The 1932 Detroit Wolves baseball team was a

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

team that competed in the

East–West League The East–West League was an American Negro baseball league that operated during the period when professional baseball in the United States was segregated. Cum Posey organized the league in 1932, but it did not last the full year and folded in Ju ...

(EWL) during the 1932 baseball season. The team compiled a 28–9 record (26–5 against EWL opponents) and won the EWL pennant, finishing six-and-a-half games ahead of the second-place team. The Wolves played their home games at Hamtramck Stadium in Hamtramck, Michigan. The team included on its roster five players who were later inducted into the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

: center fielder Cool Papa Bell, first baseman Mule Suttles, shortstop Willie "The Devil" Wells, and pitchers Ray Brown and Smokey Joe Williams.

Formation and management

After the 1931 season, the Negro National League (NNL) disbanded. The Detroit Stars, which had represented the City of Detroit in the NNL since 1920, were also disbanded at that time. The Detroit Wolves were organized prior to the 1932 season as part of the newly formed

(EWL). Cumberland Posey was a leader behind the formation of the EWL and the owner of the Wolves. Described by one sportswriter as "the smartest man in Negro baseball," he was posthumously inducted into the

in 2006. Dizzy Dismukes, an Alabama native and right-handed pitcher, was hired as the team's manager. In an effort to build a roster, the Wolves signed players from the recently disbanded Negro National League. In particular, the Wolves signed seven players from the 1931 St. Louis Stars team. The former St. Louis players were: Cool Papa Bell; Willie Wells; Mule Suttles; right fielder Quincy Trouppe; third baseman

Dewey Creacy Albert Dewey Creacy (April 13, 1899 – November 17, 1984) was an American Negro league third baseman in the 1920s and 1930s. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Creacy made his Negro leagues debut in 1924 with the St. Louis Stars. He knocked ...

; and pitchers

Ted Trent Theodore Trent (December 17, 1903 – January 10, 1944) was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues. He played from 1927 to 1939 with several teams, playing mostly for the St. Louis Stars and Chicago American Giants The Chicago Americ ...

and Nate Hunter. In early June, the Wolves sent Suttles, John Henry Russell, and Creacy to the Homestead Grays in exchange for Giles (first baseman), Allen (second baseman), and Jud Wilson (third baseman).

Position players

The team featured a powerful lineup of batters, scoring an average of 5.5 runs per game against EWL opponents. Center fielder Cool Papa Bell, a native of Mississippi, ranked second in the league with a .340 batting average and also ranked among the league's leaders with 40 runs scored (fourth) and nine stolen bases (tied for second). Bell was one of the first Negro league players inducted into the

, receiving the honor in 1974. First baseman Mule Suttles, an Alabama native, was the team's leading slugger and led the league with 48 RBIs and 22 doubles and ranked second in the league with 30 bases on balls and a .524 slugging percentage. Suttles also led the EWL with 468 putouts. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. Third baseman Dewey Creacy led the EWL by appearing in 63 games and playing 538 innings. Creacy also led the league's third basemen with 72 putouts and 92 assists. Shortstop Willie Wells, a Texas native, ranked first among the league's shortstops with 87 putouts and second with 111 assists. Considered one of the best defensive shortstops of his era, Wells was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

Pitchers

The Wolves' pitching staff compiled a 2.77 earned run average (ERA) that was the best in the EWL.

Bertrum Hunter Bertrum "Nate" Hunter (October 20, 1910 – April 25, 1948) was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues. He played professionally from 1931 to 1936 with several teams. He pitched for the East in the inaugural East-West All-Star Game i ...

, a right-handed pitcher from Arizona, led the league in both wins (10) and strikeouts (72). He appeared in 16 games for the Wolves, 10 as a starter, and compiled a 10–2 record with a 2.93 ERA. William Bell, a right-handed pitcher from Texas, ranked second in the league with a 2.47 ERA. He compiled a 4–2 win–loss record. Smokey Joe Williams, another right-hander from Texas, compiled a 5–1 record and a 2.72 ERA. Williams was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. Ray Brown compiled a 7–7 record in 16 games with a 3.67 ERA. He went on to fame with the Homestead Grays and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Roster

The following players participated in games for the 1932 Detroit Wolves.

Game log

References

{{Detroit Negro league baseball 1932 in sports in Michigan Negro league baseball seasons African-American history in Detroit