List of Negro league baseball champions
This List of Negro league baseball champions includes champions of black baseball prior to the organization of any traditional Negro league and goes through to the collapse of segregated baseball after Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line in 1946. Champions include self-declared, regional and league champions, but is limited to top-tier teams and major Negro leagues. The champions listed after 1948 through the 1950s are listed for posterity, but the quality of play had deteriorated so far as to only incidentally be covered by contemporary media or historians.
1867–1891: Era of amateur and semi-pro teams
During the formative years of black baseball, most Negro teams toured the US playing white or mixed-race teams of an amateur or semi-pro standing. There was little to no collaboration between black teams, and few if any scheduled meetings. Therefore, during this era, it was usually up to an individual team to declare themselves the black champion and see if anyone challenged them.Year | Champion | Games | Runner-up | Ref |
1867 | Philadelphia Excelsiors | 1-0 | Brooklyn Uniques | |
1868 | — | — | ||
1869 | Philadelphia Pythians | 1-0 | Chicago Uniques | |
1870–86 | — | — | ||
1887 | New York Gorhams | 1-0 | Cuban Giants | |
1888 | Cuban Giants | tourn.* | Pittsburgh Keystones | |
1889 | New York Gorhams | 2–0 | Cuban Giants | |
1890–91 | — | — |
;Notes
1892–1894: First crisis for organized black teams
There were no championships claimed during this period.Beginning around 1890, political and economic turmoil—eventually leading to the Panic of 1893—took a toll on the bottom line of each Negro team. Every significant Negro team, except for two, ceased operations entirely. Only one team, the Chicago Unions, managed to survive the crisis intact; while the Cuban Giants suspended play at the end of 1891 but reformed for the 1893 season.
1895–1919: Era of independent barnstorming teams
Segregated baseball leagues, both black and white, started to appear around this time. Starting in 1887, the International League began prohibiting the signing of black players. By 1890, the last of the "white" leagues had unofficially banned blacks, and the color line was drawn. Early on, due to social and lingering fiscal reasons, there was minimal interest and press coverage regarding black teams, so champions were not easily determined. After the economic crisis had subsided around 1897, black teams began actively competing against other black teams for local or regional championships.;Notes
;Colored champions
The championships during this period were informal as the post-season challenges were issued by the individual teams.
Year | Region | Champion | Games | Region | Runner-up | Ref |
1899a ---- 1899b | East ---- East | Cuban X-Giants ---- Cuban X-Giants | 9–5 ---- 7–4 | West ---- West | Chicago Unions ---- Chicago Columbia Giants | |
1900a ---- 1900b | West ---- West | Chicago Unions ---- Columbia Giants | ?–? ---- ?–? | East ---- East | Cuban X-Giants ---- Genuine Cuban Giants | |
1908 | West East | Chicago Leland Giants Philadelphia Giants | 3–3 | |||
1909 | East | Philadelphia Giants | 3–1 | West | Chicago Leland Giants | |
1910 | West | Chicago Leland Giants | β | |||
1913 | East | New York Lincoln Giants | 7–4–1 | West | Chicago American Giants | |
1915 | East | New York Lincoln Stars* | 4–4–1 | West | Chicago American Giants | |
1917 | West | Chicago American Giants | 4–3 | East | New York Lincoln Giants |
;Notes
a,b — The X-Giants initially played the Unions for the championship; during the series, Columbia stepped up and issued challenges to the Unions for the Western championship and the X-Giants for the Colored championship.
1920–1931: First endeavor of organized league play
With the emergence of the hard-fisted leadership of former pitcher Rube Foster, playing a formal scheduled season between other black teams became reality. Foster, known for his business acumen, recognized that attendance was just high enough so that a reasonable profit can be derived from gate receipts to sustain the travel and commitment required to maintain a league schedule. This led to the formation of a handful of official Negro leagues, and later to a planned end-of-season World Series.- 1921 — Southern Colored Champion: Nashville Elite Giants 4 games to 0 over Montgomery Grey Sox.
Beginning in 1924, the championships during this period were formal, pre-arranged post-season challenges agreed to by the respective leagues. The 1922 championship was an informal post-season challenge issued by the individual teams.
Lg | Champion | Games | Lg | Runner-up | Ref | |
1922 | NNL1 | Chicago American Giants | 3–2 | East | Bacharach Giants of New York§ | |
1924 | NNL1 | Kansas City Monarchs | 5–4–1 | ECL | Hilldale Club | |
1925 | ECL | Hilldale Club | 5–1 | NNL1 | Kansas City Monarchs | |
1926 | NNL1 | Chicago American Giants | 5–4–2 | ECL | Bacharach Giants | |
1927 | NNL1 | Chicago American Giants | 5–3–1 | ECL | Bacharach Giants |
;Other post-season exhibitions
- 1920 Chicago American Giants defeated Bacharach Giants who tied Hilldale Club who defeated Chicago American Giants.
