The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional

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 active between 1913 and 1936, based in

Baltimore 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 ...

, Maryland.

Founding

The Black Sox started as an independent team in 1913 by Howard Young. They were one of the original six teams to make up 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 ...

in .

Heyday

In , The Black Sox boasted the "Million Dollar Infield" of Jud "Boojum" Wilson (

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Frank Warfield Francis Xavier Warfield (April 26, 1897 – July 24, 1932) was an infielder and manager in the Negro leagues. Career Standing at just 5'7", Warfield was known primarily for his fielding and baserunning excellence, but he also had several good yea ...

( second baseman), Oliver Marcell (

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

) and Sir Richard Lundy (

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

). The nickname was given to them by the media because of the prospective worth had they been white players. The Black Sox won over 70% of their games during the 1929 season and won the

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 ...

Championship. During their only season in the East–West League (), the Black Sox were in third place with a 41–41 record when the league ceased operations.

Decline, demise and reincarnation

In 1932, Joe Cambria became co-owner and general manager and moved the team into

Cum Posey Cumberland Willis "Cum" Posey Jr. (June 20, 1890 – March 28, 1946) was an American baseball player, manager, and team owner in the Negro leagues, as well as a professional basketball player and team owner. Early life Cumberland Jr. was born i ...

's new

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 ...

. During that same year, the team moved its home games to Bugle Field, which was owned by Cambria. He renovated and expanded the field and added lighting equipment for night games. The team was in first place in the East–West League in late June when the league disbanded and the teams stopped paying player salaries, instead splitting a percentage of the gate receipts with the players. In 1933, the team 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. The next season, Cambria applied to reenter the Negro National League, but when several star players announced they would leave the team, his application was rejected and he disbanded the team. In mid-season 1934, another team entered the league using the Black Sox name, but it didn't meet with much success and disbanded after only one year. Another Black Sox team led by

Crush Holloway Crush Christopher Columbus Holloway (September 16, 1896 – June 1972) was an American professional outfielder who played in the Negro leagues between 1921 and 1939. A terror on the basepaths, Holloway earned a reputation as one of the most aggre ...

joined the short lived minor

Negro American Association The Negro American Association was the name of two different minor league Negro baseball leagues. Negro American Association (1939) The first Negro American Association was organized in 1939, lasting one season. This league was to be a farm sy ...

in 1939.

MLB throwback jersey

On September 6, 2007, the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

wore Black Sox uniforms in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Black Sox' season. On May 18, 2014 the

wore Black Sox uniforms as part of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

's "Salute to the Negro Leagues".

References

McKenna, Bernard. The Baltimore Black Sox: A Negro Leagues History, 1913-1936. McFarland, 2020.

External links

1920 Baltimore Black Sox Calendar
{{Negro League teams, Majorleague African-American history in Baltimore Negro league baseball teams Sports teams in Baltimore 1916 establishments in Maryland Defunct baseball teams in Maryland Baseball teams disestablished in 1936 Baseball teams established in 1913