Indianapolis ABCs
Encyclopedia
The Indianapolis ABCs were a Negro League baseball
team that played both as an independent club and as a charter member of the first Negro National League
(NNL). They claimed the western championship of black baseball in 1915 and 1916, and finished second in the 1922 NNL. Among their best players were Hall of Famers Oscar Charleston
and Ben Taylor
.
, formerly of the Birmingham Giants and West Baden Sprudels, purchased a half-interest in the ABCs, and became the team's manager. Taylor stocked the ABCs with his brothers Ben
, John, and Jim
, all among the best African-American players in baseball. Taylor was a noted judge of young talent; some of the well-known players he brought to the big time included center fielder Charleston
, second baseman Bingo DeMoss
, third baseman/outfielder Dave Malarcher
, outfielder George Shively, and pitchers Dizzy Dismukes, Jim Jeffries, and Dicta Johnson.
for supremacy in black baseball. That year they defeated the American Giants in a series for the western black championship, though Foster disputed the title. That year, Taylor cut a deal to use the park left when the city's entry in the Federal League
dissolved; Bowser disagreed with the deal, and two owners parted company, each organizing a rival ABCs squad. Taylor had the better of the contest for talent, retaining the core of the 1915 team, and again claiming a disputed championship over the American Giants.
In 1917, Bowser sold his club, generally known as Bowser's ABCs, to a black businessman named Warner Jewell. Jewell's ABCs, playing at Northwestern Park, continued as a sort of farm club to Taylor's team. Federal League Park was torn down, and Taylor turned to Washington Park, the home of the minor league Indianapolis Indians
. The Chicago American Giants
were generally recognized as western champions for 1917, finally ending the ABCs' two-year claim on the title.
, and the ABCs sagged to 35-38 and fifth place, despite a great season from Ben Taylor
.
During the off season in 1922, C. I. Taylor died and his widow Olivia continued as the club's owner, and Ben Taylor became the playing manager. He reacquired Charleston, who led a rejuvenated ABCs squad to a 46-33 record and second-place finish. The young catcher Biz Mackey
enjoyed a breakout season in 1922, and with Taylor, Charleston, and third baseman Henry Blackman keyed a prolific offense.
Both Ben Taylor and Biz Mackey jumped to the Eastern Colored League
for the 1923 season, but Charleston continued to hit (.364, 11 home runs, 94 RBI in 84 games), and the ABCs finished 44-31, good for fourth place. Charleston, however, jumped east himself in 1924, joining the Harrisburg Giants
. 1924 saw the ABCs struggle to a 4-17 record before they were dropped by the league at mid-season.
returned to Indianapolis and organized another new franchise called the ABCs, which played in the NNL's last season in 1931, then joined the Negro Southern League
for 1932. In 1933, Taylor brought the ABCs into Gus Greenlee
's new Negro National League
; but low attendance led Taylor to move the club to Detroit shortly after opening day.
The name "Indianapolis ABCs" would also be used by a Negro American League
team in 1938 and 1939.
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 that played both as an independent club and as a charter member of the first Negro National League
Negro National League (the first)
The Negro National League was one of the several Negro leagues which were established during the period in the United States in which organized baseball was segregated. Led by Rube Foster, owner and manager of the Chicago American Giants, the NNL was established on February 13, 1920 by a...
(NNL). They claimed the western championship of black baseball in 1915 and 1916, and finished second in the 1922 NNL. Among their best players were Hall of Famers Oscar Charleston
Oscar Charleston
Oscar McKinley Charleston was an American center fielder and manager in baseball's Negro leagues from to ....
and Ben Taylor
Ben Taylor (Negro Leagues)
Benjamin Harrison Taylor was an American first baseman and manager in baseball's Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006....
.
Founding
Originally organized by the American Brewing Company (thus "A.B.C.s") in the early 1900s, the team was purchased by Thomas Bowser, a white bail bondsman, in 1912. Two years later, C. I. TaylorC. I. Taylor
Charles Isham Taylor was an American second baseman, manager and executive in Negro league baseball. Born in Anderson, South Carolina, he was the oldest among four sons of a Methodist minister - including Candy Jim, Ben and Johnny - who made a remarkable impact on black baseball.After serving in...
, formerly of the Birmingham Giants and West Baden Sprudels, purchased a half-interest in the ABCs, and became the team's manager. Taylor stocked the ABCs with his brothers Ben
Ben Taylor (Negro Leagues)
Benjamin Harrison Taylor was an American first baseman and manager in baseball's Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006....
, John, and Jim
Candy Jim Taylor
James Allen "Candy Jim" Taylor was an American third baseman and manager in Negro league baseball.-Biography:Born in Anderson, South Carolina, Taylor was one of four brothers who played in the Negro Leagues, along with Ben, C. I. and "Steel Arm" Johnny...
, all among the best African-American players in baseball. Taylor was a noted judge of young talent; some of the well-known players he brought to the big time included center fielder Charleston
Oscar Charleston
Oscar McKinley Charleston was an American center fielder and manager in baseball's Negro leagues from to ....
