This presentation by Kimberly Brown-Harden looks at more baseball history in Indiana by exploring the historical Negro League. This might be helpful to librarians looking for ideas for the Indiana Bicentennial.

1. Play Ball! Indiana
and Negro League
Baseball
Kimberly Brown-Harden, Indiana
State Library

2. Early Baseball History…
 1845: Alexander Cartwright published a set of
baseball rules for the Knickerbocker Club of New
York, and his rules were widely adopted.
 1869: The Cincinnati Red Stockings became the
first paid team and are considered the first
professional team.
 1871: The first professional baseball league, the
National Association of Professional Base Ball
Players, was established.
 1876: The first major league, the National
League, was formed.

3. Satchel Paige, on the mound in the
Negro and major leagues…

4. Josh Gibson: ‘Black Babe Ruth’

5. Jackie Robinson, broke the color
barrier in 1947….

6. Hank Aaron, Home-Run King…

7. Monarchs and the Clowns…

8. The Negro Leagues are born….
 1878: Bud Fowler becomes the
first Negro player to cross the
color barrier as a pitcher for the
Lynn, Mass. Live Oaks of the
International League.
 1883: Moses Fleetwood “Fleet”
Walker, joins the minor league
Toledo Blue Stockings as a
catcher. When the Blue
Stockings joined the American
Association in 1884, Walker
became the first Negro major
leaguer.
 1885: the (NY) Cuban Giants
became the very first salaried
professional black baseball team.
 1887: In July of 1887, the
International League banned
future contracts with black
players, although it allowed black
players already under contract to
stay on with their teams.
 1894: Bud Fowler forms an
independent (Page Fence Giants)
team in Adrian, Michigan.

9. Negro Leagues, cond’t…
 1901: In an attempt to bypass
the color barrier, Baltimore Oriole
manager John McGraw
introduced his new player as
Chief Charlie Tokohama, a full
blooded American Indian.
McGraw’s plan backfired when
fans in Chicago recognized the
‘Chief’ as actually being Charlie
Grant, a well known star for the
Page Fence Giants.
 1907: Pitcher Rube Foster
begins his managerial career with
the Leland Giants as a player-
manager.
 1920: On February 14, Rube
Foster organizes the first black
professional baseball league
(Negro National League)
consisting of eight teams: Chicago
American Giants, Chicago Giants,
Dayton Marcos, Detroit Stars,
Indianapolis ABC’s, Kansas City
Monarchs, St. Louis Giants, and
the Cuban Stars.

10. Pre-Negro League Teams…
 Cuban Giants: 1885-1889
 Buffalo (International
League): 1886-1888
 Page Fence Giants
(Independent) 1894-1898
 Cuban ‘X’ Giants
(Independent): 1897-1907
 Chicago Union Giants
(Independent): 1901-1904
 Columbia Giants of
Chicago: 1899-1900
 New York Lincoln Giants:
1911-1930
 Philadelphia Giants:
1902-1916
 Leland Giants: 1905-1910
 Royal Poinciana Team
(Palm Beach Association):
1890’s-1920’s

11. Twilight Game…

12. Father of Black Baseball: Andrew
‘Rube’ Foster

13. ‘Official’ Negro League Teams…
 Atlanta Black Crackers NAL
1938
 Baltimore Black Sox ECL
1923-1928, ANL 1929, NEWL
1932, NNL 1933-1934
 Baltimore Elite Giants NNL
1938-1948, NAL 1949-1950
 Birmingham Black Barons
NNL 1924-1925, 1927-193
NAL 1937-1938, 1940-1950
 Brooklyn Royal Giants ECL
1923-1927
 Chattanooga Black Lookouts
NSL
 Chicago American Giants NNL
1920-1931, 1934-1936, NSL
1932, NAL 1937-1950
 Cincinnati Tigers NAL 1937
 Cleveland Buckeyes NAL
1943-1948, 50
 Dayton Marcos NNL 1920
 Detroit Stars NNL 1920-1931,
1933, NAL 1937
 Detroit Wolves NEWL 1932

14. Negro League Teams, Continued…
 Hilldale Inedpendent, ECL
1923-28
ANL 1929, EWL 1932
 Homestead Grays ANL 1929,
NEWL 1932, NNL 1935-1948
 Houston Eagles NAL 1949-
1950
New franchise, disbanded
during season. Relocated from
Newark Eagles
 Indianapolis ABC’s NNL 1920-
1924, 1925-1926, 1931, NSL
1932
 Indianapolis Clowns NAL
1944, 1946-1950
 Jacksonville Red Caps NAL
1938
 Kansas City Monarchs NNL
1920-1927, 1929-1930, NAL
1937-1950
 Memphis Red Sox NNL 1924-
1925, 1927, 1929-1930, NSL
1932, NAL 1937-1940, 1943-
1950
 Montgomery Grey Sox NSL
Charter franchise, disbanded
with league

15. Negro League Teams, continued…
 Newark Eagles NNL 1936-
1948
 New York Black Yankees
NNL 1936-1948
 New York Cubans NNL
1935-36, 1939-48, NAL
1949-50
 Nashville Elite Giants NNL
1930, 1933-1934 NSL
1932
Disbanded after 1934,
became Columbus Elite
Giants in 1935
 Philadelphia Stars NNL
1934-1948, NAL 1949-
1950
 Pittsburgh Crawfords
Independent 1931-32
NNL 1933-1938
 Saint Louis Stars NNL
1920-1931, 1943 NAL
1937,39,41
 Seattle Steelheads
WCNBL 1946
 Washington/Wilmington
Potomacs ECL

16. Rube’s ‘Competitor, Edward H.
Bolden…

17. Negro League World Championship:
East-West Game!

18. Indianapolis ABC’s…..

19. Charles C.I. Taylor: owner/founder of
the ABC’s…

20. C.I. The ball player…

21. Early years of the ABCs

22. Washington Park, site of the 1st
ever
NNL game May 2, 1920

23. Powerful men…

24. The Indianapolis Clowns…
 Clown: “A person with
a sixth sense who
fortunately for
mankind doesn’t have
the other five. “

25. Indianapolis Clowns…

26. House of David…
 Religious community,
established 1903 in
Benton, Harbor Michigan.
 Known for wearing long
hair and beards.
 Called “the best
barnstorming team in
America”
 Broke the color barrier by
being only one of white
teams to play the Negro
Leagues.

27. Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron and the Clowns:

28. Satchel Paige, 1980 & Negro League
Reunion © 1980…