Seamheads.com updates Negro Leagues Database with 1938 stats
We are pleased to pass along this update from SABR member Gary Ashwill at Seamheads.com on June 4, 2018:
We’ve added the 1938 Negro American League to the database meaning that we now have every major Negro league from 1933 through 1946—with 1947 coming soon.
In 1938 the NAL’s center of gravity moved decisively to the South. The Cincinnati Tigers, St. Louis Stars, and Detroit Stars all folded—while two new clubs in the South were added, the Atlanta Black Crackers and Jacksonville Red Caps. This meant that four of the NAL’s seven teams were now located in the South. And for two of these teams, 1938 marked the high point of their history.
The Memphis Red Sox had finished in seventh place in 1937. For the new season they hired the manager of one of the teams that had folded, Double Duty Radcliffe of the Cincinnati Tigers—and he brought in the core of the Tigers, a very good team that had finished with the second-best overall record in the league, despite missing the split-season playoffs.
These players included the outfielder Lloyd Davenport, pitchers Porter “Ankleball” Moss and Willie Jefferson, first baseman Jelly Taylor, and (most importantly) center fielder Neil Robinson. Radcliffe moved Robinson, the best athlete on the team, to shortstop, and brought back the old Memphis hero Larry Brown to catch. Thus reinforced, the Red Sox managed to edge the defending champion Kansas City Monarchs for the first-half title.
To view the award-winning Seamheads Negro Leagues Database, visit http://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/index.php
Related links:
- Seamheads Negro Leagues Database update: 1945 season (September 21, 2017)
- Seamheads Negro Leagues Database update: 1925 season (February 4, 2016)
- Seamheads Negro Leagues Database update: 1938 Negro National League stats (January 28, 2016)
- Seamheads Negro Leagues Database update: 1932 East-West League stats (August 13, 2015)
- Little-known players from the Seamheads Negro Leagues Database (February 2, 2012)
- Read our Q&A with Gary Ashwill about the Negro Leagues Database (September 14, 2011)
Originally published: June 5, 2018. Last Updated: July 16, 2020.