List of minor Negro league baseball teams
This list of minor Negro league baseball teams consists of teams that played in the various minor Negro baseball leagues , as well as the independent teams, teams that played in proto-leagues and teams that played after integration.
In Negro league baseball, organized major league play began in 1920, however informal "proto " leagues arose in the 1880s. Most teams up to about 1920 were able to survive, and even profit, by barnstorming small towns and playing local semi-pro teams. After 1920, most teams found financial security by forming leagues, but it was common for teams each season to play as many games outside of the league's schedule. Generally, leagues in the north were major while leagues in the south were minor.
With the integration of Organized Baseball beginning 1946, Negro leagues lost elite players to white leagues causing former major Negro leagues to slip to minor league status, and historians do not consider any Negro league "major" after 1950. By default, leagues established after integration are considered minor league, as is the one of two 1940s majors that continued after 1950. Also at this time, Negro leagues began to appear in the west .
Below are some of the better-documented leagues:
Proto-leagues
Minor leagues
Below is the list of minor Negro league teams. Teams in bold are considered to have been of major league caliber for at least one season of their existence. Other teams included in this list were either a semi-pro, barnstorming or traveling team and not necessarily a member of a league.
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Team
1st Yr
Last Yr
Affiliation(s)
Notes
Ref
Ansonia Cuban Giants
1891
1891
Connecticut State League
The Ansonia Cuban Giants were an all-black team in an otherwise all-white league
[citation needed ]
District of Columbia
Florida
Team
1st Yr
Last Yr
Affiliation(s)
Notes
Ref
Ethiopian Clowns (See Indianapolis Clowns )
c. 1930s
1942
Independent (c. 1930s –42)
Based in Miami
Also known as Miami Giants c. 1930s
[citation needed ]
Georgia
Team
1st Yr
Last Yr
Affiliation(s)
Notes
Ref
Atlanta Black Crackers (I) club
Atlanta Black Crackers (I) (1919–38)
Indianapolis ABCs (IV) (1939)
1919
1939
Ind.(19,22–25,28,30–31,33–34,37)NSL(I) (20–21,26–27,29,32,35–36)NAL (1938–39)
NSL was a minor league every season except 1932
Disestablished May 1939
[ 17] [ 18]
Atlanta Black Crackers (II)
1943
1949
Independent (1943–44)NSL (II) (1945–47)NAA (1948–49)
[ 17]
Illinois
Indiana
Team
1st Yr
Last Yr
Affiliation(s)
Notes
Ref
Indianapolis ABCs (I)
c. 1913
1926
Independent (1913–19)NNL1 (1920–26)
[ 18]
Indianapolis Clowns club
Miami Giants (c. 1930s )
Ethiopian Clowns (c. 1930s –42)
Cincinnati Clowns (1943)
Indianapolis–Cincinnati Clowns (1944)
Cincinnati Clowns (1945)
Indianapolis Clowns (1946–62)
c. 1930s
1962
Independent (c. 1930s –42)NAL (1943–55) Independent (1956–62)
[citation needed ]
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Team
1st Yr
Last Yr
Affiliation(s)
Notes
Ref
Detroit Stars (I)
1919
1931
Independent (1919)NNL1 (1920–31)
[ 41]
Detroit Stars (IV) club
Detroit Stars (IV) (1954–57)
Detroit Clowns (1958)
Detroit Stars (IV) (1959)
Detroit–New Orleans Stars (1960–61)
1954
1961
NAL (1954–61)
[citation needed ]
Page Fence Giants
1895
1898
Independent (1895–98)
Based in Adrian , Michigan
[ 42]
Minnesota
Missouri
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Team
1st Yr
Last Yr
Affiliation(s)
Notes
Ref
Cincinnati Browns
1887
1887
NCBBL (1887)
Played no league games due to NCBBL folding
Played independent of a league briefly, then folded
[citation needed ]
Cleveland Buckeyes club
Cincinnati-Cleveland Buckeyes (1942)
Cleveland Buckeyes (1943–48)
Louisville Buckeyes (1949)
Cleveland Buckeyes (1950)
1942
1950
NAL (1942–50)
Half of 1942 home schedule in Cincinnati, half in Cleveland
Disbanded mid-season 1950
[ 27]
[ 56]
Dayton Marcos
c. 1910s
c. 1930s
Independent (c. 1910s –19)NNL1 (1920) Independent (1921–25)NNL1 (1926) Independent (1927–c. 30s )
[ 57]
Toledo Rays
1945
1945
USL
[ 58]
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Texas
Washington
Traveling teams
References
^ "Birmingham Black Barons" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-02-12 .
