List of Negro league baseball teams

This list of Negro league baseball teams is based in part on the list maintained by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum of Kansas City, Missouri, in using the term "Negro leagues" for varying levels of black baseball during racial segregation in the United States. Many of these teams reorganized or relocated which necessitated changing of names and frequently its players, staff and owner.

Teams in bold are considered to have been of major league caliber for at least one season of their existence. Other teams were either a semi-pro, barnstorming or traveling team; a minor league team; or a team that existed after the integration of Major League Baseball (1946) when the talent level declined dramatically.

Alabama

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Birmingham Black Barons	1920	1961	NSL (1920–23, 26, 31–36) NNL1 (1924–25, 27–30) NAL (1937–38, 40–61)	NSL was a minor league every season except 1932 Did not field a team for 1939	^[1]
Birmingham Giants	1907	1909	Independent (1907–09)		^[2]
Mobile Black Bears					^[3]
Mobile Tigers					^{[citation needed]}
Montgomery Grey Sox (I)	1920	1921	NSL (1920) Independent (1921)		^[4]
Montgomery Grey Sox (II)	1931	1932	Independent (1931) NSL (1932)		^[5]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Ref
Los Angeles White Sox	1946	1946	WCNBL (1946)	^[6]
Oakland Larks	1946	1946	WCNBL (1946)	^[7]
San Diego Tigers	1946	1946	WCNBL (1946)	^[8]
San Francisco Sea Lions	1946	1946	WCNBL (1946)	^[9]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Washington Black Senators	1938	1938	ECL (1938)	Disbanded in August before season ended	^[3]
Washington Elite Giants (See Baltimore Elite Giants)	1936	1937	NNL2 (1936–37)		^[10]
Washington Pilots	1932	1932	EWL (1932)		^[3]
Washington Potomacs club Washington Potomacs (1923–24) Wilmington Potomacs (1925)	1923	1925	Independent (1923) ECL (1924–25)		^[3]
Washington Homestead Grays (See Homestead Grays)	1939	c. 1950s	NNL2 (1939–48) Independent (1949–c. 50s)	Split home games in Pittsburgh Alternately known as Washington Grays later Sparingly used Pittsburgh as home field after c. 1948	^[11]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Jacksonville Red Caps club Jacksonville Red Caps (1938) Cleveland Bears (1939–40) Jacksonville Red Caps (1941–42)	1938	1942	NAL (1938–42)	Disbanded midway through 1942 season	^[12]
Ethiopian Clowns (See Indianapolis Clowns)	c. 1930s	1942	Independent (c. 1930s–42)	Based in Miami Also known as Miami Giants c. 1930s	^{[citation needed]}

