Negro Leagues

The Negro leagues were baseball leagues filled with African-American teams. The first league was formed in 1887. The National Colored Base Ball League failed in just two weeks due to miserable attendance records. Several Negro leagues came and went in the late 1800s and early 1900s but the leagues weren't totally successful until the mid 1920s when the Negro National League had solid finances and some of the greatest baseball players of all time.

After finding success, the Negro leagues did a good job of continuing that success well into the 1940s by expanding the league and heavier marketing. In the late 1940s and early 50s however, the leagues began losing stars to the Major Leagues. The last Negro league game was played in 1958.

Teams in the Negro leagues were dispersed throughout the east coast and after expansion, the Midwest. There were barnstorming teams comprised of African-America all over the country but were never considered Negro league teams. The first black professional baseball team was the Babylon (NY) Black Panthers. The Black Panthers were formed in1885 by waiters and porters from the Argyle Hotel in Babylon, New York. After being spotted, the Black Panthers were renamed the Cuban Giants to generate more interest from white fans. The Cuban was added to imply the players were Cuban and not African-American. This was after all when the United States and Cuba were on very good terms. After the success of the Cuban Giants, the Negro leagues saw many teams find prominence in the early 1900s and professional baseball in the United States was more popular than ever.

The biggest problem in the Negro leagues was the financial aspect of the game. Many leagues and teams folded due to monetary issues. Most team owners were baseball field owners or prominent businessmen looking for more money. Almost all of these ventures failed and the Negro leagues future looked grim as very few teams could stay afloat. It wasn't until 1909 when Andrew Rube Foster took over the Philadelphia Giants and began integrating more exciting baseball and taking 40% of the profit made at the gate. This gave the team much more leverage and became the norm as teams across the Negro leagues started doing the same. With the comfortable funds, the Negro leagues made a huge leap. Now teams could pay more money to their players which would keep them around and expansion soon followed.

In 1944, an outspoken businessman named Bill Veeck tried to buy the Philadelphia Phillies in an effort to sign stars from the Negro leagues and integrate Major League Baseball. When the commissioner of Major League Baseball, Judge Landis heard of Veeck's idea, Landis made the National League buy the Phillies so Veeck would not be able to go through with his idea. However, although Veeck failed in his attempt to integrate the league, he did not stand alone on the idea of getting the best players from the Negro leagues. The next year, Brooklyn Dodgers owner, Branch Rickey officially signed Jackie Robinson. Robinson became the first African-American player in the history of Major League Baseball. After Robinson's signing, the door was opened to African-American baseball players across the country and many signed in the ensuing two years. Integration was fantastic for baseball and the lone victim was the Negro leagues. The Negro leagues lost nearly all of their stars to the Major Leagues and the Negro National League, the most successful league in the history of the Negro leagues, was forced to fold after the 1948 season.

The Negro leagues housed many of baseball's fabled legends over the years. Hank Aaron began his career in the Negro leagues and later went on to mash 755 home runs, a major league record that still stands today. Willie Mays and Ernie Banks started their careers off in the Negro leagues as well before embarking on Hall of Fame careers in Major League Baseball. Other players such as Roy Campanella, Larry Doby, and Jackie Robinson are members of the Baseball Hall of Fame that played in both the Negro leagues and the Major Leagues. Perhaps the most famous pitcher in the history of the Negro leagues was Satchel Paige. Paige was elected to the Hall of Fame even though he played sparingly at the Major League level. Other notable stars were Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, Monte Irvin, and Buck O'Neill. O'Neill is the only member of the Negro leagues that is still living today at the age of 94.