The second Negro National League was one of the several
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 ...
that were established during the period in the United States when
organized baseball was segregated. The league was founded in 1933 by businessman
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 ...
of
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
.
League history
The second Negro National League was established in 1933 by
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 ...
, an African-American businessman of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, two years after the
first Negro National League had disbanded, after the start of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. The second Negro National League lasted until 1948, the year after
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
integrated. After that, its surviving teams merged into the
Negro American League
The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season.
Negro American League franchises
:''Ann ...
.
To distinguish between the two Negro National Leagues, they are usually referred to as the first Negro National League (NNL I) and the second Negro National League (NNL II).
Negro National League franchises
:''Annual final standings:
1933,
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
,
1935,
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
,
1937,
1938
Events
January
* January 1
** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
,
1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
,
1940,
1941
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...
,
1942
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...
,
1943
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured.
* January 4 – ...
,
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
,
1945
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
Januar ...
,
1946
Events January
* January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
,
1947
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Events
January
* January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...
,
1948
*
Baltimore Black Sox
The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional Negro league baseball team active between 1913 and 1936, based in Baltimore, Maryland.
Founding
The Black Sox started as an independent team in 1913 by Howard Young. They were one of the original six ...
(I) (1933)
*
Brooklyn Royal Giants
The Brooklyn Royal Giants were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 1905 by John Wilson Connor (1875–1926), owner of the Brooklyn Royal Cafe, the team initially played against white semi-pro teams. ...
(1933)
*
Cole's American Giants (1933–1935)
*
Columbus Blue Birds
The Columbus Blue Birds were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Columbus, Ohio in 1931 and 1933.
Founding
Their name appears to have been derived from that of the Columbus Red Birds, the top-level minor league baseball team th ...
/
Akron Black Tyrites
The Akron Black Tyrites were a Negro league baseball team that played out another team's schedule for a portion of a single season. They were based in Akron, Ohio, and were a member team of the Negro National League (II). They are also known as th ...
/
Cleveland Giants
The Cleveland Giants were a Negro league baseball team. The team played only one year, 1933. Their home games were contested at Cleveland's Luna Bowl in Luna Park.
History
In 1933, the struggling Columbus Blue Birds of the Negro National Le ...
(1933) – moved during season
*
Indianapolis ABC's (II) / Detroit Stars (II) (1933) – moved to Detroit in April
* Nashville Elite Giants (1933–1934) / Columbus Elite Giants (1935) / Washington Elite Giants (1936–1937) /
Baltimore Elite Giants
The Baltimore Elite Giants were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues from to . The team was established by Tom Wilson (Negro baseball), Thomas T. Wilson, in Nashville, Tennessee as the semi-pro Nash ...
(1938–1948)
*
Pittsburgh Crawfords
The Pittsburgh Crawfords, popularly known as the Craws, were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team, previously known as the Crawford Colored Giants, was named after the Crawford Bath House, a recre ...
(1933–1938)
*
Philadelphia Bacharach Giants (1934)
*
Cleveland Red Sox
The Cleveland Red Sox was a Negro league baseball team in the Negro National League, based in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1934. In their only season, they finished with a 4-25 record.
References
African-American history in Cleveland
Negro league ...
(1934)
*
Baltimore Black Sox
The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional Negro league baseball team active between 1913 and 1936, based in Baltimore, Maryland.
Founding
The Black Sox started as an independent team in 1913 by Howard Young. They were one of the original six ...
(II) (1934)
*
(Washington) Homestead Grays (1934–1948)
* †Newark Dodgers (1934–1935) /
Newark Eagles
The Newark Eagles were a professional Negro league baseball team which played in the Negro National League from 1936 to 1948. They were owned by Abe and Effa Manley.
History
Formation
The Newark Eagles were formed in 1936 when the Newark Do ...
(1936–1948)
*
Philadelphia Stars (1934–1948)
* †Brooklyn Eagles (1935)
*
New York Cubans
The New York Cubans were a Negro league baseball team that played during the 1930s and from 1939 to 1950. Despite playing in the Negro leagues, the team occasionally employed white-skinned Hispanic baseball players as well, because Hispanics in ...
