At a time when a pint of Kentucky bourbon cost $1.251 and a round-trip train ticket between Chicago and Niagara Falls, the honeymoon capital of the world, cost $8,2 the stars of the Negro Leagues played one of the most dramatic ballgames ever. On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Chicago, 30,000 fans gathered to watch the best black baseball players compete in the third annual East-West Negro League All-Star game. Thirteen future Hall of Famers participated.3 They bore memorable nicknames like Cool Papa, Devil, Mammy, Submarine, Slim, and Turkey; but it was the battle between the Maestro and the Mule that determined the outcome. The fans were treated to an epic contest that featured two comebacks from four-run deficits and culminated in an 11th-inning walk-off home run by the game’s strongest power hitter off the best pitcher not named Satchel Paige.4

An All-Star game featuring black players was the brainchild of A.W. “Gus” Greenlee as a response to the severe anti-black repression that barred black athletes from the major leagues. Dire economic conditions of the 1930s precluded the Negro League World Series between 1928 and 1941,5 thereby making the All-Star Game the premier event for black players to showcase their skills. As noted in an announcement promoting the game, it was a battle between “teams which could enter either the American or National League and show their heels to the leaders.”6

The game, hosted by R.A. Cole, owner of Chicago American Giants, was played in the spacious Baseball Palace of the World, Comiskey Park. When it was built in 1910, the ballpark was the first symmetrical field in the major leagues — 362 feet down the foul lines and 420 feet in center. Designed to blend with the surrounding area, the exterior of Comiskey Park incorporated red brick archways similar to nearby factories. Built of steel and concrete, it was a departure from previous wooden structures. Innovations like turnstiles and ramps, instead of open gates and stairs, helped facilitate the safe flow of fans entering and exiting the facility. On the field, foul lines were old fire hoses pressed flat and painted white. The pitcher’s mound was like a jewel in the center of a diamond-shaped cutout in the infield grass.

In contrast to the major leagues, where sportswriters chose the All-Stars, fans elected the Negro League players using ballots distributed by weekly and daily newspapers and at Negro League games. The East team was chosen from the Brooklyn Eagles, Newark Dodgers, Philadelphia Stars, and New York Cubans. The West team was selected from the Chicago American Giants, Columbus Elite Giants, Pittsburgh Crawfords, and Homestead Grays. The fans cast over 150,000 ballots.7

Webster “Submarine” McDonald managed the East team that included Paul Arnold, Leon Day, Ray Dandridge, Martin Dihigo, Robert Evans, George Giles, Fats Jenkins, Slim Jones, Richard Lundy, Biz Mackey, Alejandro Oms, Dick Seay, Jake Stephens, Ed Stone, Luis Tiant Sr., and Jud Wilson.

Oscar Charleston managed the West team. His players were Cool Papa Bell, Larry Brown, Raymond Brown, William “Sug” Cornelius, James Crutchfield, Josh Gibson, Bob Griffith, Sammy T. Hughes, Buck Leonard, Leroy Matlock, Alex Radcliffe, Ted Trent, Felton “Mammy” Snow, Turkey Stearnes, Mule Suttles, Willie “Devil” Wells, Chester Williams, and Burnis Wright.

Known as The Maestro, Cuban-born Martin Dihigo was a tall, powerful switch-hitter who played every position, including pitcher. “He was the best ballplayer of all time, black or white,” a competitor said.8 In his best season he posted a 0.90 ERA and went 18-2 while hitting a league-leading .387. In addition to being enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, Dihigo is the only player also inducted in the baseball halls of fame in Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela. 

George “Mule” Suttles was a gentle giant. He did not seek the limelight like his more famous contemporaries; he let his 50-ounce bat do the talking. Over a 25-year period, Suttles averaged 34 homers and compiled a .327 career batting average. Where Josh Gibson hit vicious line drives, Mule was known for gargantuan blasts. In a game played in Havana, Mule crushed a ball over the center-field fence that witnesses swore cleared the 60-foot-high wall and traveled over the heads of the mounted policemen patrolling outside the ballpark — a distance of 600 feet.9 In a game against the Memphis Red Sox, he hit three homers in the same inning. On this day in 1935, he saved his best for last.

Over the first six innings, the East built a 4-0 lead on the strength of timely hitting, including an RBI single by Dihigo to plate the first run. East pitcher Slim Jones mesmerized the West during his three-inning stint. He helped his cause by blasting a homer into deep right field. His successors on the hill did not fare as well. Leon Day was roughed up for three runs in the home sixth and another in the seventh to tie the score. Lefty Luis Tiant followed Day and held the West until he faltered in the 10th.

