The Chicago Unions were a professional, black
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
team that played in the late 19th century, prior to the formation of the
Negro leagues
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 ...
.
Founding
Organized as the Unions in 1887, the club was led by
Abe Jones (1887–1889) and by
W.S. Peters (1890–1900). In 1899 they lost a series for the western championship to the
Columbia Giants
The Columbia Giants were a professional, black baseball team based in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century, prior to the Negro leagues.
Founding
In 1899, a group known as the Columbia Club, organized the Columbia Giants under the direction ...
, also based in Chicago.
The Unions, along with the
Cuban Giants
The Cuban Giants were the first fully salaried African-American professional baseball club. The team was originally formed in 1885 at the Argyle Hotel, a summer resort in Babylon, New York. Initially an independent barnstorming team, they played ...
, are the only Negro teams to survive the political and economic crisis that eventually lead to the
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...
. Every other significant Negro team which operated prior to the Panic ultimately ceased to exist. (Holway, p.30)
Merge
During and 1902,
Frank Leland
Frank C. Leland (1869 – November 14, 1914) was an American baseball player, field manager and club owner in the Negro leagues.
Early life and career beginnings
Leland was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He attended Fisk University in Nashville, ...
created the
Chicago Union Giants
The Leland Giants, originally the Chicago Union Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently during the first decade of the 20th century. The team was formed via a merge of the Chicago Unions and the Chicago Columbia Gian ...
by hiring many players from the Chicago Unions and
Columbia Giants
The Columbia Giants were a professional, black baseball team based in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century, prior to the Negro leagues.
Founding
In 1899, a group known as the Columbia Club, organized the Columbia Giants under the direction ...
. The Union Giants "were recognized as the top team in the West, but lost a challenge playoff to the
Algona Brownies
The Algona Brownies were an independent interracial baseball team that played in the 1902 and 1903 seasons. They were based in Algona, Iowa, and was primarily made up of former members of the Chicago Unions
The Chicago Unions were a professi ...
in 1903 for the western championship" (Riley 168). The Union Giants were renamed
Leland Giants
The Leland Giants, originally the Chicago Union Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently during the first decade of the 20th century. The team was formed via a merge of the Chicago Unions and the Chicago Columbia Gian ...
in .
Franchise continuum
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bar:UNI # Chicago Unions
bar:AMG # Chicago American Giants
bar:COL # Chicago Columbia Giants
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Define $Right2 = anchor:till align:right shift:(-25,)
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Define $UpLeft = anchor:from align:right shift:(-1,1)
Define $UpLeft2 = anchor:from align:left shift:(-1,1)
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# Note on dates: A team's bar begins with the season that team played its first game, and ends with the season after that team played its last game. For example, the Cleveland Tate Stars played their first game in 1922 and played their last game in 1923. Therefore, their bar goes from 1922 to 1924.
bar:UNI from:1887 till:1901 color:skyblue text:"Chicago Unions" $Right2
bar:UNI from:1910 till:1921 color:gold text:"Chicago Giants" $Right2
bar:AMG from:1901 till:1910 color:yellow text:"Chicago Union Giants / Leland Giants (I)"
bar:COL from:1899 till:1901 color:skyblue text:"Chicago Columbia Giants" $Right2
bar:COL from:1910 till:1952 color:gold text:"Leland Giants (II) / Chicago American Giants" $Right2
References
*
*
{{Negro League teams, Independent
Negro league baseball teams
Unions
Defunct baseball teams in Illinois
Baseball teams disestablished in 1900
Baseball teams established in 1887