The Bacharach Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Founding

The club was founded when two African-American politicians moved the Duval Giants of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, to Atlantic City in 1916 and renamed them after Harry Bacharach, the city's mayor. The Bacharachs became a top independent team within a few years, featuring shortstop Dick Lundy, third baseman Oliver Marcell, and the great pitchers

Dick Redding Richard Redding (April 15, 1890 – October 31, 1948), nicknamed "Cannonball", was an American pitcher, outfielder, and manager (baseball), manager in baseball's Negro league baseball, Negro leagues, regarded as perhaps the fastest pitcher in ...

and Jesse "Nip" Winters.

League play

In 1920 the club joined the Midwest-based Negro National League (NNL) as an associate member. Though the Bacharachs played NNL teams extensively, touring the Midwest each year from 1920 to 1922, they did not compete for the league championship. In the winter of 1920-1921, the club competed in the

Cuban League The Cuban League was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outside the United States, operating in Cuba from 1878 to 1961. The schedule usually operated during the winter months, so the league was sometimes known a ...

, and were managed by

Tinti Molina José Agustín "Tinti" Molina Becerra (August 28, 1873 - January 10, 1961) was a baseball catcher, first baseman and manager in the Cuban League The Cuban League was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outsid ...

. In 1922, the club splintered into two factions; one took most of the roster and moved to New York City under the management of

John Henry Lloyd John Henry Lloyd (April 25, 1884 – March 19, 1964), nicknamed "Pop" and "El Cuchara", was an American baseball shortstop and manager in the Negro leagues. During his 27-year career, he played for many teams and had a .343 batting average. Lloy ...

, while the other remained in Atlantic City. In 1923, the two clubs were reunited in Atlantic City, and the Bacharach Giants became a founding member of the

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 the time organized baseball was segregated. League history Founding The ECL ...

(ECL). The team hovered around .500 until 1926, when the shortstop Dick Lundy took over as playing manager, and brought home two consecutive pennants, helped by Marcelle, center fielder

Chaney White Chaney Leonard White (April 15, 1894 – February 23, 1967), nicknamed "Reindeer", was an outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defende ...

, and pitchers Arthur "Rats" Henderson, Claude Grier, and Luther Farrell. The Bacharachs lost the Negro League World Series to the

Chicago American Giants The Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball. Owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" F ...

both years, though Grier and Farrell both tossed no-hitters for the Atlantic City team, the only no-hitters in Negro League World Series history. When the ECL failed early in 1928, the Bacharachs continued to play as an independent team.

Decline and demise

Despite the Bacharachs' success, attendance was not high enough to sustain their high-priced roster. In one of the most famous trades in Negro league history, they sent Lundy and Marcelle to the

Baltimore Black Sox The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional Negro league baseball team active between 1913 and 1936, based in Baltimore, Maryland. Founding The Black Sox started as an independent team in 1913 by Howard Young. They were one of the original six ...

in return for veteran first baseman and manager Ben Taylor, catcher Mack Eggleston, and cash. Lundy and Marcelle sparked the Black Sox to the 1929

American Negro League The American Negro League (ANL) was one of several Negro leagues established during the period in the United States in which organized baseball was segregated. The ANL operated on the East Coast of the United States in 1929. History The Easte ...

pennant, while the Bacharachs languished in fifth place (out of six teams), with a 19–45 record. The team disbanded after the 1929 season and its connection to Atlantic City ended.

Later reincarnation and demise

In 1931, white promoter Harry Passon organized a new Bacharach team based in Philadelphia. The club eventually joined

Gus Greenlee William Augustus Greenlee (December 26, 1893 – July 7, 1952) was a highly successful businessman in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who was born and raised in Marion, North Carolina. After migrating to Pittsburgh as a young man and working in the ...

's new Negro National League in 1934 but returned to independent baseball in 1935. The Bacharachs then operated independently until Passon's death in 1942 and then disbanded for good.

References

*''The Negro Leagues Book'' edited by Dick Clark & Larry Lester Publisher: The Society for American Baseball Research (Cleveland OH) *''The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues'' by James A. Riley Publisher: Carroll & Graf (New York NY) *''Negro League Baseball - The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution'' by Neil Lanctot Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (Philadelphia, PA)

External links

1920 Bacharach Giants Calendar
{{Authority control Sports in Atlantic City, New Jersey Negro league baseball teams African-American history of New Jersey Defunct baseball teams in New Jersey Baseball teams disestablished in 1929 Baseball teams established in 1916