(1935–1936; 1939–1948)
*
New York Black Yankees
The New York Black Yankees were a professional Negro league baseball team based in New York City; Paterson, New Jersey; and Rochester, New York. Beginning as the independent Harlem Stars, the team was renamed the New York Black Yankees in 1932 and ...
(1936–1948)
*
Washington Black Senators
The Washington Black Senators were a Negro league baseball team based in Washington, DC. When the Washington Elite Giants moved to Baltimore, MD in 1938, the gap was filled in by the Black Senators. They were just 2–13 in the Negro National Lea ...
(1938)
†The Brooklyn Eagles and Newark Dodgers merged to form the Newark Eagles in 1936.
Member timeline
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bar:IND # Indianapolis ABCs (II) / Detroit Stars (II)
bar:BBS # Baltimore Black Sox (I)
bar:HOM # Homestead Grays / Washington Homestead Grays / Washington Grays
bar:PHI # Philadelphia Stars
bar:NWD # Newark Dodgers
bar:ATC # Philadelphia Bacharach Giants
bar:CLE # Cleveland Red Sox
bar:BS2 # Baltimore Black Sox (II)
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bar:WAS # Washington Black Senators
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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 Baltimore Black Sox played their first game in 1933 and played their last game in 1934. Therefore, their bar goes from 1933 to 1935.
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bar:NYB from:1936 till:1949 color:gold text:"New York Black Yankees" $Right2
bar:WAS from:1938 till:1939 color:teal2 text:"Washington Black Senators" $Right
*1933: Formation of the second Negro National League, consisting of 7 teams — Baltimore Black Sox, Cole's American Giants, Columbus Blue Birds, Indianapolis ABCs (II) (moved to Detroit in April), Homestead Grays, Nashville Elite Giants and Pittsburgh Crawfords; Homestead was expelled early in the season for raiding Detroit's roster, Columbus was replaced mid-season by the Akron Black Tyrites who were then replaced by the Cleveland Giants.
*1934: Dropped Cleveland Giants, Detroit Stars, Baltimore Black Sox (I); Added Philadelphia Bacharach Giants, Cleveland Red Sox, Philadelphia Stars and Baltimore Black Sox (II); Retained Homestead Grays as an associate team.
*1935: Dropped Philadelphia Bacharach Giants, Baltimore Black Sox (II) and Cleveland Red Sox; Added Brooklyn Eagles, Homestead Grays, New York Cubans and Newark Dodgers.
*1936: Dropped Cole's American Giants; Brooklyn and Newark merged.
*1937: Dropped New York Cubans; Added New York Black Yankees.
*1938: Added Washington Black Senators.
*1939: Dropped Pittsburgh Crawfords and Washington Black Senators; Re-added New York Cubans.
*1948: League disbanded after completion of season; All teams continued on with Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark and New York Cubans joining the
Negro American League
The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season.
Negro American League franchises
:''Ann ...
for the 1949 season, while the Grays and Black Yankees playing independent of a league.
League champions
Pennant winners
From 1937 and 1938, 1940, and 1942 through 1946, the team in first place at the end of the season was declared the
pennant winner (league champion). Due to the unorthodox nature of the schedule (and little incentive to enforce it), some teams frequently played many more games than others did in any given season. In 1933, Cole's Chicago American Giants claimed the first half title, but the Pittsburgh Crawfords won the second half and had an overall better record. The following year saw the Stars have a better winning percentage that saw them compete against the third place Chicago team despite the fact Pittsburgh played (and won) more games. This led to some disputed championships and two teams claiming the title. Generally, the team with the best
winning percentage
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
(with some minimum number of games played) was awarded the pennant, but other times it was the team with the most victories. The "
games behind
In most North American sports, the phrase games behind or games back (often abbreviated GB) is a common way to reflect the gap between a leading team and another team in a sports league, conference, or division.
Example
In the below standings fr ...
" method of recording standings was uncommon in most black leagues.
