The 1930 St. Louis Stars. Josh Gibson. Then in 1947, he broke baseball's color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. 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. Frank Duncan: A Kansas City native, Frank, 69, now operates a tavern in his home town. The service requires full cookie support in order to view this website. Forbes is 88 and worries about being one of the last left to tell this story. You can't really settle on a few sacred numbers the way you can for MLB records.. March 16, 2007 - Hubert "Country" Glenn, passes away. The numbers do not do justice to his legend. Use Mays, Greason, Golden and Teasley as the faces of a compensation plan, like lead plaintiffs in a lawsuit, and account for what was a wide disparity in pay between Black and white players during those 28 years. This is not a complete or exhaustive list of all the organizations and individuals who have kept the Negro Leagues alive, but it is easy to contribute to the four following organizations whether . While baseball acknowledgingthese Black players is important, it should only be a first step. That's almost 19 times what the Black players received. Eventually, these two groups joined forces to create one comprehensive database. America is about democracy and opportunity but it's also just as much about cash. Lester said the average monthly salary of a Black player in the early 1920s was $175 a month. Major League Baseball was segregated from 1887 through 1946. Born May 6, 1931, Willie Mays is the youngest. That means its taken countless hours of research to fill in the gaps and put together the database. Marshall remembers occasionally playing 4 games a day when he was with the Philadelphia Stars and he says Satchel Paige was the fastest pitcher he ever saw. Major leagueplayersreceived from $300 to $2,000 a month and about $15 a day for meals. Major League Baseball was segregated from 1887 through 1946. The World Series winners that same year earned $5,959.64 and the losers $3,820.29. Created a hundred years ago, the leagues showcased Black baseball players, players who couldn't play on the major teams because of the color of their skin. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. I wanted to see them as flesh and blood people, real players who had the same kinds of complex profiles we have for players today. Among the most captivating features of Stars Park was the trolley car building that served as the left-field barrier. Dennis Biddle lives down the street from my grandparents. Richard Kent, Sam Sheppard, Dr. J.W McClelland and Dr. G.B. Mays played. The unparalleled Rube Foster started the first Negro League in 1920, with such dominant teams as the Chicago American Giants and the Kansas City Monarchs. 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.. He was known to be a great hitter, but I don't think it was fully appreciated how pivotal he was to the Monarchs' defense.. Well Hank Aaron and Willie Mays are still alive. Silas Simmons played in the pre-Negro League era, and he passed away just a decade ago. Mays played his rookie year in 1948 with the Birmingham Black Barons. His career was spent almost entirely playing in all black minor or semi-pro leagues, most of which were located in southern Florida. Do you have a sports website? Buck Leonard: Walter (Buck) Leonard combined with Josh Gibson for Negro baseball's best 1-2 home-run punch. 65 In 2000, Major League Baseball supplied a grant to the Baseball Hall of Fame to conduct . Just a humbling reminder that Jim Crow laws and segregation was less than a generation ago. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. \n","providerName":"Twitter","providerUrl":"https://twitter.com","type":"rich","width":550},"type":"oembed"},{"__typename":"Markdown","content":"That started to change in the 1980s and early 90s as researchers like Dick Clark, Larry Lester, John Holway, James Riley and Phil Dixon began assembling a more robust statistical record. I believe the oldest living Negro League ballplayer is Roosevelt Jackson. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, The subreddit for the bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players. They also represent something else. He began his professional career in the Negro Leagues in the 1920s after being discharged from reform school in Alabama. James Bell: Cool Papa Bell was probably the fastest ball player ever to don spikes. Sports Pulse: Players, celebs and politicians tip their hats in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues. And I really do mean today. Simkus says the work taught him how important major league recognition would be for the families of Negro Leagues veterans, few of whom are still alive. There would be the Royals dressed as the Monarchs, the Tigers as the Stars, the Pirates as the Crawfords or Grays, Triple-A Memphis as the Red Sox, Double-A Birmingham as the Black Barons, High-A. A high average hitter and an excellent first baseman, Buck played in 12 All-Star games. In 2020, MLB recognized the Nego Leagues as major leagues. 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. Phoenix, AZ 85004 In 1954, he signed with the Indianapolis Clowns at the age of 16. Recovering it is a constant, ongoing struggle. Newt still makes Kansas City his home. