The United States League (USL), alternately called the United States Baseball League, was one of the several

Negro baseball 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 ...

created during the time organized baseball was segregated. The USL was organized as a minor league in 1945 by

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

to serve as a platform to scout black players. __TOC__

History

In 1945,

anticipated the integration of black players into Major League Baseball. Along with

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 ...

, the owner of the original

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 recrea ...

, he created the USL as to scout black players who might break the color line. It is unclear if the league played a 1945 season or was only a pretense for integration. Rickey signed

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

, who never played in the USL, in October of that year. The 1946 season lasted a few weeks before the league folded. The next year, Robinson broke the Major League color line with Rickey's

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

Franchises

The league began in 1945 with at least six teams. Conflicting sources list the Boston Blues as a team in 1945 or only 1946. No standings or accounts exist for the 1945 season. The Pittsburgh Crawfords, Philadelphia Hilldales and St. Louis Stars assumed the nicknames of unrelated defunct teams. The Brown Dodgers merged with the Clippers mid-season, just before the league folded. * Pittsburgh/Montreal Crawfords (1945–1946) * Toledo Rays (Cubs) (1945) *

Brooklyn Brown Dodgers The Brooklyn Brown Dodgers were a Negro league baseball team from 1945 to 1946. Calling Ebbets Field home, they played primarily in the United States League and folded with the rest of the league in 1946. History Founding and first season ...

(1945–1946) *

Chicago Brown Bombers The Chicago Brown Bombers were a semi-pro and Negro league baseball team in the 1940s. They played in the Negro Major League and later the United States League. The Brown Bombers played in Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper m ...

(1945, Associate Member 1946) * Detroit Motor City Giants (1945) * Philadelphia Hilldales (1945) * St. Louis Stars (Associate Member 1945) *

Boston Blues The Boston Blues were a Negro league baseball team in 1946 and part of Branch Rickey's U.S. Baseball League. The league did not last long due to scheduling problems as the Blues led their division. The star players on the club were catcher Johnny ...

(1946) – may have fielded a team in 1945 *

Cleveland Clippers The Cleveland Clippers were a Negro league baseball team in the minor United States League, based in Cleveland, Ohio in 1946. Composed mostly of former players on from the Great Lakes Naval Varsity team and local sandlot stars, the Clippers are c ...

(1946) – merged with the Brown Dodgers mid-season *Milwaukee Tigers (1946) – replaced the Clippers mid-season *

Cincinnati Crescents Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

(Associate Member 1946) * Louisville Black Colonels (Associate Member 1946) * Newark Buffaloes (Associate Member 1946) * Trenton Stars (Associate Member 1946)

References

{{Negro League teams, Minorleague Negro baseball leagues Defunct baseball leagues in the United States African-American sports history Sports leagues established in 1945 Defunct professional sports leagues in the United States Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States 1945 establishments in the United States 1946 establishments in the United States