† – Pennant was decided via a split-season schedule with the winner of the first half of the season playing the winner of the second half of the season.
* – Pennant was decided via a 2-round play-off between the top four teams.
‡ – Pennant winner went on to play in the Negro World Series
The Negro World Series was a post-season baseball tournament that was held from 1924 to 1927 and from 1942 to 1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east-coast counterparts. The series was ...
.
League play-offs
On five occasions, the League held a postseason series to determine the pennant champion.
1933 would have been the first to match the first and second half champions, but the Pittsburgh Crawfords were instead awarded the pennant over the first half champion
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" F ...
. 1936 had an array of games that may or may not have been formal postseason games. For example, the
Washington Elite Giants
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
won the first half after beating the Philadelphia Stars 7–5 in a one-game match on September 17. Pittsburgh (who had a better record overall) faced the Newark Eagles from September 12–15 and won 3–1–1 in either a second-half playoff or a regular series-turned-playoff. Washington and Pittsburgh played three games from September 21–27, but no box scores exist for the games (which Washington won two of three) in a series that was evidently abandoned.
In one year (1939), the top four teams (
Homestead Grays
The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues in the United States.
The team was formed in 1912 in sports, 1912 by Cumb ...
,
Newark Eagles
The Newark Eagles were a professional Negro league baseball team which played in the Negro National League from 1936 to 1948. They were owned by Abe and Effa Manley.
History
Formation
The Newark Eagles were formed in 1936 when the Newark Do ...
,
Baltimore Elite Giants
The Baltimore Elite Giants were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues from to . The team was established by Tom Wilson (Negro baseball), Thomas T. Wilson, in Nashville, Tennessee as the semi-pro Nash ...
,
Philadelphia Stars) were matched together in a best-of-five tournament. The Grays beat the Stars in five games while the Elite Giants beat the Eagles in four games to set up the Championship Series. The
New York Cubans
The New York Cubans were a Negro league baseball team that played during the 1930s and from 1939 to 1950. Despite playing in the Negro leagues, the team occasionally employed white-skinned Hispanic baseball players as well, because Hispanics in ...
won the second half of the 1947 season but advanced to the
Negro World Series
The Negro World Series was a post-season baseball tournament that was held from 1924 to 1927 and from 1942 to 1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east-coast counterparts. The series was ...
over the Newark Eagles (first half champions). 1948 ended prematurely after a controversial finish to a disputed tie game in the third game.
Negro World Series
For the duration of the league, a Negro World Series took place seven times, from 1942 through 1948. The Negro National League's pennant winner met the champion of the rival
Negro American League
The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season.
Negro American League franchises
:''Ann ...
. Five out of the seven years, the Negro National League team (below in bold) prevailed.
*
1942
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...
–
Kansas City Monarchs
The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 19 ...
beat Washington Homestead Grays, 4 games to 0 games
*
1943
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured.
* January 4 – ...
– Washington Homestead Grays beat
Birmingham Black Barons
The Birmingham Black Barons were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1920 until 1960. They shared their home field of Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, with the white Birmingham Barons, usually drawing larger crowds and equal pr ...
, 4 games to 3 games
*
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
– Washington Homestead Grays beat Birmingham Black Barons, 4 games to 1 game
*
1945
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
Januar ...
–
Cleveland Buckeyes
The Cleveland Buckeyes were a Negro league baseball 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 in 1945, and losing to the New York Cub ...
beat Washington Homestead Grays, 4 games to 0 games
*
1946
Events January
* January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
– Newark Eagles beat Kansas City Monarchs, 4 games to 3 games
*
1947
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Events
January
* January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...
– New York Cubans beat Cleveland Buckeyes, 4 games to 1 game
*
1948 – Washington Homestead Grays beat Birmingham Black Barons, 4 games to 1 game
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Negro National League (1933-1948)
Negro baseball leagues
Defunct baseball leagues in the United States
African-American sports history
Defunct professional sports leagues in the United States
Sports leagues established in 1933
Sports leagues disestablished in 1948
1933 establishments in the United States
1948 disestablishments in the United States