^ Gary Ashwill (ed.). "Birmingham Giants" . Negro leagues database (Seamheads.com) . Gary Ashwill. Retrieved 2013-02-12 .
^ a b c d "Negro league teams" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-02-12 .
^ "Montgomery Grey Sox" . Negro League Baseball Players Association. Retrieved 2013-02-12 .
^ "Montgomery, Alabama Negro League City Encyclopedia" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-02-12 .
^ "Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia | Gurdon Panthers" .
^ "Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia | Hot Springs Arlingtons" . Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia .
^ "Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia | Little Rock Quapaws" . Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia .
^ "1946 Los Angeles White Sox" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-02-12 .
^ "1946 Oakland Larks" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-02-12 .
^ "1946 San Diego Tigers" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-02-12 .
^ "1946 San Francisco Sea Lions" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-02-12 .
^ Riley, James A. (2002). The biographical encyclopedia of the Negro baseball leagues . Carroll & Graf Publishers. p. 764. ISBN 978-0-7867-0959-5 .
^ Heaphy, Leslie A. (2003). The Negro leagues, 1869-1960 . McFarland. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-7864-1380-5 .
^ Melley, Ken. (2018) The Anatony of Baseball Names. Page Publishing, Inc p. 34. ISBN 978-1-64214-379-9
^ a b "Homestead Grays" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-02-16 .
^ a b "Atlanta Black Crackers" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-02-17 .
^ a b "Indianapolis ABCs" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-22 .
^ "Chicago American Giants" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-02-26 .
^ "1945 Chicago Brown Bombers" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-10-18 .
^ "Chicago Columbia Giants" . Negro League Baseball Players Association. Retrieved 2013-03-29 .
^ Gary Ashwill (ed.). "Chicago Giants" . Negro leagues database (Seamheads.com) . Gary Ashwill. Retrieved 2013-02-26 .
^ a b "The Negro League Teams" . Negro League Baseball Players Association. Retrieved 2013-03-22 .
^ "Chicago Union Giants" . Negro League Baseball Players Association. Retrieved 2013-03-29 .
^ "Leland Giants" . Negro League Baseball Players Association. Retrieved 2013-03-29 .
^ Gary Ashwill (ed.). "Kansas City Giants" . Negro leagues database (Seamheads.com) . Gary Ashwill. Retrieved 2013-09-15 .
^ a b "Cleveland Buckeyes" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-23 .
^ "1887 Louisville Falls City" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-10-09 .
^ Gary Ashwill (ed.). "Louisville White Sox" . Negro leagues database (Seamheads.com) . Gary Ashwill. Retrieved 2021-01-08 .
^ a b Worth, Richard (26 February 2013). Baseball Team Names: A Worldwide Dictionary, 1869-2011 . Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company. pp. 200, 201. ISBN 9780786468447 .
^ Holway, John (2001). The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues: The Other Half of Baseball History . Fern Park, Florida: Hastings House Publishers. p. 284. ISBN 0-8038-2007-0 .
^ "New Orleans, Louisiana Teams History" . Retrieved February 6, 2015 .
^ a b c d "Diamonds in the Rough" . May 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2015 .
^ "Negro American League Standings (1937-1962)" (PDF) . Center for Negro League Baseball Research . Retrieved February 1, 2021 .
