In the 1945 Negro World Series, the
Cleveland Buckeyes
The Cleveland Buckeyes were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1942 to 1950 in the Negro American League. The Buckeyes played in two Negro World Series, defeating the Washington Homestead Grays in 1945, and losing to the New York Cuba ...
, champions of the
Negro American League
The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season.
Negro American League franchises
:''An ...
, swept the
Washington Homestead Grays, champions of the
Negro National League, four games to none.
Summary
Matchups
Game 1
The two teams were evenly matched in pitchers (who each allowed six hits on 33 batters), with a little bit of timing and luck proving the difference in Cleveland prevailing in the opening game. Cleveland broke the scoreless drought in the seventh inning. Catcher
Quincy Trouppe
Quincy Thomas Trouppe (December 25, 1912 – August 10, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and an amateur boxing champion. He was a catcher in the Negro leagues from 1930 to 1949. He was a native of Dublin, Georgia.
Early life
H ...
collected the lone extra base hit for the team on his triple to start the inning, and
Johnnie Cowan helped him score on a sacrifice fly. In the eighth, first baseman
Archie Ware hit a single to left, and a walk got him to second base, where right fielder
Willie Grace
William Grace (June 30, 1917 – November 18, 2006) was an American Negro league baseball outfielder and pitcher. He played from 1943 to 1948 with the Cleveland Buckeyes. He also played for the Erie Sailors of the Middle Atlantic League
The Mid ...
lobbed a single into right field to score Ware for what proved to be the go-ahead run. The Grays threatened in the final frame with a one-out single by
Dave Hoskins
David Will Hoskins (August 3, 1917 – April 2, 1970) was an American professional baseball player: a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 26 games for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball during the 1953 season and 14 games during the ...
that was followed by a walk to
Buck Leonard
Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard (September 8, 1907 – November 27, 1997) was an American first baseman in Negro league baseball and in the Mexican League. After growing up in North Carolina, he played for the Homestead Grays between 1934 and 1950, ...
.
Josh Gibson
Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. Baseball historians consider Gibson among the best power hitters and catchers in baseball history. In 1972, he became the se ...
lined a single to center field to make it 2-1 and put Leonard on third. However,
Sam Bankhead
Samuel Howard Bankhead (September 18, 1910 – July 24, 1976) was an American baseball player in the Negro leagues. He played from 1931 to 1951. He also played for the Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo along with Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. In 1951, ...
would hit the ball right to shortstop
Avelino Canizares that he relayed to Cowan at second base, and he relayed it to Ware at first base to complete the double play that ended the game. Buckeye starter Jefferson hurled a complete game while allowing just six hits and one earned run while striking out four and walking two batters. Grays starter Welmaker threw eight innings and allowed two runs while walking three and striking out seven. The two teams followed the game the next day with an exhibition game played in
Dayton
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
at Hudson Field, which Homestead won 3-1, while Game 2 took place two days after that.
Game 2
Homestead took an lead midway through the game, but they could not hold it together late.
Buck Leonard
Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard (September 8, 1907 – November 27, 1997) was an American first baseman in Negro league baseball and in the Mexican League. After growing up in North Carolina, he played for the Homestead Grays between 1934 and 1950, ...
started the fourth inning with a single to right field, and
Josh Gibson
Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. Baseball historians consider Gibson among the best power hitters and catchers in baseball history. In 1972, he became the se ...
followed him with a double to left field. A fielder's choice and a flyout meant that the game was 1-0 with two outs, and a
Jelly Jackson
Norman "Jelly" Jackson (September 13, 1909 – February 13, 1980) was a Negro league baseball player. He played for the Cleveland Red Sox and Homestead Grays
The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) wer ...
single was followed by a ground out to end the threats for more. In the fifth,
Cool Papa Bell
James Thomas "Cool Papa" Bell (May 17, 1903 – March 7, 1991) was an American center fielder in Negro league baseball from 1922 to 1946. He is considered to have been one of the fastest men ever to play the game. Stories demonstrating Bell's s ...
started the inning with a single, and he advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs and Bell on third, a balk by the pitcher led to Bell scoring what proved to be the final run for the Grays. In the seventh, the Buckeyes would tie the score on the strength of hitting and timing.
Willie Grace
William Grace (June 30, 1917 – November 18, 2006) was an American Negro league baseball outfielder and pitcher. He played from 1943 to 1948 with the Cleveland Buckeyes. He also played for the Erie Sailors of the Middle Atlantic League
The Mid ...
started the inning with a home run to right field to make it 2-1.
Buddy Armour lined a double with one out to center field; with two outs,
Eugene Bremer hit a ball to second baseman Jackson that he would bobble and make an error on, which led to Armour scoring.
Avelino Canizares lined a single to keep the inning alive with two runners on, but
Archie Ware hit a flyout to end the threat. In the bottom of the ninth inning,
Quincy Trouppe
Quincy Thomas Trouppe (December 25, 1912 – August 10, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and an amateur boxing champion. He was a catcher in the Negro leagues from 1930 to 1949. He was a native of Dublin, Georgia.
Early life
H ...
started the inning with a double to center field. Facing Armour, Wright had one of his pitches go wild, which meant that Trouppe went to third as the potential winning run. Armour (who went 1-for-3 in the game) would be walked intentionally afterwards, and he rewarded it by stealing second base not long after.
Johnnie Cowan (0-for-3 in the game) would then be intentionally walked to load the bases with no out with the pitcher in Gene Bremer to bat. He proceeded to line a double to right field, which scored Trouppe, Armour, and Cowan as the Buckeyes snatched Game 2 of the series.