- 1921 Hilldale declared champs. Chicago American Giants 2-1-1 over Atlantic City Bacharach Giants; Hilldale 3-2-1 over Chicago American Giants.
- 1929 no World Series but third place Chicago American Giants swept third place Homestead Grays in a five-game series.
- 1929 Kansas City Monarchs 4 games to 0 over Houston Black Buffaloes.
- 1931 billed as a championship series, second place Homestead Grays took six of nine from second place Kansas City Monarchs.
- 1931 Monroe Monarchs 4 games to 3 over Nashville Elite Giants.
- 1923 no World Series due to NNL feud with ECL over player raids.
1932–1935: Second crisis and rebuilding
Several factors led to the collapse of league play beginning with the 1928 break up of Eastern Colored League and then the 1929 folding of the American Negro League. These leagues were constantly warring with the Negro National League regarding player raiding and contract disputes; this led to an instability that was incompatible with the weakening economy. That October saw the 1929 stock market crash, known as Black Tuesday, which was a sign of things to come. In 1930, the NNL collapsed but the individual teams continued to play. The NNL regrouped for 1931, but again collapsed — this time for good and the teams were on their own. By 1932, the Great Depression had taken a severe toll on the entire country. Only a few organized Negro leagues survived and all of those were either a minor or semi-pro league. The Negro Southern League was considered the highest quality surviving league and many players migrated to it; it therefore became the de facto major league for the 1932 season.
Lg | Champion | Games | Runner-up | Ref | |
1932 ---- 1932 | NSL ---- EWL* | Cole's American Giants2 ---- Detroit Wolves | 5–3 ---- § | Nashville Elite Giants1 ---- | ---- |
;Rebuilding
After the worst of the depression had passed, teams were again able to profit from playing a league schedule. At first, only a few team owners were able to put together enough investors to join a league; therefore, for the first time in black baseball, one league spanned both the eastern and western regions of the US. A new Negro National League was formed with both east and west teams.
Lg | Champion | Games | Runner-up | Ref | |
1933 | NNL2 | Pittsburgh Crawfords2* | 0–0–1 | Cole's American Giants1 | |
1934 | NNL2 | Philadelphia Stars2 | 4–3–1 | Chicago American Giants1 | |
1935 | NNL2 | Pittsburgh Crawfords1 | 4–3 | New York Cubans2 |
1936–1948: Negro league glory years
Negro league baseball hit its stride after the country had recovered from the devastation of the Great Depression. The second incarnation of the Negro National League became the "eastern" league and a year later the new Negro American League assumed the role of the "western" league. Both leagues generally respected the players' contracts and a relative peace existed between the leagues. An agreed upon championship series was held at the end of the season between each league's pennant winner. Only integration could challenge their success, and it came in 1946. By 1949, the NNL broke up and the NAL was the only league in operation.- 1937 – Chicago American Giants disputed first half title so a play-off occurred: Kansas City defeated Chicago 3 games to 1 with 1 tie.
- 1938 – declared "no contest"
- 1939 Grays owner offered a trophy to a 4-team tournament winner. First round:
- *Homestead Grays1&2 3–2 Philadelphia Stars
- *Baltimore Elite Giants 3–1 Newark Eagles
- 1947 – Newark lost Larry Doby to the Cleveland Indians mid-season; at the end of the season Newark was so far inferior to New York that the league awarded the championship to New York
Lg | Champion | Games | Lg | Runner-up | Ref | |
1942 | NAL | Kansas City Monarchs | 4–0 | NNL2 | Washington Homestead Grays | |
1943 | NNL2 | Washington Homestead Grays | 4–3–1 | NAL | Birmingham Black Barons | |
1944 | NNL2 | Washington Homestead Grays | 4–1 | NAL | Birmingham Black Barons | |
1945 | NAL | Cleveland Buckeyes | 4–0 | NNL2 | Washington Homestead Grays | |
1946 | NNL2 | Newark Eagles | 4–3 | NAL | Kansas City Monarchs | |
