The Baltimore Lord Baltimores were a professional pre-

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 based in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

in 1887. The Lord Baltimores played as charter members of the short–lived 1887

National Colored Base Ball League The National Colored Base Ball League, the National Colored League, or the League of Colored Baseball Clubs was the subsequent attempt, after the Southern League of Colored Base Ballists, to have a league consisting of all-black teams. It predated ...

, hosting home games at

Oriole Park Oriole Park, often referred to as Terrapin Park, opened in 1914 and closed after a fire on July 3–4, 1944. "Oriole Park" was the name of multiple baseball parks in Baltimore, Maryland, all built within a few blocks of each other. Oriole Par ...

History

The 1887 National Colored Base Ball League was an early organization of a professional Negro league, with Baltimore fielding a franchise. The league began play with six teams: the Baltimore Lord Baltimores,

Boston Resolutes The Boston Resolutes were a Negro league baseball team affiliated with the National Colored Base Ball League in 1887. The team had come into play in early May of that year only to run out of money and have to fold on the spot. The National Leagu ...

Louisville Fall City Louisville Fall City were a professional baseball team based in Louisville, Kentucky which played in the Negro leagues. The Fall City team played in the National Colored Base Ball League The National Colored Base Ball League, the National Colored ...

New York Gorhams The New York Gorhams were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1886 to 1892. During their short existence the Gorhams grew to be one of the most successful black professional clubs in the country and challenged the supremacy of the Cuban ...

Philadelphia Pythians The Philadelphia Pythians (also Pythian Base Ball Club, Pythian Baseball Club, or the "Pyths") was one of the earliest Negro league baseball clubs, founded in 1865. African-American leaders Jacob C. White Jr. and Octavius V. Catto established th ...

and Pittsburgh Keystones as the charter members. The Washington Capital Citys and the Cincinnati Browns both joined the National Colored Base Ball League on March 15, 1887, although neither team would play a game. In late May of 1887 the National Colored Base Ball League folded permanently. The team was managed by Joseph Callis and Hugh Cummings. Baltimore won their opening game on May 5, 1887; a 15–12 victory over the Philadelphia Pythians. The Lord Baltimores were quickly affected by financial struggles that impacted league member teams. After a game in Louisville, the Boston Resolutes franchise discovered it did not have the finances to pay for the team to travel to their next game in Pittsburgh and its players were stranded in Louisville. The Resolutes remained stranded in Louisville for their next scheduled two-game series against the Lord Baltimores. Boston forfeited both games, although the first forfeit was declined by Baltimore. By the time the league collapsed the Pythians were in first with a 4–3 record and the Lord Baltimores were in second at 5–5. Baltimore was led by William Gray, who was hitting .417 and Joseph Stewart who had a 2–1 won-loss record as a pitcher.

The ballpark

The Lord Baltimores secured the use of

on 25th Street as their home ballpark. This was possible due to the

Orioles Oriole or Orioles may refer to: Animals * Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae * New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae Music * The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and earl ...

beginning their 1887 season on the road.

Notable players

Mainly playing outfield, James W. Wilson of the Lord Baltimores was the first native African to play professional baseball. In the league games for which box scores exist, Wilson batted .296/.321/.444. Originally from Cape Mount, Liberia, Wilson travelled to the United States and studied

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at Lincoln University. Wilson’s professional career pre-dates that of

Gift Ngoepe Mpho' Gift Ngoepe (mm-POH, n-GO-pay; born 18 January 1990) is a South African former professional baseball shortstop and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays. In 2017, he beca ...

(

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

) by more than a century, and Alfredo Cabrera (

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

) by two decades.

Timeline

Schedule

References

{{reflist

External links

Baseball Reference
Negro league baseball teams Baseball teams established in 1887 Baseball teams disestablished in 1887 Defunct baseball teams in Maryland Sports teams in Baltimore Professional baseball teams in Maryland African-American history of Maryland