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Atlanta Black Crackers (I) club Atlanta Black Crackers (I) (1919–38) Indianapolis ABCs (IV) (1939)	1919	1939	Independent (1919) NSL (1920–37) NAL (1938–39)	NSL was a minor league every season except 1932 Disestablished May 1939	^[13]^[14]
Atlanta Black Crackers (II)	1940	1948	NSL (1940) Independent (1941–48)		^[13]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Chicago American Giants	1910	1952	Independent (1910–19) NNL1 (1920–31) NSL (1932) NNL2 (1933–35) Independent (1936) NAL (1937–52)	Formed via 1909 split of Leland Giants (See Leland Giants entry) Known as Leland Giants (II) 1910 Also known as Cole’s American Giants 1932–35 Moved majority of home games temporarily to Indianapolis 1933	^[15]
Chicago Brown Bombers	1945	1945	USBL (1945)		^[16]
Chicago Columbia Giants	1899	1900	Independent (1899–1900)	Merged with Chicago Unions to become Chicago Union Giants 1901 (See Leland Giants entry)	^[17]
Chicago Giants	1910	1921	Independent (1910–19) NNL1 (1920–21)	Formed via 1909 split of Leland Giants (See Leland Giants entry)	^[18]
Chicago Unions	1887	1900	Independent (1887–1900)	Merged with Chicago Columbia Giants to become Chicago Union Giants 1901 (See Leland Giants entry)	^[19]
Leland Giants	1901	1909	Independent (1901–09)	Formed via 1901 merger of: Chicago Unions (1887–1900) Chicago Columbia Giants (1899–1900) Known as Chicago Union Giants 1901–04 Split after 1909 to form: Chicago Giants (See Chicago Giants entry) Leland Giants (II) (See Chicago American Giants entry)	^[20]^[21]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Cole’s American Giants (See Chicago American Giants)	1933	1933	NNL2 (1933)	Played majority of home games temporarily in Indianapolis 1933	^[15]
Indianapolis ABCs (I)	c. 1913	1926	Independent (1913–19) NNL1 (1920–26)		^[14]
Indianapolis ABCs (II) club Indianapolis ABCs (II) (1931–33) Detroit Stars (II) (1933)	1931	1933	NNL1 (1931) NSL (1932) NNL2 (1933)	Relocated to Detroit shortly after opening day 1933	^[14]^[22]
Indianapolis ABCs (III) (See St. Louis Stars (III))	1938	1938	NAL (1938)		^[14]^[23]
Indianapolis ABCs (IV) (See Atlanta Black Crackers (I))	1939	1939	NAL (1939)	Disestablished May 1939	^[14]
Indianapolis Clowns club Miami Giants (c. 1930s) Ethiopian Clowns (c. 1930s–42) Cincinnati Clowns (1943) Indianapolis–Cincinnati Clowns (1944) Cincinnati Clowns (1945) Indianapolis Clowns (1946–62)	c. 1930s	1962	Independent (c. 1930s–42) NAL (1943–55) Independent (1956–62)		^{[citation needed]}
Indianapolis Athletics	1937	1937	NAL (1937)		^[3]
Indianapolis Crawfords (See Pittsburgh Crawfords)	1940	1940	NAL (1940)	Folded after 1940 season	^[24]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Louisville Black Caps club Louisville Black Caps (Apr–Aug) Columbus Turfs (Aug–Sept)	1932	1932	NSL (1932)	Relocated to Columbus in August then folded at end of season	^[3]
Louisville Black Colonels					^[3]
Louisville Buckeyes (See Cleveland Buckeyes)	1949	1949	NAL (1949)		^[26]
Louisville Fall City	1887	1887	NCBBL (1887)		^[27]
Louisville White Sox	1931	1931	NNL1 (1931)		^[3]
Zulu Cannibal Giants	1934	1937	Independent (1934–37)	Based in Louisville	^[19]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Alexandria Black Aces					^[28]
Alexandria Lincoln Giants					^[28]
Baton Rouge Black Sox					^[29]^[30]
Baton Rouge Hardwood Sports					^[30]
Baton Rouge Stars					^[28]
Detroit–New Orleans Stars (See Detroit Stars (IV))	1960	1961	NAL (1960–61)	Folded after 1961 season	^[31]
