Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. Pittsburgh soon produced two of the greatest teams of all time, the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords, featuring such stars as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell and many . Ernie Banks and Monte Irvin died a couple years ago. Now 71, and a Pittsburgh resident, Sam says that Smokey Joe Williams was the greatest pitcher he ever saw while slugger Mule Suttles gave him the most trouble at the plate. Among them Fowler, Frank Grant, George Stovey, and Fleet Walker were notable players especially during the 1880s, before complete segregation. Chicago Team History, Nat Rogers: Now 78 years old and a waiter at Memphis Peabody Hotel, Nat writes that he played for 45 consecutive seasons in organized baseball, compiling a batting average of over .340. MINNIE FORBES: It was terrible for the players at that time. A good right-handed hitter, Duncan is always mentioned as one of black baseballs best catchers. They played most of their careers in the organized Negro leagues before the Great Depression. With the game still years away from the multimillion-dollar contracts handed to star players, Aaron's annual pay in 1959 was around $30,000. Paige probably took a pay cut when he joined the Cleveland Indians in 1948.". The numbers do not do justice to his legend. Just having a few stories here and there was not remotely enough. Because we compile fielding statistics, we're able to know that, for example, Dobie Moore, the Kansas City Monarchs shortstop in the 1920s, was a great fielding shortstop. I heard about it, but I hadn't experienced it. MINNIE. A speedy switch-hitter, Newt writes that Martin Dihigo and Dave Brown were the two greatest pitchers he ever faced. Jackie Robinson had an immediate impact on baseball's short and long-term future. Our statistics are based on box scores and game stories found in contemporary newspapers, as well as the small number of scorebooks and filled-in scorecards that can be tracked down, Ashwill wrote. The list of teams with which he played includes the largely forgotten Miami Globetrotters, Hollywood Redbirds, Miami Red Sox, Belle Glade Redwings, Florida Cuban Giants, the Lucky Stars, the Danny Dodgers; Ft. Lauderdale Braves, Pompano Beach Yankees, Ft. Lauderdale Lucky Stars, Ft. Lauderdale Gray Sox, and the Buffalo Red Sox (a travelling team Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Pre-integration players. Ted says shortstop John Henry Lloyd was the greatest ballplayer he ever saw. The color line in baseball is also probably the most profound case of historical injustice in the history of modern sports -- and the injustice most definitely includes the failure to properly record both the identities and the achievements of thousands of professional ballplayers., Before the Seamheads database, Negro League statistics were sparse and spottily updated. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Sports Pulse: Players, celebs and politicians tip their hats in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues. The text below has been updated to reflect that. ","type":"markdown"},{"__typename":"ExternalEmbed","data":{"__typename":"ExternalEmbedContent","html":", #Spotlight In February of 1920, The Chicago Defender previewed the formation of the Negro National League - Kansas City Selected for Meeting of Baseball Magnates - https://t.co/VANcXcLmL0 pic.twitter.com/KfBEDCalWr, A copy of the 1969 Macmillan baseball encyclopedia for show and tell @sabr. Silas Simmons played in the pre-Negro League era, and he passed away just a decade ago. Rogers was one of the few players, black or white, who hit Satchel Paige consistently well. A lot of the earlier versions of Negro league statistics only gave you batting averages, home runs, pitchers' won-lost records, basic stuff," Ashwill said. Suttles pictured back row, far left. Ray Dandridge: Fifty-eight year old Ray Dandridge lives in Newark, N.J., and is a scout for the San Francisco Giants. The 1930 St. Louis Stars. Or write about sports? They played primarily before the organized Negro leagues. He says his greatest thrill was a home-run he hit in the 1940 classic in Chicago. Major leagueplayersreceived from $300 to $2,000 a month and about $15 a day for meals. In 2020, MLB recognized the Nego Leagues as major leagues. 1920 Chicago American Giants, A great 3rd baseman, Dandridge compiled a .455 batting average in 3 Negro All-Star games. Aside from him, we also have Mamie "Peanut" Johnson (9/27/1935), the first female pitcher in the Negro Leagues. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. The complete list is divided into four pages to reduce the size: The players below are some of the most notable of those who played Negro league baseball, beginning with the codification of baseball's color line barring African American players (about 1892), past the re-integration in 1946 of the sport, up until the Negro leagues finally expired about 1962. They played most of their careers in the organized Negro leagues after the Great Depression. