Transcript Negro Baseball in America

Negro Baseball
in America
From 1884-1888
Major League Baseball was
Integrated
First African Americans to appear in
a major league box score( 1880s):
(A) Moses “Fleetwood” Walker
( catcher)
(B) Brother Welday (Wilberforce
College) Walker (Outfielder)
They played for the Toledo Team
of the American Association
(1884)
(Batted 5th)
Note: In 1884, three Major
Leagues- National, American
Association, and Union Association.
The Walker Brothers had to quit the
team - result of mob violence in
Richmond, Louisville (Spectators
hissed him).
(C) 1888 - Syracuse stars had two
Negroes: Bud Fowler and Higgins
(first name unknown).
April 14, 1889, a member of the
Buffalo Bisons, “The feeling is pretty
general among professional
ballplayers that colored men should
not play with white men.”
Sporting Life, Dec. 30, 1885
• Fowler, the crack colored second baseman, is
still in Denver, Colo., disengaged. The poor
fellow’s skin is against him. With his splendid
abilities he would long ago been on some
good club had his color been white instead of
black.
1897: Prof. Negro League Baseball
In Texas: Bud fowler
1888-1946
‘Gentleman’s Agreement’
1900 Five Black Professional Teams
(A) The Cuban Giants
(B) The Cuban X Giants of New
York
(C) The Red Stockings of Norfolk
(D) The Columbia Giants of
Chicago
Barnstorming Baseball
1909:St. Paul
Goperds
1920 - Rube Foster - Founder of the
Negro National League
NNL: We Are The Ship All Else The Seas
1920’s
Wave of black nationalism,
Harlem Renaissance - Writing;
black art; dance bands; Louis
Armstrong; Duke Ellington;
Poems, “The Lynching,” “If We
Must Die,” work of Langston
Hughes
Rube Foster is considered to be the
founder of the Negro National
League in 1920
(February 13-14, 1920, Colored
YMCA, Kansas City).
Rube Foster
• Born: Texas,1879
• Quit school: 8th grade to
play baseball
• Age 17: pitched for the
Forth Worth Yellow
Jackets
• Age 21-23: Pitched for
Phil. Athletics, Cuban
Giants, Cuban X Giants
• 1910: Foster’s teamAmerican Giants travels
(Jack Johnson)
Clubs In:
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Kansas City (Monarchs)
Indianapolis (ABC’s)
The Cuban All-Stars (Mohave City)
Chicago (both American Giants and plain
Giants)
• Detroit and St. Louis (Giants in both cities)
The Eastern Colored League appeared
three years later with outfits in:
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New York (Lincoln Giants)
Atlantic City (Bacharachs)
Baltimore (Black Sox)
Philadelphia (Hillsdale) and
Brooklyn (Royals)
After the Negro American League
emerged: along with a facsimile of
the all white World Series. (Eastern
and National Leagues:1924)
Foster died December 9, 1930.
Negro League World series ( 1924
to 1927 and 1942 to 1948)
• 1924: KC Monarchs NNL 5 -4 Hilldale ECL
• 1925: Hillsdale 5 -1 KC Monarchs
• 1926: Chicago American Giants NNL 5-3
Bacharach Giants ECL
• 1927: Chicago Giants 5-3 Bacharach ECL
• Negro American League vs Negro National
League
• 1942: KC Monarchs NAL 4-0 Homestead Grays
• 1942: Grays NNL 4-3 Birmingham Black Barons
Life in the Negro Leagues
was hard
• Teams would play three
games a day
• Earn $400-500 a month
• Jackie Robinson’s Yearly
Salary: $5,000
• Rube Foster Declared: “Ball
players have had no respect for
their word, contracts, or moral
obligations. Yet they are not
nearly as much to blame as the
different owners of clubs.”