Meanwhile, the West’s pitching held until Bob Griffith entered the tie game to pitch a disastrous 10th in which he yielded four runs. His outing would have been much worse without a great shoetop catch by Mule Suttles. With the East’s seemingly commanding lead, fans began to head for the exits.

Their exodus did not last long. In the bottom of the 10th, Luis Tiant Sr. ran into trouble. With one run in and the bases loaded with none out, manager McDonald turned to Dihigo, who stopped the carnage. Fans who returned to their seats were treated to a storybook ending.

In the home 11th, Martin Dihigo made a grievous mistake; he walked Cool Papa Bell, the legendary speedster. The inimitable Satchel Paige once remarked that Bell was so fast that when he switched off the light, he was in bed before the room got dark.10 No doubt both teams recalled how in the All-Star Game a year earlier, Bell had plated the game’s only run by scoring from second base on an infield hit.11 In this game, East catcher Biz Mackey had gunned down three baserunners attempting to steal and picked Ray Dandridge off third to end the West’s threat in the 10th, and manager Charleston signaled for a sacrifice. Hughes executed a bunt perfectly, advancing Bell to scoring position. One down.

As the number-three hitter, Chester Williams approached the plate, Dihigo glanced at the on-deck circle. The imposing figure of Josh Gibson settled onto one knee to watch the confrontation. Gibson had already collected four hits, including a ringing double in the sixth inning that Dihigo tried to catch before crashing into the center-field wall. Whether later in the game Dihigo suffered from the effects of the collision is a matter for conjecture.

The pitcher made quick work of Williams, striking him out. Two down.

In the West’s dugout, Mule counseled the relief pitcher Sug Cornelius.

“Go up there and kneel in the on-deck circle, Cornelius, they’ll think you’re up next.”12

With so many substitutions in an All-Star Game, Suttles counted on confusion in the opposing dugout regarding the proper batting order at this point. As Cornelius hefted a couple of bats in the on-deck circle, Mackey signaled for an intentional walk to Gibson. The walk to Gibson was imperative. Why give one of the greatest batters of all time a chance to win the game when a walk would set up a force play at any base?

As Gibson ambled to first, Suttles emerged from the dugout. The PA announcement crackled over the speakers:

 “Now batting for the West squad, THE MULE!”13

Dihigo shot a contemptuous look at the West’s dugout for the gamesmanship. With two out and two on, Dihigo was confident he could get Mule out. The hometown fans rose to their feet, exhorting the local star with his trademark cheer: “Kick, Mule! Kick, Mule!”

Suttles who had already walked four times, relished the opportunity to hit. In the on-deck circle, Mule swung five bats before entering the batter’s box.

The Maestro was the epitome of determined concentration as he glared toward the plate. After checking the runners, he unleashed a ball that sizzled as it bore in on Mule. Thwapp!

“Inside. Ball one,” shouted the umpire, barely audible over the noisy crowd.

The next pitch was a perfect strike at the letters. Mule nodded, exhaled, and stepped back. He bent, grabbing some dirt to dry his hands. He practiced a half-swing with his fearsome black bat. Settling back in the box, Mule locked his eyes onto the area next to Dihigo’s right ear where the ball would soon appear.

What happened next is best described in a poem entitled “Lament on the East-West Game” that appeared in the Philadelphia Tribune:

The bat met ball, the ball passed the fence
And with it went the East team’s chance
Turn back, oh time, but the deed is done
Mule Suttles’ homer the game has won.
And so, my friends, Mac knows full well
That managing, like war, is hell.14

Notes

1 Chicago Tribune, August 10, 1935: 15.

2 Chicago Tribune, August 5, 1935: 16.

3 Members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York: Cool Papa Bell, Raymond Brown, Oscar Charleston, Ray Dandridge, Leon Day, Martin “The Maestro” Dihigo, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, James “Biz” Mackey, Turkey Stearnes, Mule Suttles, Willie “Devil” Wells and Jud Wilson.

4 Instead of attending the East-West All-Star game, Satchel Paige accepted a better monetary offer to play for an integrated team called the Bismarck Churchills and led them to victory in the semipro National Baseball Congress Championship at Wichita, Kansas. nbcbaseball.com/about-us/history/ (retrieved February 4, 2018).

5 Larry Lester, Black Baseball’s National Showcase (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2001), 1. (hereinafter cited as Lester Compilation).

