The Indianapolis ABCs were a

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 that played both as an independent club and as a charter member of the first Negro National League (NNL). They claimed the western championship of black baseball in 1915 and 1916, and finished second in the 1922 NNL. Among their best players were

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

members

Oscar Charleston Oscar McKinley Charleston (October 14, 1896 – October 5, 1954) was an American center fielder and manager in Negro league baseball. Over his 43-year baseball career, Charleston played or managed with more than a dozen teams, including the Home ...

Biz Mackey James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey (July 27, 1897 – September 22, 1965) was an American catcher and manager in Negro league baseball. He played for the Indianapolis ABCs (1920–1922), New York Lincoln Giants (1920), Hilldale Daisies (1923–1931), ...

, and Ben Taylor.

Founding

Originally organized by the American Brewing Company (thus "A.B.C.s") in the early 20th century, the team was managed by Ran Butler in 1911."Leading Baseball Clubs" Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, IN, April 1, 1911, Page 7, Column 5
/ref> It was then purchased by

Thomas Bowser Thomas Bowser was an American sports executive, who owned the Indianapolis ABCs of Negro league baseball. He owned the team, along with C. I. Taylor Charles Isham Taylor (January 20, 1875 – February 23, 1922) was an Americans, American second ba ...

, a white bail bondsman, in 1912. Two years later,

C. I. Taylor Charles Isham Taylor (January 20, 1875 – February 23, 1922) was an Americans, American second baseman, manager (baseball), manager and executive in Negro league baseball. Born in Anderson, South Carolina, he was the oldest among four sons of a M ...

, formerly of the

Birmingham Giants The Birmingham Giants were a Negro league baseball team, based in Birmingham, Alabama, from 1904 through 1909. They were the first black professional baseball team in the city. C. I. Taylor managed and played for the Giants. His brothers Candy Ji ...

and

West Baden Sprudels The West Baden Sprudels were an early Negro league baseball team that played as an independent club owned by the Burnett-Pollard-Rogers Baseball Club Company, where Edward Rogers was the Chief Officer. Founding The Sprudels appear to have been ...

, purchased a half-interest in the ABCs, and became the team's manager. Taylor stocked the ABCs with his brothers

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, � ...

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, and

Jim Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

, all among the best African-American players in baseball. Taylor was a noted judge of young talent; some of the well-known players he brought to the big time included center fielder

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

, second baseman

Bingo DeMoss Elwood "Bingo" DeMoss (September 5, 1889 – January 26, 1965) was a baseball player and manager in the Negro leagues from 1905 to 1943. Early life DeMoss was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1889 and began his playing career in 1905 with the Topeka ...

, third baseman-outfielder

Dave Malarcher David "Gentleman Dave" Julius Malarcher (October 18, 1894 – May 11, 1982) was an American third baseman in Negro league baseball. He played for the Indianapolis ABCs, Detroit Stars, and Chicago American Giants from 1916 to 1934. Malarcher won t ...

, outfielder

George Shively George "Rabbit" Shively (January 3, 1893 – June 7, 1962) was an American baseball left fielder in the Negro leagues. He played from 1910 to 1924 with various teams. He played mostly with the Indianapolis ABCs. He was asked to leave the Indianapo ...

, and pitchers

Dizzy Dismukes William "Dizzy" Dismukes (March 15, 1890 – June 30, 1961) was an American pitcher and manager in Negro league baseball and during the pre-Negro league years. Career Dismukes was a right-handed submariner, who is considered by many historians t ...

, Jim Jeffries, and

Dicta Johnson Louis "Dicta" Johnson (born June 29, 1887) was an American spitball pitcher in Negro league baseball and during the pre-Negro league years. He played from 1908 until 1923, mostly for the Indianapolis ABCs and the Chicago American Giants. In 19 ...

Split and hiatus

By 1915, the ABCs were already challenging

Rube Foster Andrew "Rube" Foster (September 17, 1879 – December 9, 1930) was an American baseball player, manager, and executive in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. Foster, considered by historians to have been per ...

