The origins of the Negro League All-Star Game date from 1933 when sportswriters Roy Sparrow of the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph and Bill Nunn of the Pittsburgh Courier championed the idea. Not coincidentally, their brainchild surfaced around the same time as the inaugural major-league All-Star game, which was to be held at Chicago’s Comiskey Park in conjunction with the 1933 World’s Fair. A series of events guided by Gus Greenlee, owner of the Pittsburgh Crawfords and president of the Negro National League, resulted in a deal with Robert “King” Cole, the owner of the Chicago American Giants, to lease Comiskey Park for the first East-West All-Star Game, to take place on September 10.1

The 1933 game kicked off an amazing run of contests that paralleled — and sometimes outdrew — the games of their white major-league counterparts. Single all-star games were played through the 1938 season; later, tandem games were played in 1939, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1948, and 1958. Even as the Negro Leagues began their decline in the wake of Organized Baseball’s integration, the East-West All Star Game continued to be an annual event until 1962.2

According to author Larry Lester, “[T]he span beginning in 1933 and ending in 1953, alpha to omega, Genesis to Revelation, signals the most celebrated period in black baseball history.” Then “the demise of the black leagues became predictable, as the younger talented blacks were soon signed into the former white leagues. By the mid-1950s, the [Negro] leagues went from show time to burlesque. They had become a circus. …”3 The last Negro League-sanctioned All-Star Game was held in 1961; the final game was played in 1962, the year the Negro American League was shuttered for good.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, “Thirty-six games were played in the 30 consecutive seasons that the game was active. Twenty-eight games were played at Chicago’s Comiskey Park, four at New York’s Yankee Stadium, while one each were played at New York’s Polo Grounds, Washington’s Griffith Stadium, Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium and Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium. Some of the East-West Games held outside of Comiskey Park were not consistently referred to in the media as the East-West Game — for instance, the eastern matches from 1946-1948 were officially called the ‘Dream Game,’ though some outlets referred to them as East-West Games.”4

The 1948 East-West All-Star Games: The Players

On July 31, 1948, the Chicago Defender announced the selection of the players for the All-Star Game: three from each team in the two six-team leagues. The Defender wrote, “[T]he Negro American League club owners have decided on the players who will represent them in the 16th Annual East v. West game to be played at Comiskey Park, Sunday afternoon [August 22, 1948]. … A second game between the East and West teams, called the ‘Dream Game’ will be played in New York that week [August 24, 1948].”

Most previous teams were selected by vote of the leagues’ fans, but, wrote the Defender, “The Negro National League voted against this method, preferring to make their own selections.”5 On August 15 the Chicago Tribune printed rosters for the first game, but the game’s box score showed additional names that had not been noted by the Tribune; additionally, some of the players listed by the paper did not play and may not have appeared at the game at all.6

A composite list of players either earmarked by the Tribune article to play in the first game or whose names appeared in the box scores of either game follows. Seventeen players were listed in the box scores of both games.

Negro American League Players

Pitchers

• Chet Brewer, Cleveland Buckeyes (game 1)
• Vibert Ernesto Clarke, Cleveland Buckeyes (game 2)
• James “Fireball” Cohen, Indianapolis Clowns (game 2)
• Gentry “Jeep” Jessup, Chicago American Giants (game 1)
• James Lamarque, Kansas City Monarchs (both games)
• Verdel Mathis, Memphis Red Sox (game 1)
• Bill Powell, Birmingham Black Barons (game 1)
• Roberto Enrique Vargas, Chicago American Giants (game 2)

Catchers

• Lloyd “Pepper” Bassett, Birmingham Black Barons (game 2)
• Sam Hairston, Indianapolis Clowns (game 1)
• Quincy Trouppe, Chicago American Giants (both games)

Infielders

• Robert “Bob” Boyd, Memphis Red Sox (both games)
• Lorenzo “Piper” Davis, Birmingham Black Barons (both games)
• Leon Kellman, Cleveland Buckeyes (both games)
• Ray Neil, Indianapolis Clowns (listed by the Tribune, but did not appear in game 1)
• Herb Souell, Kansas City Monarchs (both games)
• Arthur Lee “Artie” Wilson, Birmingham Black Barons (both games)

Outfielders

• Willard “Homerun” Brown, Kansas City Monarchs (both games)
• Jose Colas, Memphis Red Sox (Listed in the Tribune for game 1, but did not play; played in game 2)
• Willie “Fireman” Grace, Cleveland Buckeyes (Listed in the Tribune for game 1, but did not play; played in game 2)
• Samuel “Sam” Hill, Chicago American Giants (both games)
• Cornelius “Neal” or “Shadow” Robinson, Memphis Red Sox (played in game 1, but was not listed by the Tribune)

Extra Players

• Ernest “Spoon” Carter, Memphis Red Sox (pinch-runner) (game 2)
• Sam Hairston, Indianapolis Clowns (pinch-hitter) (game 2)

(The Indianapolis Clowns identified “King Tut” as their third participant. King Tut was the Clowns’ “comedian.”)

Manager: Quincy Trouppe, Chicago American Giants

Negro National League Players

Pitchers

• Dave “Impo” Barnhill, New York Cubans (game 2)
• Joe Black, Baltimore Elite Giants (game 2)
• Wilmer Fields, Washington Homestead Grays (played in game 1, but was not listed by the Tribune)
• Robert “Schoolboy” Griffith, New York Black Yankees (game 1)
• Rufus “Mississippi” Lewis, Newark Eagles (game 1)
• Max Manning, Newark Eagles (game 2)
• Henry Miller, Philadelphia Stars (game 1)
• Robert Romby, Baltimore Elite Giants (game 1)
• Patricio Scantlebury, New York Cubans (Listed by the Tribune, but did not appear in game 1)

Catchers

• William “Ready” Cash, Philadelphia Stars (both games)
• Louis Oliver “Tommy” Louden, New York Cubans (both games)