6  “Expect 30,000 at All-Star Game Sunday,” Chicago Defender, August 10, 1935, reproduced in Lester Compilation, 69.

7 “Colored All-Star Nines Meet in East-West Game Today” Chicago Tribune, August 11, 1935: 2, 4.

8 National Baseball Hall of Fame website page for Martin Dihigo. Quote attributed to Buck Leonard baseballhall.org/hof/dihigo-mart%C3%ADn (retrieved February 4, 2018).

9 John B. Holway, Blackball Stars (Westport, Connecticut: Meckler Books, 1988), 267. (hereinafter cited as Holway).

10 William Gildea, “On Today’s Scene: Paige Admits He’s Feeling His Age” Washington Post, April 29, 1969: D2.

11 William G. Nunn, “ ‘Satch’ Stops ‘Big Bad Men’ of West Team,” Pittsburgh Courier, September 1, 1934, reproduced in Lester Compilation, 57.

12 Holway, 276-77.

13 Holway, 270.

14 Ed Harris, Lament on the East-West Game, Philadelphia Tribune, August 29, 1935, reproduced in Lester Compilation, 77.

From left, Leroy Matlock, Oscar Charleston, boxer John Henry Lewis, Satchel Paige, and Josh Gibson pose in front of the Pittsburgh Crawfords team bus at Greenlee Field in Pittsburgh. (NOIRTECH RESEARCH, INC.)

The Pittsburgh Crawfords faced the New York Cubans in the 1935 Negro National League Championship Series. The Crawfords finished the season with the best overall record in the league, and had won the first half of the season with a 24-6 record.1 After a weak first half, the Cubans played excellent ball and captured the second-half title, which earned them the right to play against the Crawfords in the best-of-seven series for the league championship. During the regular season, the two teams had played each other eight times. The Crawfords had dominated in those games, winning five and losing only one, with two games ending in ties.2

The Cubans were an excellent ballclub. Under the ownership of Alex Pompez, the team was playing its first season as a member of this second incarnation of the Negro National League, which was now in its third year. Pompez’s roster was populated primarily by Latinos, including players from Puerto Rico, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba. Their best player was their manager, Martin Dihigo, a Cuban who was an extremely versatile player, even for his time. Dihigo was a great offensive player, who usually played the outfield and third base, and he was also an outstanding pitcher. Alejandro Oms was another tremendous player as was Rap Dixon, who joined the Cubans through a trade from the Brooklyn Eagles about halfway through the 1935 season. Perhaps the greatest strength of the Cubans was their pitching staff, which featured Schoolboy Johnny Taylor, who at 19 years old was playing in his first season. The staff had two other excellent pitchers, veteran left-hander Neck Stanley and fellow southpaw Luis Tiant Sr.

There was strong interest in the series as demonstrated by the coverage in both the black and white press. However, especially in the black newspapers, there was considerably more coverage of the coming Joe Louis/Max Baer fight for boxing’s heavyweight championship, which was to take place on September 24 at Yankee Stadium. The newspapers featured cover stories and full pages of articles regarding Louis’s training and preparation for the fight. Regardless, fans of black baseball who attended the games in New York, Pittsburgh, or Philadelphia witnessed one of the greatest postseason series in baseball history.

Game One
Friday, September 13, 1935
Dyckman Oval, New York City
New York Cubans 6, Pittsburgh Crawfords 2

The opening game of the Championship Series was played on Friday night, September 13, at Dyckman Oval in New York City, the home park of the Cubans. About 7,500 attended the game. The umpires for the entire series were John Craig, Judy Gans, Bert Gholston, and Mo Harris. Craig and Gholston were reputed to be among the best umpires in the league, and Gans and Harris were former players. The pitching matchup featured Frank Blake for the Cubans and Sam Streeter for the Crawfords. There is no question that the Cubans prevailed in the game, 6-2. It is unusual that, although the final score was reported the same everywhere, the game stories and line scores reported by the New York Age and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette differ significantly. The Post-Gazette reported that the Cubans came from behind to win, powered by a pair of two-run home runs by Rap Dixon. It also reported that the Cubans committed three errors in the game. In addition to recounting a different game story, the New York Age provided a box score for the game. The box score showed Dixon with two hits but no runs scored. It indicated that the only extra-base hit in the game was a double by the Cubans’ first baseman, Dave “Showboat” Thomas. Given that the Age was the paper local to where the game was played, and the specificity provided by the box score, it is deemed the more reliable source. Additionally, a very brief story in the New York Daily News stated that “Rap Dixon starred for New York, getting two safeties,” thus corroborating the New York Age story. Regardless of the specifics of the game, the Cubans were able to take the first game of the series behind timely hitting and the pitching of Frank Blake, who pitched a complete game and scattered six hits.3