, second baseman Bingo DeMoss
Bingo DeMoss
Elwood "Bingo" DeMoss was a baseball player and manager in the Negro Leagues from 1905 to 1943. He was born in Topeka, Kansas. It was in Topeka that he began his playing career in 1905 with the Topeka Giants. He is considered the finest fielding second baseman of the 1910s and 1920s Negro Leagues...
, third baseman/outfielder Dave Malarcher
Dave Malarcher
David Julius Malarcher was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play pitcher, infielder, and outfielder and played from 1916 to 1934.-References:*...
, outfielder George Shively, and pitchers Dizzy Dismukes, Jim Jeffries, and Dicta Johnson.
Split and hiatus
By 1915, the ABCs were already challenging Rube Foster's Chicago American GiantsChicago American Giants
Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team, owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" Foster. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball...
for supremacy in black baseball. That year they defeated the American Giants in a series for the western black championship, though Foster disputed the title. That year, Taylor cut a deal to use the park left when the city's entry in the Federal League
Federal League
The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that operated as a "third major league", in competition with the established National and American Leagues, from to...
dissolved; Bowser disagreed with the deal, and two owners parted company, each organizing a rival ABCs squad. Taylor had the better of the contest for talent, retaining the core of the 1915 team, and again claiming a disputed championship over the American Giants.
In 1917, Bowser sold his club, generally known as Bowser's ABCs, to a black businessman named Warner Jewell. Jewell's ABCs, playing at Northwestern Park, continued as a sort of farm club to Taylor's team. Federal League Park was torn down, and Taylor turned to Washington Park, the home of the minor league Indianapolis Indians
Indianapolis Indians
The Indianapolis Indians are a minor league baseball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates major-league club. The Indians play at Victory Field, located in downtown Indianapolis...
. The Chicago American Giants
Chicago American Giants
Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team, owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" Foster. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball...
were generally recognized as western champions for 1917, finally ending the ABCs' two-year claim on the title.
Reorganization and league play
In 1920, after a year-long absence from baseball, Taylor reorganized the ABCs and entered them in the new Negro National League (NNL), finishing in fourth place with a 39-35 record. The following season Oscar Charleston left for the St. Louis GiantsSt. Louis Giants
The St. Louis Giants were a Negro League baseball team that competed independently from as early as 1906 to 1919, and joined the Negro National League for the 1920 and 1921 seasons. After the 1921 season, the franchise was sold to another group of investors, who built a new park and renamed the...
, and the ABCs sagged to 35-38 and fifth place, despite a great season from Ben Taylor
Ben Taylor (Negro Leagues)
Benjamin Harrison Taylor was an American first baseman and manager in baseball's Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006....
.
During the off season in 1922, C. I. Taylor died and his widow Olivia continued as the club's owner, and Ben Taylor became the playing manager. He reacquired Charleston, who led a rejuvenated ABCs squad to a 46-33 record and second-place finish. The young catcher Biz Mackey
Biz Mackey
James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey was an American catcher and manager in Negro league baseball. He came to be regarded as black baseball's premier catcher in the late 1920s and early 1930s...
enjoyed a breakout season in 1922, and with Taylor, Charleston, and third baseman Henry Blackman keyed a prolific offense.
Both Ben Taylor and Biz Mackey jumped to the Eastern Colored League
Eastern 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 :...
for the 1923 season, but Charleston continued to hit (.364, 11 home runs, 94 RBI in 84 games), and the ABCs finished 44-31, good for fourth place. Charleston, however, jumped east himself in 1924, joining the Harrisburg Giants
Harrisburg Giants
The Harrisburg Giants were a U.S. professional baseball team in the Negro Leagues, based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They joined the Eastern Colored League for the 1924 season with Hall of Fame center fielder Oscar Charleston as playing manager...
. 1924 saw the ABCs struggle to a 4-17 record before they were dropped by the league at mid-season.
Decline, demise and reincarnates
Warner Jewell organized a new version of the ABCs for 1925, which finished a dismal 17-57 in the NNL; in 1926, they improved to 43-45, but folded at season's end. Five years later, Candy Jim TaylorCandy Jim Taylor
James Allen "Candy Jim" Taylor was an American third baseman and manager in Negro league baseball.-Biography:Born in Anderson, South Carolina, Taylor was one of four brothers who played in the Negro Leagues, along with Ben, C. I. and "Steel Arm" Johnny...
returned to Indianapolis and organized another new franchise called the ABCs, which played in the NNL's last season in 1931, then joined the Negro Southern League
Negro Southern League
The Negro Southern League was a Negro baseball league organized in 1920 that lasted into the 1940s. Negro leagues in Southern United States were far less organized and lucrative than those in the north due to Jim Crow laws. Tom Wilson organized the Negro Southern League in .For most of its...
for 1932. In 1933, Taylor brought the ABCs into Gus Greenlee
Gus Greenlee
William Augustus "Gus" Greenlee was a Negro League baseball owner and an African American businessman....
's new Negro National League
Negro National League (the second)
The second Negro National League was one of the several Negro leagues which were created during the time organized baseball was segregated. It established in 1933, two years after the first Negro National League had disbanded...
; but low attendance led Taylor to move the club to Detroit shortly after opening day.
The name "Indianapolis ABCs" would also be used by a Negro American League
Negro American League
The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues which were created during the time organized baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and continued to exist until 1960...
team in 1938 and 1939.