The Brooklyn Royal Giants were a top-ranked east coast Negro League team, originally formed in 1905 by John Wilson Connor, owner of the Brooklyn Royal Cafe, and managed by William Parker. They were organized as a “barnstorming club,” meaning they traveled through several states, playing … Read MoreBrooklyn Royal Giants (1905-1942)
The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team, owned and managed from 1910 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew “Rube” Foster, known as the father of the Negro League Baseball. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in Black baseball. Some of the most … Read MoreThe Chicago American Giants (1911-1956)
The Chicago Unions was an independent team formed in 1887 and one of the first professional Black baseball teams to last more than a year prior to the Negro Leagues era beginning in 1920. In 1887, before the start of the 1888 baseball season, William … Read MoreThe Chicago Unions (1887-1904)
The Cuban Giants were the first African American professional baseball club. The Giants were formed in 1885 at the Argyle Hotel, a summer resort located in Babylon, New York. The team took its name because it played in Cuba during the winter of 1885-1886 and … Read MoreThe Cuban Giants (1885-1915)
The New York Gorhams were a Negro league baseball team formed in 1886 that grew to be one of the most successful black professional clubs in the country in the late 19th Century. The Gorhams were organized by saloon owner Ambrose Davis, who named the … Read MoreNew York Gorhams (1886-1892)
The Newark Little Giants were a professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. The team participated as members of the Eastern League in 1886, and were then an all-white team, managed by Charlie Hackett. Baseball was not entirely segregated at this time. All of … Read MoreThe Newark Little Giants (1886-1889)
The Pittsburgh Crawfords were a professional Negro League baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh was the only city in the country to be home of two of the Negro Leagues teams, The Homestead Grays, and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. The Pittsburgh Crawfords started off as … Read MoreThe Pittsburgh Crawfords (1931-1947)
Henry “Pistol” Mason was the first Black baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia farm team, the Schenectady Blue Jays in 1955. Mason was born on June 19, 1931 in Marshall, Missouri to Tansie and Anna Mason. His father was a laborer in a rock quarry and … Read MoreHenry Mason (1931-2020)
Norman “Turkey” Stearnes was one of the Negro League Baseball’s (NBL) most feared hitters. Born on May 8, 1901 in Nashville, Tennessee to Will S. and Mary (Everett), Stearnes, his mother was a cook for a private family earning $7 a week and was listed … Read MoreNorman Thomas “Turkey” Stearnes (1901-1979)
Herbert Alphonso Dixon was a Negro Baseball League (NBL) baseball outfielder. Nicknamed “Rap,” Dixon was born on September 15, 1902 in Kingston, Georgia to John and Rose Goodwin Dixon. Both of Dixon’s parents were born in Georgia; his father John was a laborer at a … Read MoreHerbert Alphonso “Rap” Dixon (1902-1944)
