The Negro Leagues -by Moses

In the Negro Leagues from 1922-1950 there were thirteen organizations:

Homestead Grays
Pittsburgh Crawfords
Kansas City Monarchs (and later the Washington Monarchs)
St. Louis Stars (later the Philadelphia Stars and finally the Detroit Stars)
New York Cuban
Chicago American Giants
Birmingham Black Barons
Baltimore Black Sox
Cleveland Cubs
New York Black Yankees
Memphis Red Sox
Brooklyn Royal Giants (later the Lincoln Giants)
Indianapolis Clown

The Homestead Grays were the New York Yankees of the Negro Leagues, winning nine consecutive Negro National League Championships between 1937-1945. The Grays carried Josh Gibson (the all-time Homeruns Leader with 803 Homeruns) Cool Papa Bell, and Buck Leonard.

The best pitcher that came out of the Negro Leagues was Satchel Paige. In the 1932/1933 campaigns, Paige was in his prime with the Pittsburgh Crawfords. In 1932 Paige posted a 32-7 Won/Loss record and in 1933 he went 31-4.

Many of the great Negro Leaguers went to play abroad. For example, Josh Gibson played winter ball in Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Central America. In 1937 many of the stars of the Negro League (Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Cool Papa Bell) went to the Dominican Republic to play on a team that was owned by ‘dictator’ Rafael Trujilo.

The Negro League season was usually just under 200 Games. Cool Papa Bell once stole 175 bases in a year. Bell finished his career with a lifetime .341 Batting Average.

Josh Gibson played together with the Pittsburgh Crawfords between 1932-1936 and was the best batsman in the league over those years. Gibson hit 69 Homeruns in 1934, and in 1933 he played in 137 Games and batted .467 with 55 Homeruns.

Although Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays and Henry Aaron were players that made the adjustment from the Negro Leagues to the Major Leagues, these players were few and far between from the masses. Had Negro League organizations been instituted into the Majors, this would have been a truer test to the African American ballplayer and would have created front-office positions for African Americans. It would also have promoted African American ownership of Professional Sports Franchises in the U.S.A.