Ferriday Stars					^[28]
Gretna Lookouts					^[28]
Hammond Cubs					^[28]
Hammond Hardhitters					^[28]
Houma Delta Cubs					^[30]
Lake Charles Lincoln Giants					^[30]
Melpomene White Sox					^[28]
Mereaux Tigers					^[28]
Metairie Pelicans					^[28]
Monroe Monarchs	1920s	1935	Negro Southern League (1932)	NSL only organized league to complete the 1932 season (Considered de facto Major League)	^[32]^[30]
Morgan City Bears					^[28]
Morgan City Black Sox					^[28]
New Orleans Ads	1920	1920	Negro Southern League (1920)	Team often referred to as the Caulfield Ads	^[29]
New Orleans Algiers Giants					^[29]^[30]^[28]
New Orleans Black Eagles					^{[citation needed]}
New Orleans Black Pelicans					^[29]^[30]
New Orleans Black Rappers					^[31]
New Orleans Blue Rappers					^[31]
New Orleans Cohens					^[28]
New Orleans Creoles					^[31]
New Orleans Crescents					^[28]
New Orleans Crescent Stars	1921	1937	Independent (1921-22, 1932-37)		^[31]^[30]
New Orleans Dumonts					^[28]
New Orleans Eagles					^[31]
New Orleans Eclipse					^[31]
New Orleans Pinchbacks					^[28]
New Orleans Stars	1924	1924	Independent (1924)		^[28]
New Orleans Unions/Crescents					^[29]
New Orleans–St. Louis Stars (See St. Louis Stars (III))	1940	1941	NAL (1940–41)	Split home games between New Orleans and St. Louis	^[23]
Plaquemine Tigers					^[28]
Scotlandville White Sox					^[28]
Secret 9 Base Ball Team					^[28]
Shreveport Acme Giants					^[30]
Shreveport Black Sports					^[33]
Shrewsbury Globetrotters					^[28]
Slidell Creoles					^[30]
West Baton Rouge Cubs					^[30]
Winfield Devils					^[28]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Baltimore Black Sox (I)	1916	1933	Independent (1916–22) ECL (1923–28) ANL (1929) Independent (1930–31) EWL (1932) NNL2 (1933)		^[34]
Baltimore Black Sox (II)	1934	1934	NNL2 (1934)	Only played second half of season then folded	^[34]
Baltimore Elite Giants club Nashville Standard Giants (1919–20) Nashville Elite Giants (1921–30) Cleveland Cubs (1931) Nashville Elite Giants (1932–34) Columbus Elite Giants (1935) Washington Elite Giants (1936–37) Baltimore Elite Giants (1938–51)	1919	1951	Independent (1919–29) NNL1 (1930–31) NSL (1932) NNL2 (1933–48) NAL (1949–51)	Dissolved around 1951	^[10]
Baltimore Lord Baltimores	1887	1887	NCBBL (1887)		^[35]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Boston Resolutes	1887	1887	NCBBL (1887)		^[36]
Boston Royal Giants			IL (1906)	Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1906 Known as Quaker Giants 1906	^{[citation needed]}^[37]
Boston Blues	1946	1946	USBL (1946)		^[38]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Detroit Stars (I)	1919	1931	Independent (1919) NNL1 (1920–31)		^[22]
Detroit Stars (II) (See Indianapolis ABCs (II))	1933	1933	NNL2 (1933)	Relocated from Indianapolis shortly after opening day 1933	^[14]^[22]
Detroit Stars (III)	1937	1937	NAL (1937)		^[22]
Detroit Stars (IV) club Detroit Stars (IV) (1954–57) Detroit Clowns (1958) Detroit Stars (IV) (1959) Detroit–New Orleans Stars (1960–61)	1954	1961	NAL (1954–61)		^{[citation needed]}
Detroit Wolves	1932	1932	EWL (1932)	Only season in existence	^[39]
Page Fence Giants	1895	1898	Independent (1895–98)	Based in Adrian, Michigan	^[40]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
St. Paul Colored Gophers	1907	1911	Independent (1907–11)	Played as the Twin City Gophers 1911	^[41]
Twin City Colored Giants					^{[citation needed]}

