The Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Clubs, more commonly known as the Eastern Colored League (ECL), 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 ...

, which operated during the time organized baseball was segregated.

League history

Founding

The ECL was founded in

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

when the Philadelphia-area

Hilldale Club The Hilldale Athletic Club (informally known as Darby Daisies) were an American professional Negro league baseball team based in Darby, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia. Established as a boys team in 1910, the Hilldales were developed by their ...

and the Bacharach Giants of Atlantic City, both associate members of the midwest-based Negro National League (NNL), broke with the NNL and allied with the white promoter

Nat Strong Nathaniel Calvin "Nat" Strong (January 4, 1874 – January 10, 1935) was an American sports executive who was an officer and owner in Negro league baseball. In 1906 Strong became the Secretary for the National Association of Colored Baseball Clu ...

to form an east coast league. The charter members were: Hilldale, the Bacharach Giants, the

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. T ...

, the

Cuban Stars (East) The Cuban Stars (East) were a team of professional baseball players from Cuba and other Latin American countries who competed in the Negro leagues in the eastern United States from 1916 to 1933. They generally were a traveling team that played on ...

, the Lincoln Giants of New York, and the

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 ...

. In 1924 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 ...

and Washington Potomacs joined, bringing the circuit to eight clubs. The ECL raided the NNL for players, including Hall of Famers

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, and

John Henry Lloyd John Henry Lloyd (April 25, 1884 – March 19, 1964), nicknamed "Pop" and "El Cuchara", was an American baseball shortstop and manager in the Negro leagues. During his 27-year career, he played for many teams and had a .343 batting average. Lloy ...

, starting a war that lasted for two years. In 1925 the Washington Potomacs moved to Wilmington, Delaware, but still disbanded in July. Their 1926 replacement, the

Newark Stars The Newark Stars were a Negro league baseball team in the Eastern Colored League, based in Newark, New Jersey, in 1926. The team's owner was Wilbur Crelin and its manager and third baseman was Andy Harris. The team featured outfielder Charlie Ma ...

, folded after only 11 games.

Uneasy peace

At the end of the 1924 season the two leagues made peace and arranged for a

Colored 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 a ...

between their champions. This series was played each year from 1924 through 1927. The only ECL club to win the World Series was Hilldale in 1925.

Demise

Beginning in 1927 the league was wracked by dissension between club owners. New York's Lincoln Giants dropped out for that season. They returned the next, but then Hilldale, the

, and the

all dropped out. The

Philadelphia Tigers The Philadelphia Tigers were a Negro league baseball team that played briefly in the 1928 Eastern Colored League (ECL) before the circuit disbanded in early June. The Tigers, organized by Smittie Lucas, featured a few well-known east coast player ...

were recruited to bring the league up to five teams for 1928. The ECL staggered through May, but finally disbanded in the midst of disputes over player contracts at the beginning of June.

ECL franchises

:''Annual final standings:

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hold ...

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

, 1926,

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...

'' *

Atlantic City Bacharach Giants The Bacharach Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Founding The club was founded when two African-American politicians moved the Duval Giants of Jacksonville, Florida, to Atlantic City in 1916 and ...

(1923–1928) *

(1923–1928) * Hilldale of Darby, Pennsylvania (1923–1928) *

New York Lincoln Giants The Lincoln Giants were a Negro league baseball team based in New York City from 1911 through 1930. Founding The Lincoln Giants can trace their origins back to the Nebraska Indians, of Lincoln, Nebraska, from the 1890s. According to Sol White ...

(1923–1928) *

(1924–1927) * Washington/Wilmington Potomacs (1924–1925) *

(1926) *

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 continuo ...

(1928)

