The Cleveland Buckeyes 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 from 1942 to 1950 in the Negro American League. The Buckeyes played in two Negro World Series, defeating the

Washington Homestead Grays The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 by Cumberland Posey, and remained in continuou ...

in 1945, and losing to the New York Cubans in 1947. They were based in Cincinnati for their first season and Louisville for their second-to-last season.

Founding

The Buckeyes were established in 1942 as the Buckeyes Baseball Club, established initially in Cincinnati, Ohio (Ohio being the Buckeye State), scheduling seven league games in Cincinnati and nine in Cleveland, plus another five in Meadville, Pennsylvania. The following season, owner Ernest White of Erie made Cleveland the team's home city, where they played their games at

League Park League Park was a baseball park located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was situated at the northeast corner of Dunham Street (now known as East 66th Street) and Lexington Avenue in the Hough, Cleveland, Hough neighborhood. It was built ...

Glory years

While in Cleveland, the team achieved great success, including winning a pair of Negro American League championships (1945, 1947) and a Negro League World Series title in 1945.

Decline and demise

In 1949 the team moved again, to Louisville, Kentucky, but it was to no avail and the Louisville Buckeyes returned to Cleveland for the first two months of the 1950 season before disbanding.

Home fields

The Buckeyes played their inaugural season's home games at

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) an ...

in Cincinnati. After one season, they moved upstate to Cleveland and played at

until their demise, except for 1949 when they played at Parkway Field in Louisville, Kentucky.

MLB throwback jerseys

On May 20, 2006, in Cleveland, the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and Cleveland Indians honored the Negro league teams by wearing the uniforms of the Homestead Grays and the Cleveland Buckeyes, respectively, during an inter-league game, as well as displaying the names on the scoreboard. The Pirates won the game 9–6. On April 25, 2015, in Detroit, the Cleveland Indians and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

wore the uniforms of the Cleveland Buckeyes and Detroit Stars, respectively. Players' names were not displayed on the jerseys. Detroit won the game 4–1. On May 7, 2017, in Kansas City, the Cleveland Indians and

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 ...

wore the uniforms of the Cleveland Buckeyes and Kansas City Monarchs, respectively. Players' names were not displayed on the jerseys. Cleveland won the game 1–0.

References

{{Authority control African-American history in Cleveland Negro league baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in Ohio Baseball teams disestablished in 1950 Baseball teams established in 1942 Baseball teams in Cleveland