Infielders

• Frank “Pee Wee” Austin, Philadelphia Stars (both games)
• Thomas “Pee Wee” Butts, Baltimore Elite Giants (game 1)
• George “Big George” Crowe, New York Black Yankees (game 2)
• James “Junior” Gilliam, Baltimore Elite Giants (both games)
• Buck Leonard, Washington Homestead Grays (game 1)
• Orestes “Minnie” Minoso, New York Cubans (both games)

Outfielders

• Lucius “Luke” Easter, Washington Homestead Grays (both games)
• Robert “Bob” Harvey, Newark Eagles (game 1)
• Monte Irvin, Newark Eagles (game 1)
• Lester Lockett, Baltimore Elite Giants (both games)
• Luis Marquez, Washington Homestead Grays (both games)
• James “Seabiscuit” Wilkes, Newark Eagles (game 2)

Extra Players

• Marvin “Hank” Barker, New York Black Yankees (pinch-hitter in game 2)

Manager: Jose Fernandez, New York Black Yankees; Coaches, Vic Harris, Washington Homestead Grays, and Marvin Barker, New York Black Yankees

Game One: Sunday, August 22, 1948, at Comiskey Park, Chicago

Led by the pitching trio of Bill Powell of the Birmingham Black Barons, James LaMarque of the Kansas City Monarchs, and Gentry Jessup of the Chicago American Giants, the West defeated the East in a 3-0 shutout. It was the first time the East had been shut out since the inception of the All-Star Game in 1933. Each of the three West All-Star pitchers hurled three innings, holding the East to a total of three hits, one of which was a double by the 40-year-old Buck Leonard. None of the East’s baserunners managed to make it as far as third base. Powell’s three shutout innings to start the game gave him the win.

Rufus Lewis started the game well for the East by striking out the side in the first inning. However, he gave up three hits and a walk in the second, allowing the West to score two runs. Willard Brown, a future Hall of Famer who had a cup of coffee in the major leagues with the St. Louis Browns in 1947, opened the frame with a single, which was followed by Bob Boyd’s base hit to left field. Neal Robinson drove in Brown with another single; Luke Easter’s throw to the plate was wild, and allowed Boyd and Robinson to move to third and second. Quincy Trouppe was intentionally walked to load the bases. Boyd then scored on a groundball to second. Lewis’s poor inning and a lack of run scoring by the East tagged him with the loss.

The damage in the second inning could have been worse, but, as Bill Nunn of the Pittsburgh Courier recounted:

“[A]n unusual double play allowed Lewis to escape further damage in this inning. Bill Powell hit a ground ball to James Gilliam on second. Gilliam’s throw to the plate was in time to trap Robinson between third and home; He was out when William Cash, the East’s catcher, threw to Orestes Minoso at third and the latter made the putout. Minoso then turned and touched Trouppe who was caught off second.”7

The West’s third and final run came in the eighth inning against Robert Griffith of the New York Black Yankees. The Indianapolis Star reported, “Piper Davis, West second baseman from Birmingham, opened with a double. Brown singled as Davis stopped at third before scoring on Boyd’s fly.”8

The East’s only hits were Junior Gilliam’s second-inning single off Powell (Gilliam was thrown out trying to steal second), Leonard’s double in the fourth (deflecting off first baseman Boyd’s glove), and Minoso’s infield single in the sixth. Both of the latter hits were off James LaMarque, the Monarchs’ pitcher.

The Courier’s Nunn wrote, “[F]rom where we sat in the press box row, it appeared to be a very dull game, as the East was able to get only one man as far as second.” Nunn may have reconsidered as he watched the ninth inning, noting that “Robinson raced back 365 feet into left center field … and literally climbed the concrete wall as he robbed Minoso of a sure-fire triple.”9 After that gem, Lester Lockett walked, then the game ended when Buck Leonard grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.10

Game Two: Tuesday, August 24, 1948, at Yankee Stadium, New York

The East-West All-Star Game had its roots in Chicago and Comiskey Park, starting in 1933, and a total of 28 All-Star Games, including the first of two in 1948, had been played there. The game was held at Yankee Stadium twice, first as the second of a two-game series in 1939 and again for the second game in 1948. It was called the Dream Game when it was played in the East. According to the New York Amsterdam News, “Alex Pompez, a New York sportsman and owner of the New York Cubans, is chairman of the [Dream Team] committee because he did such a magnificent job last year [at the Polo Grounds] in handling the affair in such a grand manner.”11 Such accolades were afforded to Pompez because the 1947 Dream Game drew 38,402, the best attendance recorded for any East-West game outside of Comiskey Park.

The West scored first in Game Two just as it had in the first game at Comiskey Park. Sam Hill of the Chicago American Giants walked in the top of the third and stole second. Hill took third on a grounder by Vibert Clarke and scored on a single by Artie Wilson of the Birmingham Black Barons.

Held scoreless in Chicago two days earlier, the East squad got on the board in a big way at Yankee Stadium by scoring three runs in the bottom of the third off Vibert Clarke, the eventual losing pitcher.

Frank Austin of the Philadelphia Stars singled and then came home on the first and only home run of the two 1948 All-Star Games. According to the New York Times, Luis Marquez, center fielder of the Homestead Grays, tagged a 330-foot shot into the lower right-field stands to establish a 2-0 East lead. Minnie Minoso of the New York Cubans followed with a double and scored on a single to left field by Lester Lockett of the Baltimore Elite Giants.

The West was to score no more, but as the Chicago Defender reported:

“[T]he East added one more in the fourth. George Crowe, New York Black Yankees, singled off Jim Cohen of the Indianapolis Clowns. Herb Souell, Kansas City Monarchs, bobbled Frank Austin’s grounder and Crowe went to second. Cash singled Crowe to third and Dave “Impo” Barnhill, New York Cuban hurler who wasn’t even with the East nine in the Chicago game, was an infield out, Crowe scoring.”12

Crowe and Junior Gilliam figured in the final runs scored — two East tallies in the bottom of the eighth — when they both singled and later scored on an error by Cleveland Buckeyes third baseman Leon Kellmann.