Game Two
Saturday, September 14, 1935
44th and Parkside, Philadelphia
New York Cubans 4, Pittsburgh Crawfords 0

Game Two of the Championship Series was played at the 44th and Parkside ballpark in Philadelphia starting at 4:30 P.M. The Cubans were the home team for the game at the neutral site. The attendance was estimated to be about 2,000, the size of the crowd held back by threatening weather. The game was delayed for 35 minutes because three of the four umpires did not know where it was to be played. Once the game began, Cubans starter Neck Stanley faced off against Roosevelt Davis for the Crawfords. Game stories provided few details, aside from the dominant pitching of Stanley, who held the Crawfords to four singles while striking out six and walking three in a complete-game effort. The Cubans hit Crawfords hurler Davis hard, scoring four runs on 11 hits. Despite the multitude of hits, Davis allowed runs only in the fifth and sixth innings and pitched a complete game. Clyde Spearman was the hitting star for the Cubans, blasting a home run in the fifth and driving in three of the four Cubans runs.4 The surprising Cubans now led the series 2-0.

Game Three
Sunday, September 15, 1935
Dyckman Oval, New York
Pittsburgh Crawfords 3, New York Cubans 0

The third game of the Championship Series was played Sunday afternoon, September 25, back at Dyckman Oval. The pitching matchup featured the teams’ best starters, Leroy Matlock for the Crawfords and Johnnie Taylor for the Cubans. Matlock was probably the best pitcher in the Negro National League in 1935 and had won all eight league games he started while sporting an ERA of 1.52. Schoolboy Johnnie Taylor had pitched more league innings than anyone on the Cubans’ staff. An estimated 5,000 fans made their way to the Sunday afternoon game, including a delegation of 200 people from Pittsburgh. In the top of the first inning, the Crawfords scored with two outs when Pat Patterson singled and scored on Josh Gibson’s triple. The Crawfords picked up another run in the fifth when Cool Papa Bell tripled to the left-field bleachers and scored as the relay throw was juggled in the infield. In the sixth, Oscar Charleston walloped a home run over the center-field wall to make the score 3-0. Matlock scattered six hits and two walks while striking out nine.5 The Cubans now led the series two games to one.

Game Four
Tuesday, September 17, 1935
Greenlee Field, Pittsburgh
New York Cubans 6, Pittsburgh Crawfords 1

Game Four of the series was played on Tuesday afternoon, September 17, at Greenlee Field in Pittsburgh, the home park of the Crawfords. Dihigo named himself the Cubans’ starter and faced Matlock, who was pitching on only one day’s rest for the Crawfords. Pittsburgh scored first when, in the second inning, Josh Gibson singled and was knocked home. Matlock kept the Cubans’ bats quiet until the fifth inning, when he gave up the tying run. He surrendered the lead when he allowed another Cubans tally in the sixth. Matlock was chased from the game in the eighth inning when the Cubans scored four runs, and was relieved by Ernest “Spoon” Carter. Although a box score for the game was published, neither it nor the game stories provided many details regarding the play-by-play. Clyde Spearman and Lazaro Salazar were reported to have hit home runs, although it is unclear in which inning(s) they were hit. It was clear that the star of the game was Dihigo, who pitched effectively and held the Crawfords to one run. The Cubans now led the series three games to one, which put them on the verge of taking the series from the mighty Crawfords.6

The formidable starting outfield of the 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords: Sam Bankhead (LF), Cool Papa Bell (CF), and Jimmie Crutchfield (RF). (NOIRTECH RESEARCH, INC.)