Member timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:800 height:300 PlotArea = left:20 right:50 bottom:20 top:20 Colors = id:majorGridColor value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:lineColor value:gray(0.6) id:nl1 value:gray(0.9) id:inactive value:gray(0.5) id:gold value:rgb(0.99,0.72,0.15) id:brown value:rgb(0.36,0.20,0.10) id:vegasgold value:rgb(0.80,0.72,0.49) id:green value:rgb(0, 0.51,0.28) id:darkgreen value:rgb(0, 0.20,0 ) id:orange value:rgb(1 ,0.39,0 ) id:redorange value:rgb(1 ,0.20,0 ) id:red value:rgb(0.80,0.01,0.07) id:red2 value:rgb(0.90,0.01,0.07) id:darkred value:rgb(0.50,0 ,0 ) id:iceblue value:rgb(0.20,0.60,0.80) id:lgray value:gray(0.1) id:gray value:gray(0.3) id:gray2 value:gray(0.5) id:sand value:rgb(0.94,0.89,0.77) id:navy value:rgb(0 ,0 ,0.30) id:teal value:rgb(0 ,0.65,0.65) id:teal2 value:rgb(0 ,0.45,0.45) Period = from:1923 till:1929 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy ScaleMajor = start:1923 increment:1 gridcolor:majorGridColor BarData = bar:ATC # Atlantic City Bacharach Giants bar:BAL # Baltimore Black Sox bar:BRK # Brooklyn Royal Giants bar:CUB # Cuban Stars (East) bar:HIL # Hilldale bar:NYL # New York Lincoln Giants bar:HAR # Harrisburg Giants bar:WIL # Washington / Wilmington Potomacs bar:NEW # Newark Stars bar:HOM # Homestead Grays Define $Up = shift:(,1) Define $Left = anchor:from align:right shift:(-1,) Define $Right = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,) Define $Right2 = anchor:till align:right shift:(-25,) Define $Down = shift:(,-10) Define $UpLeft = anchor:from align:right shift:(-1,1) Define $UpLeft2 = anchor:from align:left shift:(-1,1) Define $UpRight2 = anchor:till align:right shift:(-1,1) Define $UpRight = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,1) Define $DownRight = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,-10) Define $DownLeft = anchor:from align:left shift:(2,-10) Define $UpUpRight = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,10) PlotData = color:inactive textcolor:black width:20 fontsize:S mark:(line,black) anchor:middle # other options are anchor:from anchor:till align:center # other options are align:left align:right shift:(0,-5) # 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 Harrisburg Giants played their first game in 1924 and played their last game in 1927. Therefore, their bar goes from 1924 to 1928. bar:ATC from:1923 till:1929 color:redorange text:"Atlantic City Bacharach Giants" $Right2 bar:BAL from:1923 till:1929 color:yellow text:"Baltimore Black Sox" $Right2 bar:BRK from:1923 till:1929 color:teal text:"Brooklyn Royal Giants" $Right2 bar:CUB from:1923 till:1929 color:sand text:"Cuban Stars (East)" $Right2 bar:HIL from:1923 till:1929 color:iceblue text:"Hilldale" $Right2 bar:NYL from:1923 till:1929 color:red2 text:"New York Lincoln Giants" $Right2 bar:HAR from:1924 till:1928 color:purple text:"Harrisburg Giants" $Right bar:WIL from:1924 till:1925 color:orange text:"Washington Potomacs" $Right2 bar:WIL from:1925 till:1926 color:orange text:"Wilmington Potomacs" $Right bar:NEW from:1926 till:1927 color:green text:"Newark Stars" $Right bar:HOM from:1928 till:1929 color:gold text:"Homestead Grays" $Right2 *1923: Formation of ECL consisting of 6 teams — Hilldale, Cuban Stars, Brooklyn Royal Giants, Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, New York Lincoln Giants and Baltimore Black Sox *1924: Added Harrisburg Giants and Washington/Wilmington Potomacs. *1926: Dropped Washington/Wilmington Potomacs; Added Newark Stars. *1927: Dropped Newark Stars. *1928: Dropped Harrisburg Giants; Added Homestead Grays. The league broke up midway through the season due to the breakdown of the founder (and manager of Hilldale) although the individual teams continued to play.

League champions

Pennant Winners

The team in first place at the end of the season was declared the Pennant winner. 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. 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. Four of the five pennant winners 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 ...

(all except for the first in 1923).

Colored World Series

For the duration of the league, a Colored World Series took place four times, from 1924 through 1927. The ECL Pennant winner met the champion of the rival Negro National League. Three out of the four years, the Eastern Colored League team (below in bold) succumbed. *

–

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 1930 ...

beat Hilldale Club, 5 games to 4 games (1 tie) *

– Hilldale Club beat Kansas City Monarchs, 5 games to 1 game * 1926 –

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" ...

beat Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, 5 games to 4 games (2 ties) *

– Chicago American Giants beat Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, 5 games to 3 games (1 tie)

References

Sources

* {{Authority control Sports leagues established in 1923 Negro baseball leagues Defunct baseball leagues in the United States Sports leagues disestablished in 1928 1923 establishments in the United States 1928 disestablishments in the United States