This list of minor Negro league baseball teams consists of teams that played in the various minor Negro baseball leagues, as well as the independent teams, teams that played in proto-leagues and teams that played after integration.
In Negro league baseball, organized major league play began in 1920, however informal "proto" leagues arose in the 1880s. Most teams up to about 1920 were able to survive, and even profit, by barnstorming small towns and playing local semi-pro teams. After 1920, most teams found financial security by forming leagues, but it was common for teams each season to play as many games outside of the league's schedule. Generally, leagues in the north were major while leagues in the south were minor.
With the integration of Organized Baseball beginning 1946, Negro leagues lost elite players to white leagues causing former major Negro leagues to slip to minor league status, and historians do not consider any Negro league "major" after 1950. By default, leagues established after integration are considered minor league, as is the one of two 1940s majors that continued after 1950. Also at this time, Negro leagues began to appear in the west.
Below are some of the better-documented leagues:
Proto-leagues Southern League of Colored Base Ballists, 1886 National Colored Baseball League, 1887 International League of Independent Professional Base Ball Clubs, 1906. National Association of Colored Baseball Clubs of the United States and Cuba, 1907–1909.
Minor leagues Texas Colored League/Texas–Oklahoma–Louisiana League/Texas–Louisiana Negro League, 1919–1931 Negro Southern League (I), 1920–1936 – Negro Southeastern League, 1921 Interstate League, 1926 and 1940 (mixed-race league) Tri State League, 1935 Negro American Association, 1939 and 1948–1949 Negro Major League, 1942
Post-integration Negro Southern League (II), 1945–1951 United States League, 1945–1946 West Coast Negro Baseball Association, 1946 East Texas Negro League, 1946 Negro Texas League, 1949 Negro American League, 1951–1960 – Arkansas–Louisiana–Texas League, 1951 Eastern Negro League, 1954 Negro National Baseball Association, 1954
Below is the list of minor Negro league teams. Teams in bold are considered to have been of major league caliber for at least one season of their existence. Other teams included in this list were either a semi-pro, barnstorming or traveling team and not necessarily a member of a league.
Alabama Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Birmingham Black Barons 1920 1961 NSL (1920–23, 26, 31–36)NNL1 (1924–25, 27–30)NAL (1937–38, 40–61) NSL was a minor league every season except 1932 Did not field a team for 1939 Birmingham Giants 1907 1909 Independent (1907–09) Mobile Black Bears Mobile Tigers Montgomery Grey Sox (I) 1920 1921 NSL (1920)Independent (1921) Montgomery Grey Sox (II) 1931 1932 Independent (1931)NSL (1932)
Arkansas Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Gurdon Panthers1951 1951 Arkansas–Louisiana–Texas League Hot Springs Arlingtons Hot Springs Blues (1904)1896 1904 Southern Negro League (1897) Rube Foster (1901) Little Rock Black Travelers Little Rock Quapaws 1896 1900 Southern Negro League (1897)
California Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Los Angeles White Sox 1946 1946 WCNBL (1946) Oakland Larks 1946 1946 WCNBL (1946) San Diego Tigers 1946 1946 WCNBL (1946) San Francisco Sea Lions 1946 1946 WCNBL (1946)
Colorado Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Denver White Elephants
Connecticut Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Ansonia Cuban Giants 1891 1891 Connecticut State League The Ansonia Cuban Giants were an all-black team in an otherwise all-white league