The West used four pitchers in the contest, with Clarke throwing three innings and giving up three runs (all earned) to take the loss. He was followed by Jim Cohen of the Clowns (two innings pitched and one run surrendered), Roberto Vargas of the Chicago American Giants (one inning pitched, no runs allowed), and Jim LaMarque of the Monarchs (two innings pitched, two unearned runs given up).

The East threw Max Manning of the Newark Eagles, Dave Barnhill of the New York Cubans, and Joe Black of the Baltimore Elite Giants. Each pitcher tossed three innings, with Manning getting the win.13

Before the game the New York Amsterdam News had written that the game was expected to draw a crowd of about 40,000.14 As it turned out, fewer than 18,000 attended, the lowest All-Star Game attendance outside of two games that had been played in Cleveland and Washington.15

All-Star Players: The Negro League World Series, the Major Leagues, and the Hall of Fame

Players from the Homestead Grays and Birmingham Black Barons, the two teams that ended up in the 1948 Negro League World Series, did not figure all that prominently in either game. The exceptions were two Birmingham players: Game One’s winning pitcher, Bill Powell, and Artie Wilson, who went 3-for-4 in the West’s Game Two loss. Players from the two eventual World Series teams collected six of the 25 hits in the two games.

Of the 48 players identified either by the Chicago Tribune or ultimately appearing in the box score for one or both of the All-Star Games, 15 eventually played in the major leagues. All of them appeared in Game Two; this was the largest single number of Negro Leaguers who became future (or past, when including Willard Brown, who played for the Browns in 1947) major leaguers to play together in a single East-West All-Star Game.16

The 15 players and the major-league teams for which they played are:

1. Willard Brown, St. Louis Browns, debuted July 19, 1947 (cut by the Browns and returned to the Kansas City Monarchs after 21 games)
2. Minnie Minoso, Cleveland Indians, April 19, 1949
3. Monte Irvin, New York Giants, July 8, 1949
4. Luke Easter, Cleveland Indians, August 11, 1949
5. Luis Marquez, Boston Braves, April 18, 1951
6. Artie Wilson, New York Giants, April 18, 1951
7. Sam Hairston, Chicago White Sox, July 21, 1951
8. Bob Boyd, Chicago White Sox, September 8, 1951
9. George Crowe, Boston Braves, April 16, 1952
10. Quincy Trouppe, Cleveland Indians, April 30, 1952
11. Joe Black, Brooklyn Dodgers, May 1, 1952
12. Junior Gilliam, Brooklyn Dodgers, April 14, 1953
13. Roberto Vargas, Milwaukee Braves, April 17, 1955
14. Vibert Clarke, Washington Senators, September 4, 1955
15. Pat Scantlebury, Cincinnati Redlegs, April 19, 1956

Three players in the two games were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame: Buck Leonard, Monte Irvin, and Willard Brown.

Conclusion: The Beginning of the End for Negro League Baseball

Though Larry Lester has identified the heyday of the East-West All-Star Games as spanning from their inception in 1933 to the early 1950s, several compelling storylines emerged during and immediately after the 1948 games that affirmed the lesser role the Negro Leagues played relative to major-league baseball and indicated the writing was on the wall for the All-Star Games and the Negro leagues as a whole.

The ticket from the August 24 game made it clear which league had superiority in the pecking order between the Negro and major leagues. On it was written:

“The Colored All-Star Game Dream Game is scheduled to be played on the Night of August 24th. In the event of RAIN it will be played on the Night of August 25th. In the event the Yankee-Chicago game scheduled for the Night of August 23rd is rained out, the game will be played on August 24th, thereby postponing the All-Star Game to the Night of August 25th.”17

Although not surprising, the casual notation reminds all of the stark inequality of an earlier era, or at least who controlled the pocketbook.

The August 28 edition of the Chicago Defender noted:

“Baseball fans and the general public are blaming the slump in the East versus West game attendance to politics and ticket scalping. Last year 48,112 watched the classic. Sunday 42,099 was the attendance although it was reported a few minutes before as 37,099. Leroy “Satchel” Paige drew 51,000 in the same park on Friday night August 13th. On that night fully 15,000 were unable to get inside the park. Sunday, at the East vs. West game there weren’t 15,000 on the outside.”

The article went on to assert that the Republican Party took over the pregame ceremonies and kept away droves of Democratic supporters. Exorbitant ticket prices and ticket scalping also drove away cost-conscious fans.18 As a result, the game’s showcase lost its luster.

The Defender’s Satchel Paige reference spoke to a larger issue facing the Negro Leagues: the beginning of the exodus of its better players to Organized Baseball. In fact, Paige had pitched on Friday, August 20, in Cleveland before 78,383 fans. The Indianapolis Star wrote, “Ageless Satchel Paige shut out the Chicago White Sox with three hits last night. … The fabulous Negro hurler now has won all three of his major league starts and has a season record of five victories and only one loss. A total of 201,829 customers have jammed their way into the stands to watch Paige in his three major league starts.”19

On September 4, the Defender reported:

“[T]he crowd was asked to stand in silent tribute to the late George Herman “Babe” Ruth [Ruth had died on August 16, eight days earlier]. No mention was made of the last Negro baseball men’s death — namely Josh Gibson [January 20, 1947], hero of many an East vs. West game; Candy Jim Taylor, manager of the East nine and of the Chicago American Giants [April 3, 1948]; Cum Posey, Homestead Grays and former secretary of the Negro National League [March 28, 1946]. Maybe they didn’t amount to much in the eyes of the owners and promoters of the game but baseball fans wondered why.”20

The lack of respect accorded to the Negro Leagues was only partially mitigated by the slowly increasing number of its players who were afforded an opportunity to play in the minor or major leagues. The breaking of the color barrier brought about conflicted feelings within the African-American community about Negro League baseball, its role, and its future.

