The Pittsburgh Keystones was the name of two historic 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 ...

teams that operated in 1887 and again in 1921 and 1922. The first team was a member of the first black baseball league in 1887, the

League of Colored Baseball Clubs The National Colored Base Ball League, the National Colored League, or the League of Colored Baseball Clubs was the subsequent attempt, after the Southern League of Colored Base Ballists, to have a league consisting of all-black teams. It predated ...

. The league only lasted a week, which resulted in a 3-4 record for the Keystones, and included

Weldy Walker Weldy Wilberforce Walker (July 27, 1860 – November 23, 1937), sometimes known as Welday Walker and W. W. Walker, was an American baseball player. In 1884, he became the third African American to play Major League Baseball. Walker played ...

, the second

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

to play in the major leagues and future

hall of famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Sol White King Solomon "Sol" White (June 12, 1868 – August 26, 1955) was an American professional baseball infielder, manager and executive, and one of the pioneers of the Negro leagues. An active sportswriter for many years, he wrote the first definit ...

. The second club was founded by Alexander McDonald Williams, a Barbadian immigrant and pool hall operator. The Keystones' home field was

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

, located in the

Hill District The Hill District is a grouping of historically African American neighborhoods in the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beginning in the years leading up to World War I, "the Hill" was the cultural center of black life in the city and a major cent ...

at the corner of Chauncey Street and Humber Way. The park was built by the prominent

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

architect

Louis Arnett Stuart Bellinger Louis Arnett Stuart Bellinger (September 29, 1891, in Sumter, South Carolina – February 3, 1946, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was an American architect responsible for the design of significant buildings in and near Pittsburgh. Life and work ...

, who would later design

Greenlee Field Greenlee Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, was one of few black-built and black-owned major league baseball field in the United States. The field was the dream of Gus Greenlee, owner of the Pittsburgh Crawfords. In 1931, constru ...

for the

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 ...

. In their first season the Pittsburgh Keystones played as associate members of the Negro National League. Managed by Fred Downer, they compiled a 7-14-1 record against league and other associate clubs. The Keystones joined the league as full members in 1922, finishing sixth with a 14-23-2 record in league play under managers

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 ...

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 ...

. The team disbanded after the season.

Year-by-year record

Players

* William Wilson * Vic Harris

References

{{Pittsburgh sports African-American history in Pittsburgh Negro league baseball teams

Keystones A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allo ...

Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania Professional baseball teams in Pennsylvania

Baseball teams disestablished in 1922 Baseball teams established in 1887