District of Columbia Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Washington Capital Citys 1887 1887 National Colored Base Ball League (1887) Folded before playing an official game Melley, Ken. (2018) The Anatony of Baseball Names. Page Publishing, Inc p. 34. Washington Potomacs club Washington Potomacs (1923–24) Wilmington Potomacs (1925) 1923 1925 Independent (1923)ECL (1924–25) Washington Homestead Grays(See Homestead Grays) 1939 NNL2 (1939–48)Independent (1949–) Split home games in Pittsburgh Alternately known as Washington Grays later Sparingly used Pittsburgh as home field after
Florida Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Ethiopian Clowns(See Indianapolis Clowns) 1942 Independent (–42) Based in Miami Also known as Miami Giants
Georgia Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Atlanta Black Crackers (I) club Atlanta Black Crackers (I) (1919–38) Indianapolis ABCs (IV) (1939) 1919 1939 Ind.(19,22–25,28,30–31,33–34,37)NSL(I)(20–21,26–27,29,32,35–36)NAL (1938–39) NSL was a minor league every season except 1932 Disestablished May 1939 Atlanta Black Crackers (II) 1943 1949 Independent (1943–44)NSL (II) (1945–47)NAA (1948–49)
Illinois Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Chicago American Giants 1910 1952 Independent (1910–19)NNL1 (1920–31) NSL (1932)NNL2 (1933–35)Independent (1936)NAL (1937–52) Formed via 1909 split of Leland Giants (See Leland Giants entry) Known as Leland Giants (II) 1910 Also known as Cole's American Giants 1932–35 Moved majority of home games temporarily to Indianapolis 1933 Chicago Brown Bombers 1945 1945 USL (1945) Chicago Columbia Giants 1899 1900 Independent (1899–1900) Merged with Chicago Unions to become Chicago Union Giants 1901 (See Leland Giants entry) Chicago Giants 1910 1921 Independent (1910–19)NNL1 (1920–21) Formed via 1909 split of Leland Giants (See Leland Giants entry) Chicago Unions 1887 1900 Independent (1887–1900) Merged with Chicago Columbia Giants to become Chicago Union Giants 1901 (See Leland Giants entry) Leland Giants 1901 1909 Independent (1901–09) Formed via 1901 merger of: Chicago Unions (1887–1900) Chicago Columbia Giants (1899–1900) Known as Chicago Union Giants 1901–04 Split after 1909 to form: Chicago Giants (See Chicago Giants entry) Leland Giants (II) (See Chicago American Giants entry)
Indiana Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Indianapolis ABCs (I) 1926 Independent (1913–19)NNL1 (1920–26) Indianapolis Clowns club Miami Giants () Ethiopian Clowns (–42) Cincinnati Clowns (1943) Indianapolis–Cincinnati Clowns (1944) Cincinnati Clowns (1945) Indianapolis Clowns (1946–62) 1962 Independent (–42)NAL (1943–55)Independent (1956–62)
Kansas Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Kansas City Giants 1909 1911 Independent (1909–11) Not related to Kansas City Royal Giants
Kentucky Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Louisville Black Colonels Louisville Buckeyes(See Cleveland Buckeyes) 1949 1949 NAL (1949) Louisville Fall City 1887 1887 NCBBL (1887) Louisville White Sox (1914–1915) 1914 1915 Independent (1914–15) Zulu Cannibal Giants 1934 1937 Independent (1934–37) Based in Louisville
Louisiana Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Detroit–New Orleans Stars(See Detroit Stars (IV)) 1960 1961 NAL (1960–61) Folded after 1961 season Monroe Monarchs 1920s 1935 Negro Southern League (1932) NSL only organized league to complete the 1932 season(Considered de facto Major League) New Orleans Ads 1920 1920 Negro Southern League (1920) Team often referred to as the Caulfield Ads New Orleans Black Pelicans 1926 1950 Negro Southern League (1926)Independent (1927–29, 1932–44, 1946–49)Texas Colored League (1930–31)Negro Southern League (1945, 1950) New Orleans Creoles 1945 1952 Independent (1945–46, 1952)Negro Southern League (1947–48, 1950–51)Negro Texas League (1949) New Orleans Crescent Stars 1921 1937 Independent (1921–22, 1932–37) New Orleans Eagles(See Newark Eagles) 1950 1951 NAL (1950–51) Folded after 1951 season New Orleans Stars 1924 1924 Independent (1924)
