The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional Negro league baseball team active between 1913 and 1936, based in Baltimore , Maryland.
13-488: The Black Sox started as an independent team in 1913 by Howard Young. They were one of the original six teams to make up the Eastern Colored League in 1923 . In 1929 , The Black Sox boasted the "Million Dollar Infield" of Jud "Boojum" Wilson ( first baseman ), Frank Warfield ( second baseman ), Oliver Marcell ( third baseman ) and Sir Richard Lundy ( shortstop ). The nickname was given to them by
26-864: The Bacharach Giants , the Brooklyn Royal Giants , the Cuban Stars (East) , the Lincoln Giants of New York, and the Baltimore Black Sox . In 1924 the Harrisburg Giants and Washington Potomacs joined, bringing the circuit to eight clubs. The ECL raided the NNL for players, including Hall of Famers Oscar Charleston , Biz Mackey , and John Henry Lloyd , starting a war that lasted for two years. In 1925
39-559: The Eastern Colored League (ECL), was one of the several Negro leagues , which operated during the time organized baseball was segregated. The ECL was founded in 1923 when the Philadelphia-area Hilldale Club and the Bacharach Giants of Atlantic City, both associate members of the midwest-based Negro National League (NNL), broke with the NNL and allied with the white promoter Nat Strong to form an east coast league. The charter members were: Hilldale ,
52-669: The Washington Potomacs moved to Wilmington, Delaware, but still disbanded in July. Their 1926 replacement, the Newark Stars , folded after only 11 games. At the end of the 1924 season the two leagues made peace and arranged for a Colored World Series between their champions. This series was played each year from 1924 through 1927. The only ECL club to win the World Series was Hilldale in 1925. Beginning in 1927
65-500: The beginning of June. The team in first place at the end of the season was declared the Pennant winner. Due to the unorthodox nature of the schedule (and little incentive to enforce it), some teams frequently played many more games than others did in any given season. This led to some disputed championships and two teams claiming the title. Generally, the team with the best winning percentage (with some minimum number of games played)
78-591: The champion of the rival Negro National League . Three out of the four years, the Eastern Colored League team (below in bold ) succumbed. Newark Stars The Newark Stars were a Negro league baseball team in the Eastern Colored League , based in Newark, New Jersey , in 1926. The team's owner was Wilbur Crelin and its manager and third baseman was Andy Harris . The team featured outfielder Charlie Mason and second baseman George Scales ;
91-636: The gate receipts with the players. In 1933, the team joined Gus Greenlee 's new Negro National League . The next season, Cambria applied to reenter the Negro National League, but when several star players announced they would leave the team, his application was rejected and he disbanded the team. In mid-season 1934, another team entered the league using the Black Sox name, but it didn't meet with much success and disbanded after only one year. Another Black Sox team led by Crush Holloway joined
104-430: The league was wracked by dissension between club owners. New York's Lincoln Giants dropped out for that season. They returned the next, but then Hilldale , the Brooklyn Royal Giants , and the Harrisburg Giants all dropped out. The Philadelphia Tigers were recruited to bring the league up to five teams for 1928. The ECL staggered through May, but finally disbanded in the midst of disputes over player contracts at
117-556: The media because of the prospective worth had they been white players. The Black Sox won over 70% of their games during the 1929 season and won the American Negro League Championship. During their only season in the East–West League ( 1932 ), the Black Sox were in third place with a 41–41 record when the league ceased operations. In 1932, Joe Cambria became co-owner and general manager and moved
130-578: The other players were largely castoffs of other Eastern Colored League teams. Sol White , in his last appearance in uniform after a career spanning nearly 40 years in professional baseball, served as a bench coach. They played at Davids' Stadium (later known as Ruppert Stadium), the home of the Newark Bears of the International League . The Stars disbanded mid-season, and only won one game, while losing 10. This article about
143-747: The short lived minor Negro American Association in 1939. On September 6, 2007, the Baltimore Orioles wore Black Sox uniforms in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Black Sox' 1932 season. On May 18, 2014, the Baltimore Orioles wore Black Sox uniforms as part of the Kansas City Royals 's "Salute to the Negro Leagues". McKenna, Bernard. The Baltimore Black Sox: A Negro Leagues History, 1913-1936. McFarland, 2020. Eastern Colored League The Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Clubs , more commonly known as
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#1732775860017156-403: The team into Cum Posey 's new East–West League . During that same year, the team moved its home games to Bugle Field , which was owned by Cambria. He renovated and expanded the field and added lighting equipment for night games. The team was in first place in the East–West League in late June when the league disbanded and the teams stopped paying player salaries, instead splitting a percentage of
169-481: Was awarded the Pennant, but other times it was the team with the most victories. The " games behind " method of recording standings was uncommon in most black leagues. Four of the five pennant winners went on to play in the Negro World Series (all except for the first in 1923). For the duration of the league, a Colored World Series took place four times, from 1924 through 1927. The ECL Pennant winner met
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