^ "Baltimore Black Sox" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-26 .
^ a b "Baltimore Elite Giants" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-02-16 .
^ "1887 Baltimore Lord Baltimores" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-10-09 .
^ "1887 Boston Resolutes" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-10-09 .
^ "1906 Quaker Giants" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-10-10 .
^ "1946 Boston Blues" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-10-18 .
^ "Detroit Stars" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-26 .
^ "Page Fence Giants" . Negro League Baseball Players Association. Retrieved 2013-09-14 .
^ Gary Ashwill (ed.). "Twin City Gophers" . Negro leagues database (Seamheads.com) . Gary Ashwill. Retrieved 2013-09-15 .
^ "Kansas City Monarchs" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-26 .
^ "Kansas City Royal Giants Team History - Seamheads Negro Leagues Database" . www.seamheads.com .
^ "St. Louis Stars" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-26 .
^ "Cuban Giants" . Negro League Baseball Players Association. Retrieved 2013-03-29 .
^ "Cuban X-Giants" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-27 .
^ a b "Newark Eagles" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-27 .
^ "Brooklyn Royal Giants" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-27 .
^ "New York Lincoln Giants" . Negro League Baseball Players Association. Retrieved 2013-03-29 .
^ Gary Ashwill (ed.). "New York Lincoln Stars" . Negro leagues database (Seamheads.com) . Gary Ashwill. Retrieved 2013-09-15 .
^ "New York Black Yankees" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-27 .
^ "New York Cubans" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-27 .
^ Gary Ashwill (ed.). "Schenectady Mohawk Giants" . Negro leagues database (Seamheads.com) . Gary Ashwill. Retrieved 2021-01-11 .
^ "1942 Cincinnati/Cleveland Buckeyes" . Baseball.Reference.com . Retrieved 2014-05-29 .
^ "Dayton Marcos" . Negro League Baseball Players Association. Retrieved 2013-03-28 .
^ "United States League (1945-1946)" (PDF) . Center for Negro League Baseball Research. Retrieved 2019-11-17 .
^ Gary Ashwill (ed.). "Oklahoma Monarchs" . Negro leagues database (Seamheads.com) . Gary Ashwill. Retrieved 2021-01-16 .
^ "1946 Portland Rosebuds" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-10-08 .
^ a b Loverro, Thom. The Encyclopedia of Negro League Baseball . New York:Facts on File, Inc., 2003. ISBN 0-8160-4430-9 .
^ "Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Negro League City Encyclopedia" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-10-18 .
^ "Hilldale Daisies" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Archived from the original on 2011-02-18. Retrieved 2013-03-27 .
^ "1887 Philadelphia Pythians" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-10-09 .
^ "Philadelphia Giants" . Negro League Baseball Players Association. Retrieved 2013-03-29 .
^ "1906 Philadelphia Giants" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-10-10 .
^ "Philadelphia Stars" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-27 .
^ "Pittsburgh Crawfords" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2013-03-22 .
^ "1887 Pittsburgh Keystones" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-10-09 .
^ "Chattanooga Black Lookouts" . Negro League Baseball Players Association. Retrieved 2013-03-28 .
^ The Negro Southern League: A Baseball History, 1920-1951, By William J. Plott (2015) p, 9. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-7544-5
^ "Memphis Red Sox" . Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Retrieved 2013-03-27 .
^ "Houston, Texas Negro League City Encyclopedia" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-10-18 .
^ Gary Ashwill (ed.). "San Antonio Black Bronchos" . Negro leagues database (Seamheads.com) . Gary Ashwill. Retrieved 2013-09-22 .
^ "Seattle Steelheads" . Negro League Baseball Players Association. Retrieved 2013-03-28 .
^ "1887 New York Gorhams" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2013-10-09 .
External links
Players Post-season International competitions Teams Leagues
Major leagues Proto-leagues Minor leagues Post-integration
Related