Maryland Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Baltimore Black Sox (I) 1916 1933 Independent (1916–22)ECL (1923–28)ANL (1929)Independent (1930–31)EWL (1932)NNL2 (1933) Baltimore Elite Giants club Nashville Standard Giants (1919–20) Nashville Elite Giants (1921–34) Columbus Elite Giants (1935) Washington Elite Giants (1936–37) Baltimore Elite Giants (1938–51) 1919 1951 Independent (1919–29)NNL1 (1930)NSL (1931–1932)NNL2 (1933–48)NAL (1949–51) Dissolved around 1951 Baltimore Lord Baltimores 1887 1887 NCBBL (1887) Baltimore Grays19421942NML (1942) Played in Edgewater Beach, MD
Massachusetts Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Boston Resolutes 1887 1887 NCBBL (1887) Boston Royal Giants IL (1906) Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1906 Known as Quaker Giants 1906 Boston Blues 1946 1946 USL (1946)
Michigan Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Detroit Stars (I) 1919 1931 Independent (1919)NNL1 (1920–31) Detroit Stars (IV) club Detroit Stars (IV) (1954–57) Detroit Clowns (1958) Detroit Stars (IV) (1959) Detroit–New Orleans Stars (1960–61) 1954 1961 NAL (1954–61) Page Fence Giants 1895 1898 Independent (1895–98) Based in Adrian, Michigan
Minnesota Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Minneapolis Keystones St. Paul Colored Gophers 1907 1911 Independent (1907–11) Played as the Twin City Gophers 1911 Twin City Colored Giants
Missouri Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Kansas City Monarchs 1920 1965 NNL1 (1920–31)Independent (1932–36)NAL (1937–61)Independent (1962–65) Later based in Grand Rapids, MI 1956–65 Kansas City Royal Giants 1910 1912 Western Independent Clubs (1910–1912)Not related to Kansas City Giants St. Louis Stars (I) 1906 1931 Independent (1906–19)NNL1 (1920–31) Known as St. Louis Giants 1906–21
New Jersey Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Bacharach Giants (I) 1916 1929 Independent (1916–22)ECL (1923–28)ANL (1929) Based in Atlantic City (Not to be confused with the Philadelphia-based team of the same name.) Cuban Giants 1885 Independent (1885–1906)NA (1907–09)Independent (1910–) Based in Trenton Part of team split after 1896 to form Cuban X-Giants After split, known as Genuine Cuban Giants or Original Cuban Giants Cuban X-Giants 1897 1907 Independent (1897–1905)IL (1906)NA (1907) Formed via 1896 split of Cuban Giants Based in Trenton Jersey City Colored Athletics Newark Dodgers 1933 1935 Independent (1933)NNL2 (1934–35) Merged with Brooklyn Eagles to become Newark Eagles 1936 (See Newark Eagles entry)
New York Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Brooklyn Royal Giants 1905 1942 Independent (1905–06)NA (1907–09)Independent (1910–22)ECL (1923–27)Independent (1928–42) Deteriorated to minor league status by the 1930s Harlem Stars Lincoln Giants 1911 1930 Independent (1911–22)ECL (1923–26)Independent (1927)ECL (1928)ANL (1929)Independent (1930) Based in New York City Lincoln Stars 1914 1917 Independent (1914–17) Based in New York City New York Black Yankees 1931 1959 Independent (1931–35)NNL2 (1936–48)Independent (1949–59) Known as Harlem Black Bombers 1931 New York Cubans 1935 1950 NNL2 (1935–36)NNL2 (1939–48)NAL (1949–50) Did not field a team 1937–38 Schenectady Mohawk Giants 1913 1914 Independent (1913–14)
Ohio Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Cincinnati Browns 1887 1887 NCBBL (1887) Played no league games due to NCBBL folding Played independent of a league briefly, then folded Cleveland Buckeyes club Cincinnati-Cleveland Buckeyes (1942) Cleveland Buckeyes (1943–48) Louisville Buckeyes (1949) Cleveland Buckeyes (1950) 1942 1950 NAL (1942–50) Half of 1942 home schedule in Cincinnati, half in Cleveland Disbanded mid-season 1950 Dayton Marcos Independent (–19)NNL1 (1920)Independent (1921–25)NNL1 (1926)Independent (1927–) Toledo Rays 1945 1945 USL
Oklahoma Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Oklahoma Monarchs 1910 1910 Independent (1910)
Oregon Team 1st Yr Last Yr Affiliation(s) Notes Ref Portland Rosebuds 1946 1946 WCNBL (1946)
Pennsylvania