The East–West League was an American
Negro baseball league that operated during the period when professional baseball in the United States was segregated.
Cum Posey organized the league in 1932, but it did not last the full year and folded in June of that year. It was the first Negro league to include teams from both the
Eastern and
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...
.
Although the league lasted less than one season, it featured one of the strongest teams in the history of Negro league baseball, the
1932 Detroit Wolves. The league provided a foundation for the development of the second
Negro National League, which would become the premier league for
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
baseball players.
League history
By early 1932, facing the severe financial problems associated with the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, the nation no longer had any functioning major Negro leagues. The first
Negro National League, which operated primarily in the American Midwest, limped through the 1931 season following the death of its founder,
Rube Foster, but formally disbanded in March 1932. In the Eastern states, the
Eastern Colored League folded in 1928, and its successor, the
American Negro League
The American Negro League (ANL) was one of several Negro league baseball, Negro leagues established during the period in the United States in which organized baseball was segregated. The ANL operated on the East Coast of the United States in 1929. ...
, folded after the 1929 season.
In this environment, Cum Posey, the owner of the
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 Cum ...
, undertook an ambitious plan to create a single league that encompassed teams in the East and Midwest. Posey was facing a strong local competitor,
Gus Greenlee's
Pittsburgh Crawfords, and hoped that a new league would bolster the Grays and isolate the Crawfords. In January 1932, Posey organized the East–West League. The league featured eight teams located in the East and Midwest, at least two of which (Homestead and Detroit) were owned by Posey. The plans for the new league were ambitious relative to the previous Negro leagues. The
Al Munro Elias Bureau was hired to compile statistics, and the league would hire salaried, traveling
umpires.
The league began play in May, but attendance was poor because of the severe financial conditions of the Depression. Teams soon abandoned the planned schedule and turned to better paying bookings with white semipro teams. Within a month, it was clear that the league could not continue. In June the Detroit Wolves folded, and by early July the league had ceased operations.
[Hogan, pp. 240–241; Snyder, p. 41.]
The poor financial performance of the league weakened Posey's Grays in their competition against Greenlee's Crawfords. Greenlee recruited a number of Grays star players, including
Josh Gibson,
Cool Papa Bell, and
Oscar Charleston, who joined a Crawfords team anchored by the great pitcher
Satchel Paige
Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...
. In the face of dismal league attendance, by late May Posey invited the Crawfords to join the league and allowed the Grays and other East–West League teams to schedule games with the Crawfords. By the end of the year, Posey's new league was defunct and his Grays were severely weakened.
In the following year, 1933, Greenlee organized a second
Negro National League (1933–1948). The Homestead Grays and
Baltimore Black Sox of the old East–West League were franchises of the new league, though Homestead was expelled part-way through the season after a dispute. Because initially the new Negro National League operated in both the Eastern and Midwestern regions in many of the same cities as the East–West League, it was sometimes also referred to as the "East–West League." Beginning in 1937, 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
:''An ...
was organized in the Midwest, and the Negro National League was concentrated in the East.
East–West League franchises and notable players
Playing results
Standings
Team and individual performances
Because the league folded before the end of the season, no team was declared a champion. Statistics compiled by John B. Holway, which include some non-league games, show the Detroit Wolves with the best record in the league.
The Wolves, owned by Posey who also owned the Homestead Grays, drew many of their players from the
Kansas City Monarchs and the
St. Louis Stars. Their roster included
Cool Papa Bell,
Ray Brown,
Mule Suttles,
Willie Wells, and
Cyclone Joe Williams, while their pitcher/manager was
Dizzy Dismukes. Despite a strong winning record, the Wolves were disbanded due to poor attendance. As a result, many of the players were reassigned to the Homestead Grays.
[Clark and Lester, pp. 21, 108.]
According to Holway, the
batting champion was catcher
Bill Perkins, who hit .449 for Homestead and .408 overall, including his games played for the non-league Pittsburgh. Besides, Suttles led the league teams with 9
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
s, though three players with non-league Pittsburgh hit more (
Rap Dixon with 11 HR and
Josh Gibson and
Oscar Charleston each with 10). In addition, Suttles led in home run rate with 31 HR per 550
AB.
[Holway, pp. 289–291.]
The top league pitchers were
Harry Salmon (14–6 with Homestead) and
Bertrum Hunter (12–4 with Detroit), with
Satchel Paige
Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...
of non-league Pittsburgh holding the overall lead in wins with a 21–9 record.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:East-West League
Negro baseball leagues
Defunct baseball leagues in the United States
Sports leagues established in 1932