Game Five
Wednesday, September 18, 1935
Greenlee Field, Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Crawfords 3, New York Cubans 2

The fifth game of the series was played in the afternoon on Wednesday, September 18, again at Greenlee Field. Frank Blake, who got the win in Game One for the Cubans, went up against Rosey Davis for the Crawfords. Jimmie Crutchfield scored in the first inning to give the Crawfords the early lead, and he scored again in the third inning. Davis pitched well for the Crawfords, and kept the Cubans scoreless until the sixth, when Lazaro Salazar scored. The Crawfords held their tight lead until the top of the ninth, when Cocaina Garcia, pinch-hitting for Cubans catcher Frank Duncan, lofted a home run to tie the game. In the bottom of the ninth, Davis singled and Cool Papa Bell ran for him. Bell took second on a groundout by Crutchfield. Chester Williams bunted back to the pitcher. As Bell ran for third, Blake uncorked a wild throw to Dihigo at the hot corner that allowed Bell to score the winning run. The Crawfords had survived to play another day. The Cubans now led three games to two.7

Game Six
Thursday, September 19, 1935
44th and Parkside, Philadelphia
Pittsburgh Crawfords 7, New York Cubans 6

For Game Six of the Championship Series, the teams traveled back to Philadelphia where they played on Thursday night, September 19. The Crawfords played as the home team. Bert Hunter made his first appearance in the series as he started the game for Pittsburgh. The Cubans’ moundsman was Neck Stanley, who had pitched masterfully in Game Two. This time neither Stanley nor Hunter was terribly sharp. For the first six innings, the game went back and forth. The Cubans took the lead in the first, the Crawfords scored twice in the second, and the Cubans tied the game in the top of the fourth. Schoolboy Johnny Taylor relieved Stanley and gave up a run in the bottom of the fifth. The Cubans answered again with a run in the top of the sixth. In the seventh inning the Cubans scored twice more to knock Hunter out of the game. Bill Harvey, who also was making his first appearance for the Crawfords in the series, came in and got out of the seventh inning. After the Crawfords went down quietly in their half of the seventh, the Cubans scored again in the top of the eighth to build a three-run lead and drive Harvey to the bench. Leroy Matlock completed the inning unscathed and held the Cubans in check in the top of the ninth.

The Crawfords were behind 6-3 and were on the verge of losing the series when they came to bat in the bottom of the ninth. Rather than going down quietly, they put together one of the most improbable playoff rallies in baseball’s history. Dihigo, who had pitched brilliantly in Game Four, put himself on the mound to attempt to close out the game. He retired Cool Papa Bell for the first out but then allowed Chester Williams to reach base. After Bill Perkins made the Crawfords’ second out, the Cubans were still up by three runs and needed just one more out to win the Series. Josh Gibson stepped to the plate and singled; Williams advanced to second on the hit. Oscar Charleston became the man of the moment as he drove a game-tying home run over the left-field fence. Dihigo gave up a double to the next batter, Pat Patterson. Judy Johnson, who was 0-for-10 in the series thus far, entered the game as a pinch-hitter and battled against Dihigo. After working a full count, Johnson fouled off three straight pitches and then smacked the ball down the first-base line. Cubans first baseman Showboat Thomas was able to get his glove on the ball, but he was unable to make a play as Patterson scampered around third base and scored the winning run. The Crawfords had scored four runs with two outs to win the game and extend the series to a seventh game.8

Game Seven
Friday, September 20, 1935
44th and Parkside, Philadelphia
Pittsburgh Crawfords 8, New York Cubans 7

The seventh and deciding game of the 1935 Negro National League Championship Series was played under the lights on Friday night, September 20, in Philadelphia. The Cubans were the home team. Bill Harvey, who had pitched poorly in relief the previous day, got the start for the pitching-depleted Crawfords while Luis Tiant Sr., in his first Series appearance, started for the Cubans. The Crawfords struck first when they scored two runs in the second inning on consecutive singles by Josh Gibson, Pat Patterson, Curtis Harris, and Sam Bankhead. The Cubans took the lead in the third on a three-run home run by Rap Dixon. In the Crawfords half of the fifth, Bankhead and Chester Williams scored and Pittsburgh retook the lead. It was short-lived, however: The Cubans tallied a run in the bottom of the fifth when Correa doubled and was driven home by Rap Dixon’s single. Rosey Davis relieved Harvey, his third appearance in the Series. In a back-and-forth game, Pittsburgh reclaimed the advantage in the seventh as Bankhead singled, stole second, and scored on Chester Williams’s single. Schoolboy Taylor relieved Tiant to start the eighth inning and gave up back-to-back home runs by Josh Gibson and Oscar Charleston; Charleston’s blast was his third home run of the series. Then Bankhead walked, took second on a wild pitch, and scored his third run of the game on an infield error to give the Crawfords an 8-4 lead. The Cubans did not give up, however, and rallied to get one run closer when Rap Dixon scored in the bottom of the eighth. The Cubans were game to the end and went down swinging when their rally in the ninth fell just short. Thomas led off the inning with a single and with two out Clyde Spearman hit a two-run homer to bring the Cubans within one run, but both the game and series ended when Alejandro Oms grounded out to the pitcher.