In an editorial titled “Don’t Let Negro Baseball Die!” a writer for the Pittsburgh Courier wrote:

“I pride myself on being a staunch supporter of Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, and Roy Campanella. I’m praying that Don Newcombe, Dan Bankhead, and Sammy Jethro[e] get major league calls next year, but — for God’s sake, fans, don’t let Negro baseball die! … The way I see it, Negro fans are doing Negro baseball, future Negro stars and potential major leaguers a great injustice by withdrawing their support. For if the Negro teams are forced to curtail their activities due to inability to meet expenses, the hopes of hundreds of Negro aspirants for major league careers will be doomed. How will major league scouts be able to look over Negro material if there are no Negro teams playing?”21

Though Organized Baseball’s pilfering of the best black talent resulted in the gradual demise of the Negro Leagues, there is no doubt that baseball’s integration made both the nation and its national pastime better entities.

Sources

Box scores for these games can be found at Retrosheet.org: https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/NgLgASGames.html

Notes

1 Cum Posey, “Posey’s Points,” Pittsburgh Courier, August 15, 1942: 16.

2 baseball-reference.com/bullpen/East-West_Game.

3 Larry Lester, Black Baseball’s National Showcase: The East-West All-Star Game, 1933-1953 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2001), 375.

4 https://baseball-reference.com/bullpen/East-West_Game.

5 “West Selects Players for Big Game Aug. 22,” Chicago Defender, July 31, 1948.

6 “Nines Picked to Compete in Negro Contest,” Chicago Tribune, August 15, 1948: 62.

7 Bill Nunn Jr., “West Wins 6th Straight over East, 3-0,” Pittsburgh Courier, August 28, 1948: 10.

8 “West Wins Negro All Star Tilt,” Indianapolis Star, August 23, 1948: 23.

9 Nunn.

10 Lester, 313.

11 “3rd Annual All Star Game at Stadium,” New York Amsterdam News, August 14, 1948, quoted in Lester, 314.

12 “Second East versus West Game Draws 17,928,” Chicago Defender, September 4, 1948, quoted in Lester, 315.

13 Ibid.

14 Swig Garlington, “40,000 Expected at Dream Game,” New York Amsterdam News, August 21, 1948, quoted in Lester, 314.

15 Lester, 321.

16 Lester, 455-456.

17 Lester, 319.

18 Morgan Holsey, “Scalpers and Politicians Mar East-West Game,” Chicago Defender, August 28, 1948.

19 “78,382 Fans See Paige Pitch Another Cleveland Shutout,” Indianapolis Star, August 21, 1948: 16.

20 “Second East versus West Game Draws 17,928.”

21 “Don’t Let Negro Baseball Die,” Pittsburgh Courier, September 4, 1948: 10.

A teenage Willie Mays with the Birmingham Black Barons. Mays’ father did not allow him to join the Black Barons full-time in 1948 until school was over at the end of May. (Courtesy of Memphis Public Library)

On Saturday, September 11, 1948, Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, hosted Game One of the Negro American League Championship Series between the Birmingham Black Barons and the Kansas City Monarchs. The series featured a matchup between first-year managers and was expected to be a hotly contested because both teams had “plenty of hitting, power, pitching and fielding.”1

Birmingham was managed by player-manager Piper Davis. The Black Barons had won the championship of the first half of the NAL and finished with a league-best record of 63-28-2 (.692).2

The Black Barons’ powerful offense included shortstop Artie Wilson, who won the league batting title with a sizzling .433 average; Davis, who primarily played second base and batted .393; and right fielder Ed Steele, who hit .357 with 3 home runs. Rookie Willie Mays, who was just 17 years old, became the team’s center fielder after regular starter Norman Robinson broke his ankle, and hit .262.3 The club also had a solid pitching staff led by Jimmie Newberry (14-5, 2.18 ERA), Bill Powell (11-3, 3.30), Bill Greason (6-4, 3.30), and Alonzo Perry (10-2, 4.73).4

Their counterparts from Kansas City had won the second-half championship of the NAL and finished with a record of 67-34-3 (.663). The Monarchs were managed by player-manager Buck O’Neil and had an intimidating lineup of their own with perhaps the best-hitting outfield in the NAL. The Monarchs were led by center fielder Willard Brown, who hit .408 and crushed 7 home runs; Hank Thompson in right field, who hit .337 with 5 homers and 12 steals; and left fielder Johnie Scott, who batted .300. Another outfielder, 19-year-old rookie Elston Howard, would later gain fame as a catcher with the New York Yankees.

The Monarchs’ pitching staff was every bit as good as Birmingham’s. It was led by Jim LaMarque (15-5, 1.96 ERA), Ford Smith (10-5, 2.64), Gene Collins (9-3, 2.23), and Gene Richardson (5-6, 4.40).5

Future Hall of Fame pitcher Hilton Smith was 41 years old. Depending on the source, he may have had a terrible season or an above-average one. According to the Howe News Bureau, Smith posted a 1-2 record in the NAL with an ERA of 8.02 in 46 innings pitched. Though Seamheads seems to contradict Howe, showing Smith with a 4-2 record and a 3.96 ERA in 62⅔ innings, baseball historian Gary Ashwill explains that the Seamheads numbers include seven regular-season games against NAL teams (in which Smith went 2-2 with a 5.92 ERA in 38 IP), along with four appearances in interleague games against NNL teams, in which he was 2-0 with a 2.10 ERA in 25⅔ IP).

According to Ashwill: “It looks like he had some good performances in interleague games that didn’t count in the official NAL stats, plus a few bad innings against NAL opponents that were counted in official league stats, but that are not represented in our statistics because no box scores were published.” If the interleague games with box scores included in Smith’s Seamheads totals are added to Howe’s official NAL statistics, Smith finished either 3-2 or 4-2 with a 5.90 ERA in 71⅔ IP against major Negro League teams in the 1948 regular season.”6

In Game One, Davis handed the ball to his reliable right-hander, Powell, while O’Neil countered with left-hander LaMarque, who had a reputation as a soft-tosser with pinpoint control.7 A reported crowd of 5,300 passed through the turnstiles to see the Saturday night game.8 After four innings, the game was scoreless but hardly a pitchers’ duel as the teams had already combined to strand 12 baserunners.

The Monarchs squandered their best early opportunity to score when shortstop Gene Baker led off the game with a walk and Herb Souell singled. Facing an early deficit and with their run-producers, Thompson, Brown, and Howard, coming up, Powell settled down and recorded three straight outs, although the details of how he escaped the inning are lost to history.

