- Negro National League (1920–1931)
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Negro National League Sport Baseball Founded 1920 No. of teams 24 Country(ies) United States Ceased 1931 Most titles The Negro National League (NNL) was one of the several Negro leagues which were established during the period in the United States in which organized baseball was segregated. Led by Rube Foster, owner and manager of the Chicago American Giants, the NNL was established on February 13, 1920 by a coalition of team owners at a meeting in a Kansas City YMCA.[1] The new league was the first African-American baseball circuit to achieve stability and last more than one season. At first the league operated mainly in midwestern cities, ranging from Kansas City in the west to Pittsburgh in the east; in 1924 it expanded into the south, adding franchises in Birmingham and Memphis.
The two most important east coast clubs, the Hilldale Club of Darby, Pennsylvania, and the Bacharach Giants of Atlantic City, were affiliated with the NNL as associate clubs from 1920 to 1922, but did not compete for the championship. In 1923 they and four other eastern teams formed the Eastern Colored League (ECL) and raided the NNL for many of its top players, including Oscar Charleston, John Henry Lloyd, Biz Mackey, Heavy Johnson, George Scales, George Carr, Clint Thomas, and Reuben Currie. The war between the two leagues came to an end in 1924, when they agreed to respect one another's contracts and arranged for the Negro League World Series between their champions.
The NNL survived controversies over umpiring, scheduling, and what some perceived as league president Rube Foster's disproportionate influence and favoritism toward his own team. It also outlasted Foster's decline into mental illness in 1926, and its eastern rival, the ECL, which folded in early 1928. The NNL finally fell apart in 1931 under the economic stress of the Great Depression.
A new Negro National League was organized in 1933, but eventually became concentrated on the east coast. The Negro American League, founded in 1937 and including several of the same teams that played in the original Negro National League, would eventually carry on as the western circuit of black baseball.
Contents
Negro National League Franchises
- Chicago American Giants (1920–1931) — Known as the Chicago Columbia Giants in 1931.
- Chicago Giants (1920–1921)
- Cuban Stars (1920–1930) — Known as the Cincinnati Cubans in 1921.
- Dayton Marcos (1920, 1926)
- Detroit Stars (1920–1931)
- Indianapolis ABCs (1920–1924, 1925–1926) — Dropped from league mid-season 1924 but returned the following season.
- Kansas City Monarchs (1920–1931)
- St. Louis Giants (1920–1921) — Replaced by St. Louis Stars in 1922, which was virtually the same team with new owners.
- Columbus Buckeyes (1921)
- St. Louis Stars (1922–1931) — Replaced the St. Louis Giants.
- Cleveland Tate Stars (1922–1923) — Dropped out mid-season 1923.
- Pittsburgh Keystones (1922)
- Milwaukee Bears (1923)
- Toledo Tigers (1923) — Mid-season replacement for Cleveland Tate Stars.
- Birmingham Black Barons (1924–1925, 1927–1930)
- Cleveland Browns (1924)
- Memphis Red Sox (1924–1925, 1927–1930) — Mid-season replacement in 1924 for Indianapolis ABCs.
- Cleveland Elites (1926) — Closely related to both Cleveland Hornets and Cleveland Tigers.
- Cleveland Hornets (1927) — Closely related to both Cleveland Elites and Cleveland Tigers.
- Cleveland Tigers (1928) — Closely related to both Cleveland Hornets and Cleveland Elites.
- Nashville Elite Giants (1930–1931) — Became Cleveland Cubs for 1931 season.
- Indianapolis ABCs (2nd team) (1931)
- Louisville White Sox (1931)
Member timetable
- 1920: Formation of NNL consisting of 8 teams - Chicago American Giants, Detroit Stars, Kansas City Monarchs, Indianapolis ABCs, St. Louis Giants, Cuban Stars, Dayton Marcos and Chicago Giants.
- 1921: Dropped Dayton Marcos; Added Columbus Buckeyes.
- 1922: Dropped Columbus Buckeyes, Chicago Giants, St. Louis Giants; Added Cleveland Tate Stars, Pittsburgh Keystones, St. Louis Stars.
- 1923: Dropped Cleveland Tate Stars (mid-season), Pittsburgh Keystones; Added Toledo Tigers (mid-season), Milwaukee Bears.
- 1924: Dropped Toledo Tigers, Milwaukee Bears, Indianapolis ABCs (mid-season); Added Cleveland Browns, Birmingham Black Barons, Memphis Red Sox (mid-season).
- 1925: Dropped Cleveland Browns; Added Indianapolis ABCs.
- 1926: Dropped Memphis Red Sox, Birmingham Black Barons; Added Dayton Marcos, Cleveland Elites.
- 1927: Dropped Dayton Marcos, Indianapolis ABCs; Added Birmingham Black Barons, Memphis Red Sox.
- 1929: Dropped Cleveland Tigers.
- 1930: Added Nashville Elite Giants.
- 1931: Dropped Memphis Red Sox, Birmingham Black Barons, Cuban Stars; Added Louisville White Sox, (new) Indianapolis ABCs. League fell apart before season end.
Champions
- 1920 Chicago American Giants
- 1921 Chicago American Giants
- 1922 Chicago American Giants
- 1923 Kansas City Monarchs
- 1924 Kansas City Monarchs
- 1925 Kansas City Monarchs
- 1926 Chicago American Giants
- 1927 Chicago American Giants
- 1928 St. Louis Stars
- 1929 Kansas City Monarchs
- 1930 St. Louis Stars
- 1931 St. Louis Stars (season did not finish; Stars had best record among league members and were declared the champions,[2] though non-member Pittsburgh Crawfords disputed title)
See also
Notes
- ^ Bolton, Todd. "History of the Negro Major Leagues". Negro League Baseball Players Association. http://www.nlbpa.com/history.html. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
- ^ http://www.nlbpa.com/st__louis_stars.html
References
- The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John B. Holway {2001} Publisher: Hastings House ISBN 0-8038-2007-0
Categories:- Negro baseball leagues
- Defunct baseball leagues
- African American sports history
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