1947 | NNL2 | New York Cubans | 4–1–1 | NAL | Cleveland Buckeyes | |
1948 | NNL2 | Washington Homestead Grays | 4–1 | NAL | Birmingham Black Barons |
Post-1948: Integration and inevitable extinction
By 1949, enough black talent had integrated into the white leagues that the Negro leagues themselves had become a minor league circuit. With the demise of the NNL, only the NAL remained as a top-tier league for black players. If the purpose of the Negro leagues was to end segregation, then in 1947 they became a success and their mission was complete. With an infrastructure still in place and a viable audience for a short period of time, there was still money to be made for a few more years before total demise. Therefore, the following teams are listed for posterity; the real black championship contest was now considered to be the annual East–West Game.- 1949 Baltimore Elite Giants
- 1950 Indianapolis Clowns
- 1951 Indianapolis Clowns declared champions over Kansas City Monarchs
- 1952 Indianapolis Clowns1 named champions over Birmingham Black Barons2
- 1953 Kansas City Monarchs1&2
- 1954 Indianapolis Clowns1&2
- 1955 Kansas City Monarchs
- 1956 Detroit Stars
- 1957 Kansas City Monarchs
Regional and league championships by club
;Teams with multiple championships :
Championships | Team | Years played | Championship seasons | |||
14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | Chicago American Giants* | 1910–48 | 1910–15, 1917–18, 1920–22, 1926–27, 1932 |
10 | 10 | - | - | Kansas City Monarchs | 1920–48+ | 1923–25, 1929, 1939–42, 1946 |
10 | 10 | - | - | Homestead Grays | c. 1912–48+ | 1930, 1937–38, 1940–45, 1948 |
6 | 4 | - | 2 | Bacharach Giants | 1916–29 | 1919, 1921–22, 1926–28 |
6 | 5 | - | 1 | Hilldale Club | 1916–32 | 1920–21, 1923–25, 1931 |
5 | 3 | 2 | - | Philadelphia Giants | 1902–16 | 1904–06, 1908–09 |
4 | - | 3 | 1 | New York Lincoln Giants | 1911–30 | 1912–13, 1917–18 |
4 | 2 | 2 | - | Cuban X-Giants | 1897–1907 | 1897, 1899–1900, 1903 |
3 | 3 | - | - | St. Louis Stars | 1906–31 | 1928, 1930–31 |
3 | 3 | - | - | Pittsburgh Crawfords | 1931–40 | 1933, 1935–36 |
3 | 3 | - | - | Birmingham Black Barons | 1920–48+ | 1943–44, 1948 |
2 | 2 | - | - | New York Gorhams | 1886–92 | 1887, 1889 |
2 | 1 | 1 | - | Cuban Giants | 1885–c. 1915 | 1888, 1900 |
2 | - | 2 | - | Chicago Unions* | 1887–1900 | 1899–1900 |
2 | 1 | 1 | - | Chicago Columbia Giants* | 1899–1900 | 1899–1900 |
2 | - | 2 | - | Chicago Leland Giants* | 1901–09 | 1908–09 |
2 | - | - | 2 | Cuban Stars of Havana | 1906–32 | 1910–11 |
2 | 2 | - | - | Cleveland Buckeyes | 1942–48+ | 1945, 1947 |
;Teams with a single championship :
- Philadelphia Excelsiors
- Philadelphia Pythians
- Page Fence Giants
- Algona Brownies
- New York Lincoln Stars
- Indianapolis ABCs
- Detroit Stars
- Brooklyn Royal Giants
- Baltimore Black Sox
- Detroit Wolves
- Philadelphia Stars
- Memphis Red Sox
- Baltimore Elite Giants
- Newark Eagles
- New York Cubans
East–West All-Star game
Year | Winner | Score | Loser | Year | Winner | Score | Loser | |||
1933 | West | 11–7 | East | 1947 | 2 | West | 8–2 | East | ||
1934 | East | 1–0 | West | 1948 | 1 | West | 3–0 | East | ||
1935 | West | 11–8 | East | 1948 | 2 | East | 6–1 | West | ||
1936 | East | 10–2 | West | 1949 | West | 4–0 | East | |||
1937 | East | 7–2 | West | 1950 | West | 5–3 | East | |||
1938 | West | 5–4 | East | 1951 | East | 3–1 | West | |||
1939 | 1 | West | 4–2 | East | 1952 | West | 7–3 | East | ||
1939 | 2 | East | 10–2 | West | 1953 | West | 5–1 | East | ||
1940 | East | 11–0 | West | 1954 | West | 8–4 | East | |||
1941 | East | 8–3 | West | 1955 | West | 2–0 | East | |||
1942 | 1 | East | 5–2 | West | 1956 | East | 11–5 | West | ||
1942 | 2 | East | 9–2 | West | 1957 | West | 8–5 | East | ||
1943 | West | 2–1 | East | 1958 | East | 6–5 | West | |||
1944 | West | 7–4 | East | 1959 | West | 8–7 | East | |||
1945 | West | 9–6 | East | 1960 | West | 8–5 | East | |||
1946 | 1 | East | 6–3 | West | 1961 | West | 7–1 | East | ||
1946 | 2 | West | 4–1 | East | 1962 | West | 5–2 | East | ||
1947 | 1 | West | 5–2 | East | TOT | 35 | WEST | 22–13 | EAST |