Birmingham’s hitters were even more frustrated early in the game as LaMarque proved easy to hit but difficult to score against. The Black Barons stranded two baserunners in each of the first four innings. In the bottom of the fifth, they finally broke through.

Davis and Mays opened the inning with singles. Steele reached on an error by pitcher LaMarque to load the bases. The pitcher began to struggle with his control. He walked left fielder Jim Zapp and then hit catcher Pepper Bassett with a pitch. With the Black Barons now leading, 2-0, with no outs and the bases still loaded, first baseman Joe Scott hit into a force, and Steele was thrown out at home. LaMarque was able to record the second out of the inning against the next batter, Powell. However, leadoff hitter Wilson got a base hit, scoring Zapp. The Monarchs then got out of the inning but trailed, 3-0.

Kansas City immediately stormed back, scoring three runs in the top of the sixth to tie the score.9 Thompson opened the frame with a walk. Needing to give his team a spark, he stole second. With one out, Howard singled, moving Thompson to third. After Monarchs’ first baseman Tom Cooper made an out, second baseman Curtis Roberts singled, scoring Thompson and moving Howard to third. Roberts made a heads-up play by hustling into second as the ball was thrown to third. Catcher Earl Taborn followed with a single to score Howard and Roberts and tie the game, 3-3. Powell got LaMarque for the final out, but the damage was done.

The Black Barons threatened again in the sixth and seventh innings but again stranded runners and the game remained tied. But in the top of the eighth, the Monarchs’ Brown hit a leadoff single and ratcheted up the pressure on the Black Barons’ defense by stealing second. Howard’s single moved him to third. After an out, Roberts singled again, driving in Thompson to give the Monarchs a 4-3 advantage. But with two on and only one out, the Monarchs failed to add to their lead as Powell induced back-to-back outs from Taborn and LaMarque.

Birmingham failed to score in the bottom of the eighth, and Powell recorded three straight outs in the top of the ninth. Birmingham’s Bassett opened the bottom of the ninth with a double. Manager Davis replaced his slow-footed 37-year-old catcher with a pinch-runner, second baseman Wiley Griggs. The move paid off when Greason, pinch-hitting for Powell, singled and drove home Griggs to tie the game, 4-4. However, the Black Barons’ threat soon ended and the game went into extra innings.

Griggs remained in the game at second in place of the versatile Davis, who moved behind the plate with Bassett out of the game. Greason stayed in the game to pitch and breezed through the Monarchs’ order in the 10th. The Black Barons also couldn’t score in the frame and the game remained tied.

In the 11th, Newberry relieved Greason. Roberts reached on an error but the crafty left-hander picked him off and the threat soon ended. In the bottom of the inning, O’Neil removed LaMarque and brought Richardson into the game. Scott led off with a single. After Newberry popped out, Wilson walked. Richardson then uncorked a wild pitch and both runners moved up. Richardson then walked John Britton to fill the bases with one out. The next batter, Davis, popped up to second.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Mays came to the plate. The Black Barons had already stranded a whopping 20 or 21 runners to just 8 for Kansas City.10 Mays was unfazed and ended the game with a sharp single to second, which scored Scott. Author John Klima described the moment in Willie’s Boys:

“It didn’t matter how you pitched to Mays because he didn’t care. He hit like he was trying to hurt someone. This time, Mays hit a full-count pitch hard behind second base. Roberts was extraordinarily fast, so he was able to scramble to his right to knock down the drive as he slid on the seat of his pants. He stopped the ball but could not control it. When he saw Mays dashing down the first base line with the hat flying off his head, he knew he had no chance to stop Scott, who charged home with the winning run in Birmingham’s dramatic 5-4 victory.

“The Black Barons streamed from their dugout and surrounded Mays on the infield grass, celebrating the child, who basked in the moment.”11

Davis led the Black Barons with four hits, while Wilson had three. Four other players (Mays, Bassett, Powell, and Scott) contributed two hits each. Powell struck out eight over his nine innings pitched and Newberry was credited with the win.

Howard led the Monarchs with three hits, while Brown and Cooper added two hits each. LaMarque struck out 8 in 10 innings pitched and Richardson got the loss.

SOURCES

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted the box score and play-by-play of the game presented by Retrosheet. This piece mostly uses official NAL pitching statistics compiled by the Howe News Bureau, as they cover more games than Seamheads, which includes only games for which box scores could be found.12

https://retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/1948/B09110BIR1948.htm

NOTES

1  “Kansas City Ready for Black Barons Play-Off,” Birmingham Weekly Review, September 11, 1948: 7.

2  William J. Plott, Black Baseball’s Last Team Standing: The Birmingham Black Barons, 1919-1962 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2019), 180.

3  https://seamheads.com/NegroLgs/team.php?yearID=1948&teamID=BBB&LGOrd=3. Except as noted, most of the statistics in this biography are from Seamheads or Retrosheet.org.

4  Official Negro American League Statistics for 1948, compiled by the Howe News Bureau (Chicago).

5  Official Negro American League Statistics for 1948, compiled by the Howe News Bureau.

6  Email from Gary Ashwill, February 14, 2023.

7  John Klima, Willie’s Boys (Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009), 154.

8  “Birmingham Grabs First 2 Games in Playoff Series,” Chicago Defender, September 18, 1948: 11; “Repeats Over Monarchs,” Kansas City Times, September 13, 1948: 15.

9  “Birmingham Grabs First 2 Games in Playoff Series.”

10 “Birmingham Grabs First 2 Games in Playoff Series.” The newspaper reported 20 runners; Retrosheet shows 21.

11 Klima, 158.

12 According to Gary Ashwill, “Seamheads statistics and the official Howe News data are not directly comparable, as Seamheads is based only on games for which box scores were published at the time (roughly half of Negro league games in the 1940s), and Seamheads regular season statistics include official NAL games as well as two categories of games that were not counted in the official numbers: unofficial games against NAL opponents, and interleague games against NNL teams. The Howe News Bureau statistics, by contrast, cover only official NAL regular season games, though they are more complete than Seamheads numbers in that category, as they include many games for which box scores were not published at the time.” Email from Gary Ashwill, February 14, 2023.