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Kansas City Monarchs	1920	1965	NNL1 (1920–31) Independent (1932–36) NAL (1937–61) Independent (1962–65)	Later based in Grand Rapids, MI 1956–65	^[42]
St. Louis Stars (I)	1906	1931	Independent (1906–19) NNL1 (1920–31)	Known as St. Louis Giants 1906–21	^[23]
St. Louis Stars (II)	1937	1937	NAL (1937)	Only season in existence	^[23]
St. Louis Stars (III) club Indianapolis ABCs (III) (1938) St. Louis Stars (III) (1939) New Orleans–St. Louis Stars (1940–41) Harrisburg–St. Louis Stars (1943)	1938	1943	NAL (1938–41) NNL2 (1943)	Played home games in New Orleans and St. Louis 1940–41 Did not field a team for 1942; team merged with New York Black Yankees of NNL Played all home games in Harrisburg; none in St. Louis 1943	^[14]^[23]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Bacharach Giants (I)	1916	1929	Independent (1916–22) ECL (1923–28) ANL (1929)	Based in Atlantic City (Not to be confused with the Philadelphia-based team of the same name.)	^{[citation needed]}
Cuban Giants	1885	c. 1915	Independent (1885–1906) NA (1907–09) Independent (1910–c. 15)	Based in Trenton Part of team split after 1896 to form Cuban X-Giants After split, known as Genuine Cuban Giants or Original Cuban Giants	^[43]
Cuban X-Giants	1897	1907	Independent (1897–1905) IL (1906) NA (1907)	Formed via 1896 split of Cuban Giants Based in Trenton	^[44]
Jersey City Colored Athletics					^{[citation needed]}
Newark Browns	1932	1932	EWL (1932)		^[45]
Newark Dodgers	1933	1935	Independent (1933) NNL2 (1934–35)	Merged with Brooklyn Eagles to become Newark Eagles 1936 (See Newark Eagles entry)	^[46]
Newark Eagles club Newark Eagles (1936–48) Houston Eagles (1949–50)	1936	1950	NNL2 (1936–48) NAL (1949–50)	Formed via 1936 merger of: Newark Dodgers (1933–35) Brooklyn Eagles (1935)	^[46]
Newark Stars	1926	1926	ECL (1926)		^[47]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Brooklyn Eagles	1935	1935	NNL2 (1935)	Merged with Newark Dodgers to become Newark Eagles 1936 (See Newark Eagles entry)	^[46]
Brooklyn Royal Giants	1905	1942	Independent (1905–06) NA (1907–09) Independent (1910–22) ECL (1923–27) Independent (1928–42)	Deteriorated to minor league status by the 1930s	^[48]
Harlem Stars					^{[citation needed]}
Lincoln Giants	1911	1930	Independent (1911–22) ECL (1923–26) Independent (1927) ECL (1928) ANL (1929) Independent (1930)	Based in New York City	^[49]
Lincoln Stars	1914	1917	Independent (1914–17)	Based in New York City	^[50]
New York Black Yankees	1931	1959	Independent (1931–35) NNL2 (1936–48) Independent (1949–59)	Known as Harlem Black Bombers 1931	^[51]
New York Cubans	1935	1950	NNL2 (1935–36) NNL2 (1939–48) NAL (1949–50)	Did not field a team 1937–38	^[52]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Akron Black Tyrites	1933	1933	NNL2 (1933)	Merged/replaced the Columbus Blue Birds mid-season 1933 Folded/replaced by the Cleveland Giants for last month of 1933	^[53]