• Lack of trusted umpires
Black Baseball Umpires
• Attendance was good - 1,650
per game
• Costs: Train Fares, baseballs
$23 per dozen
Walter “Buck Leaonard
(Lou Gehrig) remembered:
“We’d play a semi-pro team in Rockville,
Maryland in the afternoon and a league
game in Griffith Stadium that night.”
40 - 50,000 fans would pack Comisky
Park.
In 1934, Leonard received 60 cents
per day and meal money (during the
depression). There were no trainers,
stayed at YMCA, the fields were often
cow pattie or high school fields.
The Negro League pioneered night
ball - the Kansas City Monarchs
played the first contest under lights
in 1930. Illumination was portable,
travelling poles, banks of lights
powered by a truck borne generator
parked in center field.
One of the weaknesses of the
Negro League was that it did
not have a farm system.
1933 - East-West All Star Negro
Competition:
The game was played between
teams of players who received most
votes in polls conducted by Chicago
Defender and Pittsburgh Courier the West won 11-7
20,000 people in attendance.
Games played at Comisky Park,
Chicago. In 1942 East-West Game
had 48,400 fans. The game
outdrew the White All-Star Game.
Josh Gibson and Ted Radcliffe: 1944
East- West All-Star Game
Early
Baseball Players
Cool Papa Bell
27 years in the League
(.480 over a 200 game year 175 stolen bases in 1933)
Satchel Page
Pitched in more than 2,500 games
Won about 2,000
Pitched for about 250 teams
Best Strikeout Mark - 22
Pitched 153 games in a single year
Oldest Rookie in Major League
History: Cleveland,1947
Role of the Press
By 1939 - The Black and White
Press began to recognize the
talent of the Negro Players
April 7, 1939 - The Washington Post
wrote: There’s a couple of million
dollars worth of baseball talent on the
loose, ready for the big leagues, yet
unsigned by any major clubs. Only
one theory is keeping them out of the
big leagues--pigment.
1901 to 1961: Baseball in the SouthSouthern Association Baseball Minor
Leagues
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Atlanta Crackers
New Orleans Pelicans
Mobile Bears
Chattanooga Lookouts
Memphis Chickasaws
• Little Rock Travelers
• Birmingham Barons
• Nashville Volunteers
All teams were independently owned.
Half of the teams were owned by major
league teams and the other half had farm
club status.
Teams were of the AA Classification. The
Southern Association remanded all white
with only one black man playing in only
one game.
Atlanta Black Crackers was formed.
House of David (Often traveled with
Kansas City Monarchs)
Southern Negro League (SNL) March,
1920
Chattanooga Black Lookouts,
New Orleans Black Pelicans, Birmingham
Black Barons,
Atlanta Black Crackers,
Nashville Elite (EE-Lite) Giants
Novelty and Clowning
in Negro Baseball
(Bill Veech, where are you?)
(A) Zulu Cannibal Giants
(B) Ethiopian Clowns - formed in
Miami in 1927 after the Stock
Market Crash
Grass Skirts, Clown Activities
•Baseball as an entertainment
Industry
•Were these novelty teams a
legitimate part of Negro
Baseball History?
•Problem - These teams perpetuated
racial stereotypes, i.e., Black
minstrelsy of the 90’s. (Blacks
laughing at self!)
1920’s - 1930’s
“Black face” performers
became popular in the
vaudeville routines of white
performances.
Black Press encouraged to abandon
“step and fitchet” characterization
and to stay clear of any comic
material which portrayed Negro
characters as stupid, shiftless, or
lazy.
Press:
Pittsburgh Courier
Chicago Defender
Indianapolis Freeman
The Novelty teams often played other
Negro League teams.
The Clowns entered the Negro Leagues
(American) in 1941.
Buck Leonard - Great Hitter
Josh Gibson - Home Run King
Jackie Robinson
Black All-Stars 1949
Roy Campanella
Larry Doby
Don New Combe
Jackie Robinson
Autobiography
Jackie Robinson:
“I Never Had It Made”
Born in 1919
• Raised in a single parent house
(Father left home.)