A teenage Willie Mays with the Birmingham Black Barons. Mays’ father did not allow him to join the Black Barons full-time in 1948 until school was over at the end of May. (Courtesy of Memphis Public Library)

The Birmingham Black Barons and the Kansas City Monarchs met at Rickwood Field for Game Two of the Negro American League Championship Series on September 12, 1948. Birmingham won the first game, 5-4, in 11 innings the previous day.

For Game Two, Monarchs manager Buck O’Neil started a 29-year-old right-hander Ford Smith, who had won 10 games during the season and posted a 2.64 ERA. Birmingham’s Piper Davis gave the nod to right-hander Alonzo Perry, a 26-year-old who had also won 10 games, but whose 4.73 ERA was significantly higher than Smith’s.

Sunday games were always popular in Birmingham, and 8,000 fans poured into Rickwood to witness the matchup.1 Unlike the previous game, which had been scoreless through four innings, both teams scored early in this one. Artie Wilson led off the bottom of the first with a triple and John Britton drove him in, giving Birmingham an early 1-0 lead.

In the top of the second, the Monarchs’ bats came alive. Willard Brown opened with a single to left and advanced to third on an error by Jim Zapp. Another error, this one by third baseman Britton, allowed the next hitter, Johnie Scott, to reach first as Brown scored the tying run. Elston Howard then walked. After Gene Baker made an out, Curtis Roberts walked, and the bases were loaded. After another out, Herb Souell singled to bring home Scott and Howard. O’Neil made the last out of the inning, but the Monarchs led, 3-1.

In the fourth inning, Gene Baker homered over the left-field fence to increase Kansas City’s lead to 4-1. Willie Mays, who drove home the winning run in Game One, singled in the bottom of the inning and was on base with two outs when Davis stepped to the plate. With the Black Barons’ hopes beginning to fade, “Davis hit one of the longest balls in Rickwood history … a terrific drive well above the right end of the 33 foot scoreboard which is 381 feet from home plate.”2 The home run cut the deficit to 4-3.

Davis was not only having a big series as a hitter. As Birmingham’s manager, he had already made several key decisions to help his team win Game One. Before the top of the fifth started, he knew he had to make a decision. Perry had struggled during his four innings on the mound. Although he had stuck out five, his performance was uneven as he had walked four, given up three hits, and surrendered four runs. Davis had no choice but to replace him.

Davis called on 23-year-old right-hander Bill Greason. Greason had pinch-hit the previous day and had already pitched one inning in the series.3 He immediately rewarded Davis for his decision by recording two outs, setting down Buck O’Neil and Hank Thompson. Brown, however, hit a home run to left field; and Greason gave up consecutive singles to Scott and Howard. With two on and two out, Greason retired Baker to end the fifth inning, but the Monarchs had padded their lead to 5-3.

Neither team scored over the next two innings, though both threatened. In the bottom of the sixth, Mays led off with a walk, but Ed Steele grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. In the top of the seventh, Thompson walked with one out but was caught trying to steal second base.

The Monarchs had an even better chance to score when Howard doubled to open the eighth, He was left stranded at second, though, after Greason retired the next three batters. In the bottom of the inning, the Black Barons scored a run on consecutive singles by Britton, Mays, and Steele. However, after loading the bases with one out, neither Pepper Bassett nor Jim Zapp could get a hit, and the Monarchs clung to a 5-4 lead.

The Monarchs failed to score in the top of the ninth as Greason hung tough. In the bottom of the inning, Wilson hit a one-out double and made it to third on Britton’s groundout. With two outs, Mays hit a double to right that scored Wilson and tied the game at 5-5.4 For the second day in a row, the teams played extra innings.

In the 10th inning, Greason flirted with trouble. Scott led off with a walk but Greason picked him off. Greason got Howard out, but Baker singled and advanced to second on an error by Britton. Roberts singled to right, but Steele’s throw to Bassett caught him at the plate and kept the score tied.

In the bottom of the 10th, Souell’s error at third allowed Davis to reach first. Scott moved him to second on a well-executed bunt down the third-base line. Catcher Bassett, who had been involved in arguably the biggest defensive play of the game in the previous inning, singled to score Davis. The Black Barons won, 6-5.

Wilson, Mays, and Davis proved to be a three-headed monster: Each had three hits. Despite his somewhat rocky start, Greason scattered eight hits over seven innings in a gutsy performance, allowing only one run and gaining the win. Brown led the Monarchs with three hits and Howard and Baker had two hits each. Ford Smith gave up 14 hits and walked three over 9⅓ innings and took the loss.

The best-of-seven championship series continued with Birmingham winning, 4-3, in Memphis on September 15. The Monarchs won Game Four, 3-1, at Blues Stadium in Kansas City on the 19th. The teams played a 3-3 tie on the 20th with the game called because of rain in the sixth inning. The Monarchs won, 5-4, on September 21 and again, 5-3, on the 22nd. The deciding game was also in Kansas City, on September 26. Behind the three-hit pitching of Bill Greason, Birmingham won, 5-1, and celebrated a championship.

Final standings for the first half of the split season in the Negro National League showed that the Baltimore Elite Giants were the champions of the first half of the season with a record of 26-12 that allowed them to squeak past the Grays, who had a record of 25-12. The Homestead Grays were the champions of the second half of the season with a record of 16-7, with the Elite Giants coming in second at 19-13. For the Negro American League, the Birmingham Black Barons earned the first-half championship with a record of 38-14 (a .731 winning percentage), besting the Cleveland Buckeyes, who had a record of 31-21 (.596). In the second half of the season, the Kansas City Monarchs were named as champions with a record of 19-7 (.731), better than the Black Barons record of 17-7 (.708). Following the contentious Negro National League playoffs, won by forfeit by the Grays, and the highly competitive Negro American League playoffs, won in seven tough games by the Black Barons, the Grays faced off against the Black Barons in the World Series.