Dayton Marcos	c. 1910s	c. 1930s	Independent (c. 1910s–19) NNL1 (1920) Independent (1921–25) NNL1 (1926) Independent (1927–c. 30s)		^[54]
Toledo Crawfords (See Pittsburgh Crawfords)	1939	1939	NAL (1939)		^[24]
Toledo Rays					^{[citation needed]}
Toledo Tigers	1923	1923	NNL1 (1923)	Folded mid-season 1923	^[55]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Cincinnati Browns	1887	1887	NCBBL (1887)	Played no league games due to NCBBL folding Played independent of a league briefly, then folded	^{[citation needed]}
Cincinnati Buckeyes (See Cleveland Buckeyes)	1942	1942	NAL (1942)		^[26]
Cincinnati Clowns (See Indianapolis Clowns)	1943	1945	NAL (1943–45)	Played home games in Indianapolis and Cincinnati 1944–45 Also known as Indianapolis–Cincinnati Clowns 1944–45	^{[citation needed]}
Cincinnati Cuban Stars (See Cuban Stars (West))	1921	1921	NNL1 (1921)		^{[citation needed]}
Cincinnati Tigers	1934	1937	Independent (1934–36) NAL (1937)		^[56]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Cleveland Bears (See Jacksonville Red Caps)	1939	1940	NAL (1939–40)		^[12]
Cleveland Browns	1924	1924	NNL1 (1924)		^[57]
Cleveland Buckeyes club Cincinnati-Cleveland Buckeyes (1942) Cleveland Buckeyes (1943–48) Louisville Buckeyes (1949) Cleveland Buckeyes (1950)	1942	1950	NAL (1942–50)	Half of 1942 home schedule in Cincinnati, half in Cleveland Disbanded mid-season 1950	^[26] ^[58]
Cleveland Cubs (See Baltimore Elite Giants)	1931	1931	NNL1 (1931)		^[10]
Cleveland Elites (1926) Cleveland Hornets (1927) Cleveland Tigers (1928)	1926	1928	NNL1 (1926–28)	Teams are considered separate but closely linked	^[59] ^[60] ^[61]
Cleveland Giants	1933	1933	NNL2 (1933)	Formed from remnants of the Akron Black Tyrites for end of 1933	^[62]
Cleveland Red Sox	1934	1934	NNL2 (1934)	Only season in existence	^[63]
Cleveland Stars	1932	1932	EWL (1932)	Folded mid-season 1932	^[64]
Cleveland Tate Stars	1922	1923	NNL1 (1922-1923)	Played as NNL team in 1922, played as associate team in 1923	^[65] ^[66]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Columbus Blue Birds	1933	1933	NNL2 (1933)	Dissolved/merged with Akron Black Tyrites mid-season 1933	^[67]
Columbus Buckeyes	1921	1921	NNL1 (1921)	Only season in existence	^[68]
Columbus Elite Giants (See Baltimore Elite Giants)	1935	1935	NNL2 (1935)		^[10]
Columbus Turfs (See Louisville Black Caps)	1932	1932	NSL (1932)	Relocated from Louisville in August then folded at end of season	^[3]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Harrisburg Giants	1922	1927	Independent (1922–23) ECL (1924–27)		^[70]
Harrisburg Monrovians					^{[citation needed]}
Harrisburg–St. Louis Stars (See St. Louis Stars (III))	1943	1943	NNL2 (1943)	Played all home games in Harrisburg; none in St. Louis Disbanded mid-season 1943	^[23]

