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14-626: Originally formed in April 1890 by Colonel William "C.W." Strothers as an amateur team, they became semi-professional by 1894, and by 1906 were known as one of the East's top teams. They joined the Eastern Colored League (ECL) for the 1924 season with Hall of Fame center fielder Oscar Charleston as playing manager. The Giants became known primarily for their hitting; along with Charleston, outfielder/first baseman Heavy Johnson , winner of

28-459: 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 ; the other players were largely castoffs of other Eastern Colored League teams. Sol White , in his last appearance in uniform after

42-638: 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 a baseball team in New Jersey is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Negro league baseball team article

56-721: The Bacharach Giants . In 1927, the Harrisburg Giants fell in second place again behind the Bacharach Giants, with a 41-32 record. The club dropped out of the ECL in 1928 and intended to play an independent schedule, whereupon most of its best players signed with other teams leading Strothers to disband the Giants. A new Giants team was formed mid-way through the 1928 season, led by Spottswood Poles , but it

70-904: 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 the Washington Potomacs moved to Wilmington, Delaware, but still disbanded in July. Their 1926 replacement,

84-570: 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 the league was wracked by dissension between club owners. New York's Lincoln Giants dropped out for that season. They returned

98-478: The batting triple crown for the 1923 Kansas City Monarchs , was signed away from the rival Negro National League . In the 1920s, the outfield for the Giants was considered one of the best of all time: Rap Dixon , Oscar Charleston , and Fats Jenkins . The lineup, in its entirety, scored runs at a higher pace than the 1927 New York Yankees . Additionally, they are the only Negro League outfield which remained intact for four years--only nine MLB outfields have met

112-442: The four-year standard. Harrisburg finished in the middle of the pack in its first season, winning 26 and losing 28 for a fifth-place spot (out of eight teams). In 1925, however, the Giants picked up the pace, challenging defending champion Hilldale before falling just short with a 37-18 record. 1926 saw the Giants add shortstop/third baseman John Beckwith from the Baltimore Black Sox , and finished second again, this time behind

126-540: 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 the beginning of June. The team in first place at the end of the season was declared the Pennant winner. Due to

140-415: The team. By the next year this version of the Giants were an inaugural team of the new Eastern Negro League , where they won the title with a 16-6 season. They continued to play on City Island through 1957. Eastern Colored League The Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Clubs , more commonly known as the Eastern Colored League (ECL), was one of the several Negro leagues , which operated during

154-514: 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 , the Bacharach Giants , the Brooklyn Royal Giants ,

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168-464: 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) was awarded the Pennant, but other times it was the team with the most victories. The " games behind " method of recording standings

182-504: Was rumored this team did not have "deep enough pockets" as Colonel Strothers did. After Colonel Strothers' death in 1933, there were several other black professional “Giants” teams representing Harrisburg, but baseball slowed as World War II arose in the 1940s. Following World War II, there weren't any Negro teams in Harrisburg, so the Harrisburg Giants were reincarnated in the 1953 by Richard Felton with Spottswood Poles again managing

196-611: 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 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

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