This incarnation of an annual Negro League World Series, played between the Negro National League and Negro American League champions, had been initiated in 1942. The Homestead Grays appeared in the World Series every season from 1942 to 1945 and defeated Birmingham to win their two titles in 1943 and 1944. They missed the Series in 1946 and 1947 but now returned in 1948 to face the Black Barons once more in a best-of-seven series to decide the champion of the Negro Leagues for 1948.

Although the entirety of the 1948 Negro League World Series was played in the weeks before the major-league World Series, the press coverage of the games was largely overshadowed by the impending major-league World Series, which featured the Cleveland Indians, starring former Negro Leaguers Larry Doby and Satchel Paige, and the Boston Braves. The African-American press – including the Pittsburgh Courier, the Chicago Defender, and the Baltimore Afro American – did cover the games and run stories for the Negro League World Series, but the papers failed to provide box scores and paid minimal attention to the games. For example, the front page of the October 9 issue of the Afro American featured a preview of the major-league World Series written by Sam Lacy.1 Also, a great deal of press coverage was given to the performances of Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella with the Brooklyn Dodgers, as well as Don Newcombe in the Dodgers’ minor-league system. In fact, the October 9 Afro American featured pictures of Newcombe, Sam Jethroe, and Dan Bankhead in anticipation of the Little World Series to be played between the Triple-A Montreal Royals and the St. Paul Saints, both minor-league teams in the Dodgers system.2 Meanwhile, the game story for Game Four of the Negro League World Series was relegated to the lower half of that page and lacked even a line score. Despite the lack of coverage in the press, the Negro League World Series was an exciting, well-played set of games that featured a number of great players, including future Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Buck Leonard.

Game One: September 26, 1948
Homestead Grays 3, Birmingham Black Barons 2
Blues Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Game One of the World Series was played at Blues Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on the afternoon of Sunday, September 26. The Grays played as the home team in the game, in which pitchers Jimmie Newberry of the Black Barons and Ted Alexander of the Grays faced off against each other. It was reported that the third baseman for the Grays in this game and Game Two was Dave Pope, but this was likely a reporting error, as Dave Pope had not played for the Grays since 1946 and definitely played in the Provincial League in Canada in 1948. It is likely that Dave Pope’s brother, Willie, or perhaps another player was misidentified as Dave Pope. (The player will be referred to in this account as “the third baseman.”)

The Black Barons scored the first run of the game in the second inning. Right fielder Ed Steele walked, advanced to third on left fielder Jim Zapp’s single to right field, and scored on first baseman Joe Scott’s fly ball to center field. The Grays answered in the bottom of the inning with three runs. Power-hitting center fielder Bob Thurman led off with a single and catcher Eudie Napier walked. The Grays’ third baseman then blasted a triple to right field, scoring Thurman and Napier. Newberry struck out the next two batters, but Grays leadoff hitter Luis Marquez singled to center to score the third baseman. Both pitchers then took control of the game, scattering hits but not allowing any runs for the next five innings. In the top of the eighth, Willie Mays reached first base on a fielder’s choice. He advanced to third on a single to right field by Pepper Bassett and scored on a triple by Black Barons player-manager Piper Davis; Bassett was cut down at the plate on the play. The Grays went on to win, 3-2.

Both Newberry and Alexander threw complete games. Despite taking the loss, Newberry pitched well, striking out six, walking just one, and giving up six hits. Alexander struck out four, walked three, and gave up eight hits in gaining the win. It was reported that a crowd of 5,370 attended the game, which was played in 2 hours and 5 minutes. It is curious, and in retrospect disappointing, that this game was the only one in the series documented by a box score.3

Black Barons: Newberry 9 IP; Grays: Alexander 9 IP.

Game Two: September 29, 1948
Homestead Grays 5, Birmingham Black Barons 3
Rickwood Field, Birmingham, AL

The second game of the series was played at Birmingham’s Rickwood Field on the night of Wednesday, September 29. Grays hurler Bob Thurman faced off against the Black Barons’ Bill Powell. The Black Barons scored first, plating two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Piper Davis singled and advanced to second on an error. Ed Steele then reached on a walk, and the bases were loaded after Jim Zapp singled. First baseman Jim Scott followed with a two-run double, scoring Davis and Steele, before Thurman was able to get out of the inning without further damage. In the fifth inning the Grays exploded for five runs. Luis Marquez led off with a single and moved to third on a double by Luke Easter. Next up was Grays slugging first baseman Buck Leonard. The Black Barons apparently chose to pitch around Leonard whenever possible throughout the series, and he was intentionally walked, loading the bases. Wilmer Fields hit into a fielder’s choice, erasing Leonard but scoring Marquez. Napier doubled and Easter and Fields scored. The Grays’ third baseman followed with a homer over the right-field fence, scoring Napier ahead of him. Newberry was brought in to relieve Powell and closed out the inning, but the damage was already done. In the ninth inning the Black Barons scored one run, but it was not enough to match the Grays, who won, 5-3, putting them up two games to none. It was reported that 4,159 fans were in attendance at the game.4

Grays: Thurman 9 IP; Black Barons: Powell 5⅓ IP, Newberry 3⅔ IP.

Game Three: September 30, 1948
Birmingham Black Barons 4, Homestead Grays 3
Rickwood Field, Birmingham, AL

Game Three of the series was played the following night, Thursday, September 30, at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Pitcher Tom Parker started for the Grays against Alonzo Perry of the Black Barons. The Black Barons scored first with a run in the bottom of the third. In the top of the fourth inning, Grays slugger Luke Easter smashed a long home run to tie the game. In the bottom of the inning Parker pulled a muscle and was relieved by R.T. Walker. Walker pitched well until he surrendered two runs in the sixth that gave the Black Barons a 3-1 lead. Walker was relieved by Ted Alexander in the seventh. Meanwhile, Perry put up a strong performance for the Black Barons until he gave up two runs in the eighth inning that tied the game, 3-3. Perry was relieved by Bill Greason, who held the Grays in check in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, Greason singled with one out. Artie Wilson flied out and third baseman John Britton walked, bringing up 17-year-old Willie Mays. With two out and two men on base, Mays promptly drove a ball up the middle, reportedly through the pitcher Alexander’s legs, to score Greason with the game-winning run. The Black Barons were back in the Series, albeit they were still down two games to one.5

Grays: Parker 3 IP, Walker 3 IP, Alexander 3 IP; Black Barons: Perry 7 IP, Greason 2 IP.