List of Negro league baseball teams

Contents

Alabama

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

New Jersey

New York

Ohio

Cincinnati

Cleveland

Columbus

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

Tennessee

Texas

Washington

Wisconsin

Traveling teams

References

External links

Navigation menu

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Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Active Club of Philadelphia	1800s				^[71]
Bacharach Giants (II)	1931	1942	Independent (1931–33) NNL2 (1934) Independent (1935–42)	Based in Philadelphia (Not to be confused with the Atlantic City-based team of the same name.)	^{[citation needed]}
Hilldale Club	1916	1932	Independent (1916–22) ECL (1923–28) ANL (1929) Independent (1930–31) EWL (1932)	Also known as Hilldale Daisies, Darby Daisies Based near Philadelphia	^[72]
Philadelphia Pythians	1867	1887	Independent (1867–86) NCBBL (1887)		^[73]
Philadelphia Giants	1902	1916	Independent (1902–05) IL (1906) NA (1907–09) Independent (1910–16)		^[74]^[75]
Philadelphia Stars	1933	1952	Independent (1933) NNL2 (1934–48) NAL (1949–52)		^[76]
Philadelphia Tigers	1928	1928	ECL (1928)		^[77]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Homestead Grays club Homestead Grays (c. 1912–38) Washington Homestead Grays (1939–c. 50s) Washington Grays (1939–c. 50s)	c. 1912	c. 1950s	Independent (c. 1912–28) ANL (1929) Independent (1930–31) EWL (1932) Independent (1933–34) NNL2 (1935–48) Independent (1949–c. 50s)	Based near Pittsburgh Started to split home games with Washington, D.C. 1939 Sparingly used Pittsburgh as home field after c. 1948	^[11]
Pittsburgh Crawfords club Pittsburgh Crawfords (1931–38) Toledo Crawfords (1939) Indianapolis Crawfords (1940)	1931	1940	Independent (1931–32) NNL2 (1933–38) NAL (1939–40)		^[24]
Pittsburgh Keystones (I)	1887	1887	NCBBL (1887)		^[78]
Pittsburgh Keystones (II)	1921	1922	NNL1 (1921–22)		^[79]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Chattanooga Black Lookouts	1920	1927	NSL (1920, 1926–27)	Folded after 1920 season; re-established 1926 Minor league farm team for Homestead Grays 1926–27	^[80]
Chattanooga Choo-Choos	1940	1946	NSL (1940–46)		^{[citation needed]}
Memphis Red Sox	1923	1962	Independent (1923) NNL1 (1924–25, 27–30) NSL (1926, 31–36) NAL (1937–62)		^[81]
Nashville Elite Giants (See Baltimore Elite Giants)	1919	1934	Independent (1919–29) NNL1 (1930) NSL (1932) NNL2 (1933–34)	Known as Nashville Standard Giants 1919–20 Relocated as Cleveland Cubs 1931 then returned to Nashville	^[10]

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
Austin Black Senators					^{[citation needed]}
Brenham Merchants					^{[citation needed]}
Houston Eagles (See Newark Eagles)	1949	1950	NAL (1949–50)	Folded after 1950 season	^[46]^[82]
San Antonio Black Bronchos	1908	1909	Independent (1908–09)		^[83]
San Antonio Black Indians					^{[citation needed]}

Team	1st Yr	Last Yr	Affiliation(s)	Notes	Ref
All Cubans	1899	1905	Independent	Precursor of Cuban Stars (West)	^{[citation needed]}
All Nations	1912	1925	Independent	Based out of Kansas City MO and Des Moines IA	^{[citation needed]}
Chappie Johnson's Stars				Led by George "Chappie" Johnson	^{[citation needed]}
Colored House of David					^{[citation needed]}
Cuban Stars (East) club New York Cuban Stars (1916–19) Havana Cuban Stars (1920) Cuban Stars (East) (1921–c. 34)	1916	c. 1934	Independent (1916–22) ECL (1923–28) ANL (1929) Independent (1930–c. 34)	Played road games primarily in the New York and northeast region of the US	^{[citation needed]}
Cuban Stars (West) club Cuban Stars of Havana (1906–19) Cincinnati Cuban Stars (1920–21) Cuban Stars (West) (1922–32)	1906	1932	IL (1906) NA (1907–09) Independent (1910–19) NNL1 (1920–30) Independent (1931) EWL (1932)	Played road games for its first five years primarily in the eastern states near New York City and Philadelphia By 1916 the team was competing primarily in the northern midwestern states Based in Cincinnati 1920–21 and then returned to playing only road games	^{[citation needed]}
Ethiopian Clowns (See Indianapolis Clowns)	c. 1930s	1942	Independent (c. 1930s–42)	Generally based out of Miami	^{[citation needed]}
Mineola Black Spiders	c. 1932	c. 1937	Independent	Generally based out of northern Iowa	^{[citation needed]}
New York Gorhams	1886	1892	Independent (1886) NCBBL (1887) Independent (1888–92)	Generally based out of various East coast cites from New Jersey to Connecticut	^[86]
Tennessee Rats	c. 1911	c. 1926	Independent	Generally not consider a Negro league team Based out of Holden MO	^{[citation needed]}