of the original Cuban Giants, many similarly named teams came into existence — including the Genuine Cuban Giants (the renamed Cuban Giants), Royal Giants, the Baltimore Giants and the Cuban X-Giants, the latter a powerhouse in the early 1900s. The "Cuban" teams, with the exception of the New York Cuban Stars and the Havana Giants, were all composed of African-Americans rather than Cubans; but the name was thought to increase their acceptance with white patrons, as Cuba was on very friendly terms with the US during those years.

Related Topics:
Royal Giants - Baltimore Giants - Cuban X-Giants - 1900s - New York Cuban Stars - Havana Giants - Cuba

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The few players left on the white minor league teams were constantly dodging verbal and physical abuse from both competitors and fans. Then Rutherford B. Hayes signed the Compromise of 1877, and all the legal obstacles were removed from the South enacting the Jim Crow laws. 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 who had Walker and George Stovey on its roster. After Anson marched his team onto the field, military style as was his custom, he demanded that the blacks not play. Newark capitulated, and later that same day league owners voted to refuse future contracts to blacks, citing the "hazards" imposed by such athletes. The American Association and National League quickly followed suit.

Related Topics:
Rutherford B. Hayes - Compromise of 1877 - Jim Crow laws - July 14 - 1887 - Cap Anson - Chicago White Stockings - Newark Giants - George Stovey

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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. Despite the animosity between the two clubs, they managed to form a traveling team, the Colored All Americans. This enabled them to make money barnstorming while fulfilling their league obligations. 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.

Related Topics:
1888 - Middle States League - New York Gorhams - Colored All Americans - 1890 - 1892

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~