The Pittsburgh Crawfords had come back from a three-games-to-one deficit to defeat the New York Cubans in a tremendously competitive series.9

Postscript

The stars of the series for the Cubans were Rap Dixon with eight hits and a slash line of .421/.500/.579; Clyde Spearman, who hit three home runs; and Frank Blake, who threw two complete games and posted an ERA of 1.59. Future Hall of Famer Martin Dihigo was perhaps the goat of the series: He surrendered the lead in the sixth game and struggled defensively as well. He was reported to have resigned as manager after the series, but he was back at the helm of the Cubans for the 1936 season.

The Crawfords were led by 38-year-old player-manager Oscar Charleston, who hit three home runs, including huge homers in Games Six and Seven. Josh Gibson collected 11 hits in the series and posted a slash line of .355/.355/.516. Leroy Matlock struck out 16 batters in 17⅓ innings as both a starter and reliever.

On Sunday, September 22, the two teams played in a four-team doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, with the Crawfords besting the Philadelphia Stars 12-2 and the Cubans falling to the Nashville Elite Giants, 4-3. The games drew a reported 27,000 fans, significantly more than in any of the Championship Series games, and all the more impressive because the previous day the New York Giants hosted the Brooklyn Dodgers for a doubleheader at the Polo Grounds and drew only a reported 12,000 fans.

A few weeks later, several of the players from the Crawfords, Cubans, and other teams traveled together and played under the banner of the Pittsburgh Crawfords. This barnstorming version of the Crawfords played against a team of major-league players led by Dizzy Dean in various locations throughout the country. The team of Negro League players generally outperformed the major leaguers.10

This article was published in “Pride of Smoketown: The 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords” (SABR, 2020), edited by Frederick C. Bush and Bill Nowlin.

Sources

Burgos, Adrian Jr. Cuban Star: How One Negro-League Owner Changed the Face of Baseball (New York: Hill and Wang, 2011).

Clark, Dick, and Larry Lester, eds. The Negro Leagues Book (Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research, 1994).

Riley, James A. The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues (New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994).

seamheads.com

Notes

1 “Craws Win First Half,” Afro-American, July 13, 1935: 20.

2 “World Series Opens in N.Y. Saturday,” Chicago Defender, September 14, 1935: 15.

3 For Game One: “N.Y. Cubans Lead Crawfords in Colored World Series; Finals in Pittsburgh This Thursday,” New York Age, September 21, 1935: 8. (This article covers Games One and Three); “Cubans Defeat Pittsburgh, 6 to 2,” New York Daily News, September 14, 1935; “Crawfords Lose to Cubans, 6 to 2,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 14, 1935: 17.

4 For Game Two: “Cubans Win Two from Crawfords,” Afro-American, September 21, 1935: 21; “Crawfords Given 4 to 0 Shutout,” Pittsburgh Press, September 15, 1935: 18; “Crawfords Lose to Cubans Again,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, September 15, 1935: 21.

5 For Game Three: William E. Clark, “N.Y. Cubans Lead Crawfords in Colored World Series; Finals in Pittsburgh This Thursday,” New York Age, September 21, 1935: 8. (This article covers Games One and Three); Joe Bostick, “Craws Stop New York Cubans 3-0,” New York Amsterdam News, September 21, 1935: 13; Allan McMillan, “Pitt Crawfords Grab 3rd Game of Series,” Chicago Defender, September 21, 1935: 13.

6 For Game Four: “Cubans Defeat Crawfords Again,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 19, 1935: 18; “Cubans Cop Wednesday’s Game; Play Thursday,” Pittsburgh Courier, September 21, 1935: A4.

7 For Game Five: “Crawfords Beat Cubans by 3 to 2,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 20, 1935: 18.

8 For Game Six: “Crawfords Rally and Beat Cubans,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 21, 1935: 17; “Crawfords Beat Cubans, 8 to 7, to Get First Pennant,” Afro-American, September 28, 1935: 11. (This article covers Games Six and Seven); “Crawfords Now League Champs,” New York Amsterdam News, September 28, 1935: 12. (This article covers Games Six and Seven.)