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. For our latest update I checked through the mainstream daily newspapers in St. Louis and picked up three more St. Louis Stars games -- and Suttles homered in two of them.","type":"markdown"},{"__typename":"PhotoPart","caption":"The 1930 St. Louis Stars. A native of Talladega, Alabama, Scales now lives in New York City. Pittsburgh soon produced two of the greatest teams of all time, the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords, featuring such stars as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and many more. January 29, 2007 - Ralph "Big Cat" Johnson passes away. Contact SABR, https://sabr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/research-collection4_350x300.jpg, /wp-content/uploads/2020/02/sabr_logo.png. I knew about it. You will be redirected once the validation is complete. When I began speaking with Ashwill about the database in September, Hall of Fame slugger Mule Suttles held the Negro Leagues single-season home run record with the 30 that he hit as a member of the St. Louis Stars in 1926. After spotting the Black newspaper The Chicago Defender in his universitys library stacks and knowing its historical importance, he dove into the reels for the 1920 season and was surprised to see incredibly thorough coverage and box scores for the Negro National League. Just think, he was playing baseball on a team that would become the Homestead Grays years before the US entered World War 1, but he lived long enough to become a fan of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. A native of Texas, Brown is reported to have pitched as early as 1917 with the Dallas Black Giants. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Dennis Biddle lives down the street from my grandparents. Streeters biggest thrill in baseball was to hit a home run. "Going forward, in the 1930s following the Great Depression, salaries of Black players were about the same amount as the 1920s," Lester said. They also represent something else. For our latest update I checked through the mainstream daily newspapers in St. Louis and picked up three more St. Louis Stars games -- and Suttles homered in two of them.. We know which were the pitchers' parks (Chicago's Schorling Park, for example) and which were the hitters' parks (Stars Park in St. Louis and the Catholic Protectory Oval in the Bronx, home of the New York Lincoln Giants). The list of teams with which he played includes the largely forgotten Miami Globetrotters, Hollywood Redbirds, Miami Red Sox, Belle Glade Redwings, Florida Cuban Giants, the Lucky Stars, the Danny Dodgers; Ft. Lauderdale Braves, Pompano Beach Yankees, Ft. Lauderdale Lucky Stars, Ft. Lauderdale Gray Sox, and the Buffalo Red Sox (a travelling team that appears to have played many of its games in West Virginia and Pennsylvania). An additional 35 or so players played on a Negro league team after 1950. Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. Born September 3, 1924 Bill Greason is the oldest player on this list. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Now a Los Angeles resident, Evans remembers playing against almost every great ballplayer, black and white, during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Baseball needs to retroactivelypay the newly recognized Negro League players and their surviving families. He says, faced with segregation, Black owners and players kept pushing for organized baseball. James Bell: Cool Papa Bell was probably the fastest ball player ever to don spikes. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Holsey Lee: A great pitcher for over 20 years, Scrip Lee spent most of his long career in the Eastern Colored League. Accuracy and availability may vary. Below is a list of 52 players who played for major Negro league teams up to 1950 and eventually saw playing time for a Major League team. A family friend used to play for the Black Yankees, Bob Scott. DOUG TRIBOU, BYLINE: In 1920, owners of independent Black baseball teams from the Midwest gathered in Kansas City, Mo. Among the most captivating features of Stars Park was the trolley car building that served as the left-field barrier. The most important sources are the Black weekly newspapers (Chicago Defender, Pittsburgh Courier, Baltimore Afro-American, Kansas City Call, etc.) Pedro Dibut). Josh Gibson holds the all-time home run record with 238 and Smokey Joe Williams struck out 1,571 batters in his 25-year career. At the onset of the digital age, enough now-aging players were still alive to share their experiences. 1928 St. Louis Stars, Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. By August 1, 1947, three Major League teams had already integrated. His career was spent almost entirely playing in all black minor or semi-pro leagues, most of which were located in southern Florida. Phone: 602.496.1460 Over at the Seamheads Negro Leagues database, a dedicated few have combed through newspapers and scorebooks, photo albums and microfiche to piece together the most complete statistical record of the Negro Leagues to date. Hank Aaron and Willie Mays also began their careers in the Negro Leagues. America is about democracy and opportunity but it's also just as much about cash. Soon he became involved in the Negro League Researchers and Authors Group and helped with an extensive study commissioned by the Hall of Fame and Major League Baseball. 1933 Homestead Grays, Since the Negro Leauges were still around several years after Jackie Robinson's debut, I would imagine there are still a few dozen former players who are still alive. For NPR News, I'm Doug Tribou in Ann Arbor, Mich. (SOUNDBITE OF A FOREST MIGHTY BLACK'S "REBIRTH"). Join our linker program. Do you have a blog? The Encyclopedia and various books and projects over the years printed stats for a selection of Negro League stars," Ashwill explained -- picking and choosing what information to present, and often excluding players who appeared in fewer than 10 games. They didn't care about making history. Buck lives in Rocky Mount, N.C., where he owns a realty agency. In 1924, the first year of the Colored World Series, the share of the winners, the Kansas City Monarchs, was $307.96, says Lester. Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database.