• Jackie was the youngest child
• Three brothers: Edgar, Frank,
Mack
• One sister: Willa Mae
Young Child - Pasadena,
California
• Junior High School Football Letter
Went on to Attend
Pasadena Junior College
• Broke his brother Mack’s record in
the Broad Jump
• Note: Jackie’s brother Mack
participated in the 1936 Olympic
Games and finished second to Jesse
Owens
• Jackie also played shortstop on the
Pasadena team
Agreed to Attend UCLA
• At UCLA he became the
University’s first four-letter
man (basketball, baseball,
football, track/field)
• “After two years at UCLA, I
decided to leave. I was
convinced that no amount of
education would help a black
man get a job. I felt that I was
living in an academic and athletic
dream world.”
• “I had used up my athletic
eligibility in the major sports at
UCLA, but the University
begged me to stay on and
graduate; they even offered
me extra financial support”
• Went on to work with a
construction company
headquartered near Pearl Harbor
• He worked during the week and
played football on Sundays with
the pro team - Bears.
• When the football season ended in
November, he went back to
California.
• Note: He left Honolulu on
December 5, 1941, two days
before the Japanese bombed Pearl
Harbor.
• In 1942 the army sent Jackie for
Fort Riley, Kansas for basic
training
• Jackie applied for OCS - He ran
into Jim Crow Laws in the army.
Jackie had passed the necessary
exams, but was not admitted to
OCS
• During this same time period, Joe
Louis was transferred to Fort Riley.
Joe came to Jackie’s aid.
• As a result, Jackie became a
Second Lieutenant in January
1943.
• Jackie served as the “Morale”
Officer at the camp.
• Jackie was transferred to Fort
Hood, Texas.
• Major Situation: Jackie requested
(ordered) to sit in the back of a
military bus. He rejected this
request from the bus driver!
• Jackie had to face a court martial.
He was acquitted of all charges.
• In 1944 he was transferred to
Camp Breckenridge and received
an honorable discharge.
• After his discharge, he ran into his
brother, Alexander, who had been
a member of the Kansas City
Monarchs.
• The Monarchs accepted Jackie for
a tryout. He was told to report to
Houston. The pay of $400 a month
was a financial bonanza for him!!
“Rickey’s Noble Experiment”
Manhunt for:
• Stand up in the face of persecution
• Have spirit
• Could not be an “Uncle Tom”
• Ability to turn the other cheek
• Have proven ability
Jackie was that person!
• Jackie signed a contract with
the Montreal Royals - $3,500
bonus and a $600 a month
salary.
• More discussion to follow - Jackie
Robinson vs. Paul Robeson
(attended Rutgers - football)
(singer, fighter against racism, law
student) - fight for America in case
of a war against Russia.
• In 1949 Jackie was asked to
testify before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee.
• Note: The Communist
denounced discrimination!
• In 1949 Jackie was named MVP 1950 contract for $35,000.
• 1950 Movie: The Jackie
Robinson Story was filmed.
• Homestead Group - Won
Pennants from 1937-1942.
• Negro World Series 1942-1948
(End of Negro League)
Monte Irvin
Born February 25, 1919
Alabama
8 Brothers and Sisters
Moved to New Jersey (Age 8)
Monte was promoted by the
Negro League owners as the
man best suited to break the
color line in major league
baseball.
At the High School Level
• Earned 16 varsity letters in
baseball, basketball, football,
and track (Javelin).
• Earned football scholarship to
Lincoln University - Finished two
years of college.
• Started playing baseball for the
Newark Eagles.
• In 1941 - Monte was selected to
play in the East-West All Star
Game (Comiskey Park, Chicago).
He played third based and center
field.
Note: Gus Greenlee was
responsible for organizing the
East-West All Star Game in
1933. Gus also built his own
stadium in Pittsburgh.