Game Four: October 3, 1948
Homestead Grays 14, Birmingham Black Barons 1
Pelican Stadium, New Orleans, LA

The Series shifted to New Orleans for Game Four. This game had originally been slated to be played at Rickwood Field, but it was bumped by the Dixie Series, which pitted the Southern Association champion Birmingham Barons against the Texas League champion Fort Worth Cats. Having been displaced by this Double-A championship tilt, the Negro League World Series moved to New Orleans and was played at Pelican Stadium on the afternoon of Sunday, October 3. The Birmingham News reported that Black Barons president Tom Hayes and a large contingent of fans traveled with the team from Birmingham to New Orleans on the day before the game in order to be there to root for their team.

Unfortunately for the Black Barons and their fans, the Grays’ offense exploded for their best game in the Series. Wilmer Fields was Homestead’s starting pitcher, and Bill Greason took the mound for Birmingham. Greason did not last long; he was one of four pitchers to appear for the Black Barons that day. He was joined by Jehosie Heard, Jimmie Newberry, and Nat Pollard in trying to hold back the Grays. The Grays scored four runs in the second inning, five in the fourth, three in the fifth, and two in the eighth. Four of the five runs scored in the fourth inning were accounted for by a grand slam by the Grays’ slugging left fielder, Luke Easter, his second home run of the Series. Fields gave a strong performance to get the win, allowing just one run on seven hits. The Grays scored their 14 runs on 19 hits. By winning the game, they went up three games to one in the best-of-seven Series.6

Black Barons: Greason, Heard, Newberry, Pollard; Grays: Fields 9 IP

Game Five: October 5, 1948
Homestead Grays 10, Birmingham Black Barons 6
Rickwood Field, Birmingham, AL

The series returned to Birmingham’s Rickwood Field for Game Five on the night of Tuesday, October 5. R.T. Walker got the start for the Grays and Bill Powell started for the Black Barons. The game was a slugfest, with both teams holding leads twice through the first eight innings. Greason, appearing in his third straight game, relieved Powell in the sixth inning. Going into the ninth trailing 6-5, the Grays scored a run on doubles by Marquez and Easter to tie the game. Then, in the 10th, the Grays scored four runs on three walks, two singles, and a double. The Black Barons eventually brought in Sam Williams to relieve Greason, but the damage was done. The Grays brought in Fields, who had pitched a complete game only two days earlier, to pitch the 10th. Fields closed out the game, giving the Grays the win and the Series championship.7

Grays: Walker 9 IP, Fields 1 IP; Black Barons: Powell 5 IP, Greason 3 IP, Williams 1 IP.

After the 1948 Season

The 1948 season was in many ways the last great season for the Negro Leagues. After the season the Negro National League disbanded, with a few teams, including the New York Cubans and Baltimore Elite Giants, merging into the Negro American League Eastern Division. Other teams, including the Grays, continued to barnstorm. Several of the Grays signed major-league contracts; of those, Luke Easter, Luis Marquez, and Bob Thurman went on to play in the majors. In 1949 the Grays defeated the Richmond Giants in the Negro American Association Championship Series, and they hung around through the 1950 season before they disbanded.8 The Black Barons continued to play in the Negro American League through 1954; however, they also saw an exodus of their players to the major leagues, including Artie Wilson and Bill Greason. The youngest player to appear in the 1948 Negro League World Series, Willie Mays, of course signed with the New York Giants and went on to become one of the greatest players in the history of professional baseball.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also consulted:

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

Fields, Wilmer. My Life in the Negro Leagues (McLean, Virginia: Miniver Press, 2013).

Klima, John. Willie’s Boys (Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, 2009).

Leonard, Buck, with James A. Riley. Buck Leonard: The Black Lou Gehrig (New York: Carroll and Graf, 1995).

Notes

3 For Game One the following references were used: “Grays Score Win in World Series,” Afro American, October 2, 1948: 9; “National League Champions Clinch Game in Second With 3-Run Rally,” Kansas City Call, October 1, 1948: n.p.

4 For Game Two the following references were used: “Grays Shade Black Barons By 5-3 Score,” Birmingham Age-Herald, September 30, 1948: n.p.; “Black Barons Seek Initial Win Tonight,” Birmingham News, September 30, 1948: n.p.

5 For Game Three the following references were used: “Black Barons Nip Grays, 4-3, for First Series Win,” Birmingham Age-Herald, October 1, 1948: n.p.; “Black Barons Nip Grays, 4-3,” Birmingham News, October 1, 1948: n.p.

6 For Game Four the following references were used: “Black Barons, Grays Tangle in N.O. Today,” Birmingham News, October 3, 1948: n.p.; “Grays Hold 3-1 Lead in Series,” Afro American, October 9, 1948: 8; “Grays Rout Birmingham in Series,” Pittsburgh Courier, October 9, 1948: 12; “Homestead Grays Swamp Black Barons, 14-1,” Chicago Defender, October 9, 1948: 10.

7 For Game Five the following references were used: “Black Barons Take On Grays,” Birmingham News, October 5, 1948: n.p.; “Grays Nip Black Barons, Win Series,” Birmingham Age-Herald, October 6, 1948: n.p.; “Grays Blast Black Barons,” Birmingham News, n.p.; “Grays Win, 10-6 in World Series,” Afro American, October 16, 1948: 8.

8 “Grays, Giants Clash Monday,” Washington Post, September 3, 1949: 10.

A teenage Willie Mays with the Birmingham Black Barons. Mays’ father did not allow him to join the Black Barons full-time in 1948 until school was over at the end of May. (Courtesy of Memphis Public Library)