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" Fo ...

for supremacy in black baseball. That year they defeated the American Giants in a series for the western black championship, though Foster disputed the title. That year, Taylor cut a deal to use the park left when the city's entry in the

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

dissolved; Bowser disagreed with the deal, and two owners parted company, each organizing a rival ABCs squad. Taylor had the better of the contest for talent, retaining the core of the 1915 team, and again claiming a disputed championship over the American Giants. In 1917, Bowser sold his club, generally known as Bowser's ABCs, to a black businessman named Warner Jewell. Jewell's ABCs, playing at Northwestern Park (northwest corner of Brighton Boulevard and 17th Street), continued as a sort of farm club to Taylor's team.

Federal League Park Federal League Park or just Federal Park (also known as Greenlawn Park) is the name of a former baseball park in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The park was home to the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the Federal League in 1914. The park was cons ...

was torn down, and Taylor turned to Washington Park, the home of the minor league

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

. The

were generally recognized as western champions for 1917, finally ending the ABCs' two-year claim on the title.

Reorganization and league play

In 1920, after a year-long absence from baseball, Taylor reorganized the ABCs and entered them in the new Negro National League (NNL), finishing in fourth place with a 39–35 record. The following season Oscar Charleston left for the

St. Louis Giants The St. Louis Stars, originally the St. Louis Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently from as early as 1906 to 1919, and then joined the Negro National League (NNL) for the duration of their existence. After the 192 ...

, and the ABCs sagged to 35–38 and fifth place, despite a great season from Ben Taylor. During the off season in 1922, C. I. Taylor died and his widow Olivia continued as the club's owner, and Ben Taylor became the playing manager. He reacquired Charleston, who led a rejuvenated ABCs squad to a 46–33 record and second-place finish. The young catcher

enjoyed a breakout season in 1922, and with Taylor, Charleston, and third baseman Henry Blackman keyed a prolific offense. Both Ben Taylor and Biz Mackey jumped to 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 ...

for the 1923 season, but Charleston continued to hit (.364, 11 home runs, 94 RBI in 84 games), and the ABCs finished 44–31, good for fourth place. Charleston, however, jumped east himself in 1924, joining the

Harrisburg Giants The Harrisburg Giants were a U.S. professional Negro league baseball team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Originally formed in April 1890 by Colonel William "C.W." Strothers as an amateur team, they became semi-professional by 1894. They joined ...

. 1924 saw the ABCs struggle to a 4–17 record before they were dropped by the league at mid-season.

Decline and demise

Warner Jewell organized a new version of the ABCs for 1925, which finished a dismal 17–57 in the NNL; in 1926, they improved to 43–45, but folded at season's end. The remnants of the franchise moved to Cleveland, Ohio and became the

Cleveland Hornets The Cleveland Hornets were a baseball team in the Negro National League, based in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1927. The Hornets played their home games at Hooper Field. Frank Duncan served as player-manager. Roster References African-American ...

References

*Clark, Dick, and Larry Lester (1994). ''The Negro Leagues Book''. Cleveland OH: The Society for American Baseball Research. . *Debono, Paul (1997). ''The Indianapolis ABCs: History of a Premier Team in the Negro Leagues''. Jefferson NC: McFarland. . *Holway, John B. (2001). ''The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues''. Fern Park FL: Hastings House. . * *Peterson, Robert (1970). ''Only the Ball was White''. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice-Hall. .

External links

Franchise history at Seamheads.com

Negro League Baseball Players Association

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

{{Authority control Negro league baseball teams ABC's 1913 establishments in Indiana 1926 disestablishments in Indiana Baseball teams established in 1913 Sports clubs disestablished in 1926 Professional baseball teams in Indiana Defunct baseball teams in Indiana African-American history of Indianapolis Baseball teams disestablished in 1926