• Monte enlisted in the service
for three years.
• Monte played in the 1946
Negro League World Series
when Jackie Robinson was
playing in Montreal (Dodgers
AAA Team)
(1949) - New York Giants paid his
contract to play for Giant’s Jersey
City Team.
(1951) - First all black outfield to
play in the World Series. Willie
Mays, Hank Thompson, and Monte
(Hit .400 in the Series).
• Played in Two World Series
with the Giants :1973 Hall of
Fame.
• Special Assistant to the
Commissioner of Baseball
Joe Williams
Born in 1874
Pitched in the 1930’s!
Born In Texas
Between 1912 and 1932 Joe
Williams faced the best white big
leaguers of his day 30 times.
Record:
Won 22
Lost 7
Tied 1
Note: Two losses came at 45.
(Pitched against: Grover
Alexander, Walter Johnson, and
Stachel Paige
In 1952: A panel of black veterans
and sports writes named Joe the
best black pitchers of all time.
Note: Cum Posey (owner of the
Grays) said only Walter Johnson and
maybe Lefty Grove could match
Joe’s fast ball!
In 1925 - Played for the
Hamstead Grays - Over a five
year period he only lost five
games.
The First Black Players to Integrate The Original Sixteen Major
League Ball Clubs
(Listed in Chronological Order)
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2
3
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5
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7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Player's Name Debut Date
Major League Team
Jackie Robinson
4/15/47
Brooklyn Dodgers - NL
Lary Doby
7/5/47
Cleveland Indians - AL
Hank Thompson
7/17/47
St. Louis Browns - AL
Monte Irvin
7/8/49
New York Giants - NL
Hank Thompson
7/8/49
New York Giants - NL
Sam Jethroe
4/18/50
Boston Braves - NL
Minnie Minoso
5/1/51
Chicago White Sox - AL
Bob Trice
9/13/53
Philadelphia Athletics - AL
Ernie Banks
9/17/53
Chicago Cubs - NL
Tom Alston
4/13/54
St. Louis Cardinals - NL
Curt Roberts
4/13/54
Pittsburgh Pirates - NL
Nino Escalera
4/17/54
Cincinnatti Reds - NL
Chuck Harmon
4/17/54
Cincinnatti Reds - NL
Carlos Paula
9/5/54
Washington Senators - AL
Elston Howard
4/14/55
New York Yankees - AL
John Kennedy
4/22/57
Philadelphia Phillies - NL
Ozzie Virgil
6/6/58
Detroit Tigersr - AL
Pumpsie Green
7/21/59
Boston Red Sox - AL
Debut Age
Birthplace
Career Stats
28
Cairo, GA
0.311
23
Camden, SC
0.283
21
Oklahoma City, OK
0.267
30
Columbia, AL
0.293
23
Oklahoma City, OK
0.267
28
E. St. Louis, IL
0.261
28
Havana, Cuba
0.298
25
Newton, GA
9W-9L
22
Dallas, TX
0.274
23
Greensboro, NC
0.244
24
Pineland, TX
0.233
24
Santurce, PR
0.159
27
Washington, IN
0.238
26
Havana, Cuba
0.271
25
St. Louis, MO
0.274
22
Sumter, SC
0
25
Montecristi, DR
0.231
25
Oakland, CA
0.246
HOF
1962
1973
1977
History of Minority Managers in Major
League Baseball and Date of Hire
1
Frank Robinson
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Larry Dobby
Maury Wills
Cito Gaston
Hal McRae
Felipe Alou
Dusty Baker
Tony Perez
Don Baylor
Cleveland Indians
San Francisco Giants
Baltimore Orioles
Chicago White Sox
Seattle Mariners
Toronto Blue Jays
Kansas City Royals
Montreal Expos
San Francisco Giants
Cincinnati Reds
Colorado Rockies
1977
1984
1989
1978
1980
1989
1991
1992
1993
1993
1993