Game 3
The Buckeyes gripped the Grays with a shutout that left the defending champions on the brink despite having left more runners on base than Cleveland (eight to six). Starter George "Jeff" Jefferson threw a shutout while allowing three hits with five walks and three strikeouts, while Roy Welmaker allowed four runs on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts. The trouble for the Grays started in the third inning, as catcher
Josh Gibson
Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. Baseball historians consider Gibson among the best power hitters and catchers in baseball history. In 1972, he became the se ...
would drop a foul fly hit by
Avelino Canizares, and the batter was soon walked. A bunt attempt by
Archie Ware led to an error by Welmaker and two runners on with no out. A forceout was followed by a single to get runners on second and third for
Willie Grace
William Grace (June 30, 1917 – November 18, 2006) was an American Negro league baseball outfielder and pitcher. He played from 1943 to 1948 with the Cleveland Buckeyes. He also played for the Erie Sailors of the Middle Atlantic League
The Mid ...
, who responded with a flyout to the outfield to score Ware.
Quincy Trouppe
Quincy Thomas Trouppe (December 25, 1912 – August 10, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and an amateur boxing champion. He was a catcher in the Negro leagues from 1930 to 1949. He was a native of Dublin, Georgia.
Early life
H ...
was intentionally walked to set up runners at second and third.
Buddy Armour would line a two-run single to center to give the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead (entirely of unearned runs). The game stood quiet until the ninth, when Cleveland added onto their lead after Jefferson grounded out to score Armour (who led the game with a 3-for-3 performance), who had singled to start the inning.
Vic Harris was the final out for the Grays, shutout for just the 4th time in 20 games played in the Series over the past four seasons.
Game 4
The Homestead Grays had made it to the Negro World Series four consecutive times (with two championships won), but they would end the fourth one just as they had done the first time around in being swept. Cleveland started the proceedings with two runs in the first;
Avelino Canizares had a leadoff single, which was followed by a walk to
Archie Ware and a single by
Sam Jethroe
Samuel Jethroe, nicknamed "The Jet" (January 23, 1917 – June 16, 2001), was an American center fielder in Negro league and Major League Baseball. With the Cincinnati & Cleveland Buckeyes he won a pair of batting titles, hit .340 over seven seas ...
. With the bases loaded for
Parnell Woods, he hit a ball to second baseman
Bozo Jackson that he could not get a hold on (with no assist from right fielder
Dave Hoskins
David Will Hoskins (August 3, 1917 – April 2, 1970) was an American professional baseball player: a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 26 games for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball during the 1953 season and 14 games during the ...
). While Woods was called out at second, two runs had scored on the error, which was followed by two quick outs to close the inning. In the fourth, the Buckeyes started with two straight singles by
Willie Grace
William Grace (June 30, 1917 – November 18, 2006) was an American Negro league baseball outfielder and pitcher. He played from 1943 to 1948 with the Cleveland Buckeyes. He also played for the Erie Sailors of the Middle Atlantic League
The Mid ...
and
Quincy Trouppe
Quincy Thomas Trouppe (December 25, 1912 – August 10, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and an amateur boxing champion. He was a catcher in the Negro leagues from 1930 to 1949. He was a native of Dublin, Georgia.
Early life
H ...
that were followed by a ground out and a flyout (by
Johnnie Cowan) that made it 3-0 Cleveland. The scoring popped once more in the seventh, as a
Sam Jethroe
Samuel Jethroe, nicknamed "The Jet" (January 23, 1917 – June 16, 2001), was an American center fielder in Negro league and Major League Baseball. With the Cincinnati & Cleveland Buckeyes he won a pair of batting titles, hit .340 over seven seas ...
two-out single scored runners on second and third (who had gotten there on a single and an error).
Sam Bankhead
Samuel Howard Bankhead (September 18, 1910 – July 24, 1976) was an American baseball player in the Negro leagues. He played from 1931 to 1951. He also played for the Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo along with Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. In 1951, ...
was the final out for the Grays, who like the Buckeyes had left six runners of base. For the Buckeyes, starter Frank Carswell threw a complete game shutout while allowing just four hits with three walks and one strikeout and a hit batsman. For the Grays, Ray Brown had allowed ten hits with five runs (two earned) with a walk and a strikeout.
Although the series formally ended there, the two teams would play three exhibition games in the span of the next three days; the game on September 22 was played in
Wilmington Park
Wilmington Park was a ballpark in Wilmington, Delaware that was located at the corner of 30th Street and Governor Printz Boulevard. It was home to the University of Delaware football team from 1940 to 1952 and the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Cl ...
in
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
(won by Cleveland 4-1), while
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...
hosted a doubleheader between the two the following day (which Homestead won 7-1 in both games).
See also
*
1945 World Series
The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. T ...
References
{{Negro World Series
Negro World Series
The Negro World Series was a post-season baseball tournament that was held from 1924 to 1927 and from 1942 to 1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east-coast counterparts. The series was a ...
1945 Negro World Series
1945 Negro World Series
Negro World Series
Negro World Series
The Negro World Series was a post-season baseball tournament that was held from 1924 to 1927 and from 1942 to 1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east-coast counterparts. The series was a ...
Negro World Series
The Negro World Series was a post-season baseball tournament that was held from 1924 to 1927 and from 1942 to 1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east-coast counterparts. The series was a ...
Negro World Series
The Negro World Series was a post-season baseball tournament that was held from 1924 to 1927 and from 1942 to 1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east-coast counterparts. The series was a ...
1945 in American sports