9 For Game Seven: “Crawfords Snare Negro Loop Crown,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 22, 1935, 44; “Crawfords Win Negro Title, 8-7,” Pittsburgh Press, September 22, 1935: 18; “Crawfords Beat Cubans, 8 to 7, to Get First Pennant,” Afro-American, September 28, 1935: 11. (This article covers Games Six and Seven); “Crawfords Now League Champs,” New York Amsterdam News, September 28, 1935: 12. (This article covers Games Six and Seven.)

10 Timothy M. Gay, Satch, Dizzy, & Rapid Robert (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2010), 125-130.

1934 Pittsburgh Crawfords pitchers, from left: Satchel Paige, Leroy Matlock, William Bell, Harry Kincannon, Sam Streeter, and Bertrum Hunter. All were expected to return in 1935, but Paige held out and Bell joined the Brooklyn Eagles in midseason. (CENTER FOR NEGRO LEAGUE BASEBALL RESEARCH)

Although the 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords had performed remarkably well during the regular season and postseason even without ace Satchel Paige, who had gone 13-3 with a 1.54 ERA for Pittsburgh in 1934, the tall, slender hurler was already a legend who still ranked among the best players in the Negro Leagues. However, Philadelphia’s Slim Jones had bested Paige the previous season, as the young southpaw went 20-4 with a 1.24 ERA for the 1934 Stars. The two hooked up after the season in a game that, a historian said, “would become known as ‘The Greatest Negro League Game Ever,’” adding, “Over 30,000 fans watched Slim sling a six-inning perfect game to lead Satch’s squad 1-0. Oscar Charleston broke it up in the seventh and … Pittsburgh … pushed across a run to tie. Slim and Satch dueled mightily, trading strikeouts until the heart-pounding nail biter was called by nightfall in the tenth.”1

Paige got married less than seven weeks after the game, and Pittsburgh owner Gus Greenlee gave his hurler an unusual wedding present: “With his guests expecting a wedding toast, the Crawfords’ owner threw a curve. ‘Satchel won’t be leaving us, don’t worry about that.’ Gus announced, arm around his star. ‘I got a new contract here for him.’ Satchel and Gus sat down and signed right there, as they had agreed beforehand.”2

Paige did not fulfill the first year of his contract, opting instead to play semipro ball in North Dakota. Greenlee “was so miffed that he had Paige barred from the league for 1935. … Chester Williams wrote a tentative, premature obituary in the Pittsburgh Courier: ‘The champ of today may be the chump of tomorrow. So it may be with Paige. The league helped to make him and now the league may be the medium to break him.’”3

Hard feelings notwithstanding, the Crawfords took the title without Paige, and Greenlee sought to re-create the magical matchup of 1934 by having his squad take on Philadelphia again on September 22, 1935. A New York Amsterdam News article touted the highly anticipated matchup by declaring, “Satchel Paige vs. Slim Jones! This is the attractive centerpiece of the big four-team Negro National League double-header slated Sunday at the Yankee Stadium as the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Philadelphia Stars, arch foes in colored baseball, come to grips in the featured game.”4 The first game, an afterthought in light of the premier second-game matchup, pitted the Nashville Elite Giants against the New York Cubans.5 Greenlee paid Paige the handsome sum of $350 to pitch, but Satchel did not show for the game that took place just two days after the Crawfords had topped the New York Cubans in the seventh game of the 1935 Negro National League Championship Series.

Paige’s failure to appear was not entirely unusual for a player whom the Amsterdam News termed “as eccentric and talented as the late Rube Waddell,”6 but Satchel’s absence obviously made the sequel far less satisfying than the original. The fact was that “a crowd of more than 15,000 fans were disappointed at Yankee Stadium Sunday … when Satchel Paige, star pitcher, failed to appear as advertised and when ‘Slim’ Jones, who last year beat Paige in a pitching duel, was knocked out after only one inning on the mound.”7 Greenlee informed the press that Paige had stopped in Chicago en route to the Empire State for the big doubleheader and had been offered $500 to pitch for the Kansas City Monarchs on September 22. Typical for Paige, the higher dollar amount “caused him to forget all about his agreement to appear in New York.”8

Pittsburgh had survived without Paige all season and did so again in the exhibition game against the Stars. In fact, “The Crawfords, with their new world crown posing jauntily askew on their kingly brows, put on an exhibition of sheer pulverizing power that left the crowd and the Philadelphia Stars as well completely stunned and thoroughly convinced that they were the boys who REALLY deserve to reside in the thrown [sic] room of Negro baseball.”9