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. They receivedbetween $1 to $1.50 a day for meal money. While the weeklies tried to cover every game they could, deadlines and limited space meant they often had to leave out a few games. This list comprises players who have appeared in Negro league baseball. From 1940 to 1949, 1,705 men played at least one game in the National League or American League plus hundreds, maybe thousands, more in the Negro Leagues. Pre-integration players. How Cool Papa Bell was so fast that he could hit the light switch and be in bed before the lights went out. From 1940 to 1949, 1,705 men played at least one game in the National League or American League plus hundreds, maybe thousands, more in the Negro Leagues. But you dont know their numbers -- at least, not with the same devotion baseball fans have to statistics like Ted Williams .406 batting average or Hank Aarons 755 home runs. A family friend used to play for the Black Yankees, Bob Scott. The integration of Major League Baseball happened at the beginning of the 1947 MLB season when Jackie Robinson played his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The integration of Major League Baseball happened at the beginning of the 1947 MLB season when Jackie Robinson played his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers.By the 1950s, enough black talent had integrated into the formerly "white" leagues (both major and minor) that the Negro leagues themselves had become a . You go through the most important sources for a given year, collect the box scores, construct a schedule, go back and try to fill in gaps, double and triple check everything, then type in the games.. ", "So take a ballplayer like Monte Irvin, in 1948, who made $5,000 with the New YorkGiants," Lester said, "or $833.33 a month. Paige, now 65 and a Kansas City resident, is by far the best known of these old stars. Baseball needs to retroactivelypay the newly recognized Negro League players and their surviving families. pic.twitter.com/qiMXrVD4RB. List of Negro league baseball players (M-R) This list consists of players who have appeared in Negro league baseball . This data is based on actual contracts I have seen. Buck lives in Rocky Mount, N.C., where he owns a realty agency. This List of Negro league baseball players who played in Major League Baseball is largely based on the research compiled by the Center for Negro League Baseball Research. TRIBOU: Minnie Forbes owned the Detroit Stars from 1956 to 1958. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. 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. Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. Find out more. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. In fact, that's my long-term goal: to write a Negro League Baseball Abstract. 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. His biggest thrill came in the 1924 Negro World Series when he shut out the Kansas City Monarchs for 7 innings in relief. Researchers are still looking to add fielding statistics, left/right splits and secondary pitching and batting stats for many Negro League seasons, especially those in the 1940s. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Do you have a blog? While there are roughly 130 players alive from the Negro Leagues, according to baseball historian Larry Lester, only those four players are alive from that 1920-1948 window. A native of Talladega, Alabama, Scales now lives in New York City. Theyve established -- though its no surprise -- that the speedy Bell holds the single-season record with 49 stolen bases for the Stars in 1929. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. TRIBOU: Today, Sierra lives in New Jersey. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. He stopped playing baseball when he was younger and became a Mason I believe. They went out and did something about it. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. One of two players in history to win the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and MVP in his career (Verlander being the other). Just having a few stories here and there was not remotely enough. Suttles pictured back row, far left. A charity baseball game that paid tribute to the Negro Leagues and their significance to the sport was held at Sacramento State's John Smith Field on Oct. 9. Do you have a blog? Bill Greason, Clyde Golden, Ron Teasley and Willie Mays. Larry Doby debuted with the Cleveland Indians on July 5. That means numbers are always changing here and there. The leagues were full of talent and it went beyond the names you may know like Mays or Satchel Paige. 555 N. Central Ave. #416 What about the other great players? 1933 Homestead Grays, Only a few members of the leagues are alive to celebrate the centennial. WANTED: INFORMATION ON DAVE BROWN. Remembered as one of the few hurlers Josh Gibson had trouble hitting against, Lee writes that Martin Dihigo was the greatest player he ever saw. Copyright 2000-2022 Sports Reference LLC. The coming seasons brought many more signings. A lifetime .312 hitter, Ray remembers 1950 as a banner year when he was selected as MVP in the Triple-A American Association, while playing with the Minneapolis Millers. They played primarily before the organized Negro leagues. Mike Trout 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. Founded in 1990, the museum is the only one in the world . Ted Page: Ted starred with the great Josh Gibson on the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays in the 1930s. It wouldn't even cost baseball that much money particularly since salaries of Negro League players began to increase in the 1940s as their play became so good they were practically impossible to ignore, and as Jackie Robinson started his trek towards history. Not even 60 years old. 1920 Chicago American Giants, RHP Satchel Paige: The most famous Negro Leagues player, the age-defying Paige stayed young long enough to pitch in the majors -- including the World Series -- as a 42-year-old rookie in 1948. He cites being selected to manage the East All-Star team in 1939 as his biggest moment. 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. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Fortunately, that has recently changed with the recognition of the Negro Leagues as a Major League, but for decades that wasn't the case. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. 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.