Baltimore Black Sox
Encyclopedia
The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional Negro league baseball
team based in Baltimore, Maryland
.
in .
(first baseman
), Frank Warfield (second baseman
), Oliver "Ghost" Marcelle
(third baseman
) and Sir Richard Lundy
(shortstop
). The nickname was given to them by the media because of the prospective worth had they been white players. The Black Sox won over 70% of their games during the 1929 season and won the American Negro League
Championship.
During their only season in the East-West League , the Black Sox were in third place with a 41-41 record when the league ceased operations.
's new Negro National League. During that same year, the team moved its home games to Bugle Field
. The team only lasted one year and disbanded. In , another team entered the league using the Black Sox name, but it didn't meet with much success and disbanded after only one year.
wore Black Sox uniforms in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Black Sox' season.
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
team based in Baltimore, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
Founding
The Black Sox started as an independent team in 1916 by George Rossiter and Charles Spedden. They were one of the original six teams to make up the Eastern Colored LeagueEastern Colored League
The Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Clubs, more commonly known as the Eastern Colored League , was one of the several Negro leagues, which operated during the time organized baseball was segregated.- History :...
in .
Heyday
In , The Black Sox boasted the "Million Dollar Infield" of Jud "Boojum" WilsonJud Wilson
Ernest Judson Wilson , nicknamed "Boojum," was an American third baseman, first baseman, and manager in Negro league baseball. Born in Remington, Virginia, he served in World War I, and during his career played primarily for the Baltimore Black Sox , Homestead Grays , and Philadelphia Stars...
(first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
), Frank Warfield (second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
), Oliver "Ghost" Marcelle
Oliver Marcelle
Oliver Hazzard Marcelle , nicknamed "Ghost", was an American third baseman in the Negro Leagues for a number of teams around the league from 1918-1931. He also played shortstop. A Creole born in Thibodaux, Louisiana, he batted and threw right-handed.While the Negro Leagues had many statistics...
(third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
) and Sir Richard Lundy
Dick Lundy (baseball player)
Richard Benjamin Lundy was an African American shortstop in the Negro Leagues for numerous teams. He was born in Jacksonville, Florida....
(shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
). The nickname was given to them by the media because of the prospective worth had they been white players. The Black Sox won over 70% of their games during the 1929 season and won the American Negro League
American Negro League
The American Negro League was one of several Negro leagues which were established during the period in the United States in which organized baseball was segregated...
Championship.
During their only season in the East-West League , the Black Sox were in third place with a 41-41 record when the league ceased operations.
Decline and demise
In , Joe Cambria took over ownership of the team and moved it into Gus GreenleeGus Greenlee
William Augustus "Gus" Greenlee was a Negro League baseball owner and an African American businessman....
's new Negro National League. During that same year, the team moved its home games to Bugle Field
Bugle field
Bugle Field was a Baltimore based, predominantly wooden stadium utilized by the two primary Negro League teams of the 1920s - early 1950s the Baltimore Black Sox and Baltimore Elite Giants. The Black Sox had a short tenure at the park, moving into the park permanently in 1932 before folding during...
. The team only lasted one year and disbanded. In , another team entered the league using the Black Sox name, but it didn't meet with much success and disbanded after only one year.
MLB throwback jersey
On 6 September 2007, the Baltimore OriolesBaltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
wore Black Sox uniforms in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Black Sox' season.