Earnest “Spoon” Carter took the mound for the Crawfords and went the distance as Pittsburgh pounded its intrastate rivals, 12-2. With a 4-5 record and a 5.88 ERA, Jones had slipped severely from his star turn in 1934 and surrendered four runs in his lone inning of work. Relievers Webster McDonald, the ace of the 1935 Stars with an 8-4 record and a 4.30 ERA, and Rocky Ellis fared no better than Jones. Any notion that the game would be as competitive as the previous year’s contest vanished quickly. “From the moment that ‘Cool Papa’ Bell opened the game with a blistering double to deep left field, the Pittsburgh power attack kept up a steady bombardment,” and the Crawfords scored in each of the first five innings to build a 12-1 lead.10

The Crawfords outhit the Stars, 20 to 10, and belted four home runs. Pat Patterson and Bill Perkins smacked one home run apiece while “[s]hortstopper Chester] Williams hit two of the round-trippers. Every one of the Crawfords managed to get himself at least one safe hit. Young Addie Ward, Quaker City centerfielder, scored both of the Stars’ runs.”11

Pittsburgh had again shown that it could win easily without Paige, but bad publicity resulted from the star hurler’s no-show. On October 5 the Amsterdam News reported that “a number of fans [are] all het up over the non-appearance of Satchel Paige” for the Jones rematch. “[M]any fans remarked that they would not have been present had they known that Paige would not be on hand.”12

Daily Mirror columnist Dan Parker asserted, “Promoters of the colored baseball games at Yankee Stadium last week advertised Satchel Paige as one of the players, though they knew he was playing in Chicago that day. This cheap gag is used on other large cities, too. It surprises me that Satchel doesn’t sue for damages.”13 Given that Greenlee had wired money to Paige as payment for his September 22 appearance, the Amsterdam News countered, “From what could be gleaned on this end of the unfortunate affair it would seem that Satchel is the one who is surprised that he isn’t being sued.”14

Whether the greater sum of $500 offered by the Monarchs was the sole reason why Paige got paid but did not play remains lost to history. Perhaps his resentment had built up and resulted in his seeking payback for Greenlee’s season-long ban. Or perhaps Paige just did not feel like coming to New York on this particular day. Negro League players, even stars, rarely got the last word, but Paige later explained his general outlook in his autobiography, stating, “Before I went with the Monarchs, I hadn’t thought anything about jumping contracts when I felt like it. I guess I never cared much about anything except myself. It’d made guys like Abe Saperstein … and Gus Greenlee and Candy Jim Taylor and lots others mad at me because of that.”15

This article was published in “Pride of Smoketown: The 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords” (SABR, 2020), edited by Frederick C. Bush and Bill Nowlin.

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Rick Bush for his helpful edits and additions.

Notes

1 Jack Morelli, Heroes of the Negro Leagues (New York: Abrams Books, 2007), 120. Paige struck out 12 in the tie. Jeremy Beer, Oscar Charleston (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2019), 243.

2 Larry Tye, Satchel (New York: Random House, 2009), 75.

3 Robert Peterson, Only the Ball Was White (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984), 134.

4 “Yankee Stadium Diamond Games Season’s Most Attractive: Mound Aces Set for Big Battles,” New York Amsterdam News, September 21, 1935: 13.

5 The opening game of the doubleheader ended up as the better game of the day with Nashville surviving a ninth-inning rally by the Cubans to hold on to a 4-3 victory.

6 “Yankee Stadium Diamond Games Season’s Most Attractive: Mound Aces Set for Big Battles.”

7 William E. Clark, “15,000 Fans See 4-Team Series at Yankee Stadium Sunday; Crawford and Elite Gts, Win,” New York Age, September 28, 1935.

8 Clark.

9 Joe Bostic, “Thousands See Defeats of Cubans and Stars,” New York Amsterdam News, September 28, 1935: 12.

10 Bostic.

11 Bostic. This game may have represented Ward’s best effort with the Stars. Given that he would turn 26 less than two months after this game, Ward does not retrospectively appear particularly young in baseball terms. The Seamheads database lists Ward’s first name as Willie; Addie comes from his middle name (Addison). According to the database, Ward played in only one regular-season game for Philadelphia during which he scored a single run. See seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=ward-01wil (accessed October 18, 2019).

12 Artie La Mar, “Fans All Het Up Over Non-Appearance of Paige at the Yankee Stadium Games Here,” New York Amsterdam News, October 5, 1935: 13.

13 La Mar.

14 La Mar.

15 LeRoy (Satchel) Paige as told to David Lipman, Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever (Lincoln: Bison Books, 1993), 141.