Cleveland Tate Stars

The city of Cleveland had a number of entrants in the Negro Leagues during that organization’s heyday. The Buckeyes, the most famous Cleveland team to play in the leagues, won the Negro Leagues World Series in 1945 against the Homestead Grays, earning a spot in history forever. Few people know much about that team, and even fewer know anything about the other Cleveland teams that played between 1920 and 1950 in the Negro Leagues. One was the Cleveland Tate Stars, which represented the African American community in the Negro National League (NNL) in 1922 and 1923.

The Cleveland Tate Stars began playing baseball in the city in 1918 and joined the NNL in 1921. After the Stars left the league in 1923, the Cleveland Browns took their place and finished last. The Elites, the Hornets, and the Tigers all followed and did not fare much better. In the 1930s, the Stars, the Cubs, and the Giants represented Cleveland in rival Negro leagues, and the Red Sox gave it a try in the NNL, but none could seem to break the cycle of losing teams. The Cleveland Bears entered the Negro American League (NAL) in 1939 and enjoyed brief success-they finished first (22-4) in 1939 but the next year fell to 6-16 and then moved to Jacksonville, Florida, in 1941-paving the way for Ernest Wright and the Buckeyes, who made two trips to the World Series before moving to Louisville in 1949 and finally folding at the end of the season.

The Cleveland Tate Stars set the pattern for the mediocrity that would charaterize Cleveland’s Negro League teams until the 1940s. The team began its existence as a local squad, and a few box scores have been found that reveal a bit about it. A 1919 account in the Chicago Defender talks about the Stars’ first practice under manager Bill Irvin at Woodland Hills Park. Most of the players who showed up to try out were either rookies or veterans from other teams in the area. They were trying to get ready for their first game on April 13 against the National Cafes. They went on to win their first regular game of the new season, against the Johnny Otts, 3-2. A large crowd came out to see the Stars play and was treated to a game filled with speed and enthusiasm.1 The papers reported a five-game winning streak for the Stars in early June, and a nailbiter in July against the Tellings Nine. George Branham came away with the victory by allowing only five hits through eight innings and getting some fine fielding from one Rev Cannaday.2

A short series of games was played in 1920 against a team from Oberlin to try to name the best team in Ohio. Three games were played, with the Tate Stars winning two. Following a 3-1 victory, the local paper referred to the Tate Stars as Cleveland’s “crack colored team.” Winning pitcher Lefty Brady struck out fourteen batters to secure the win.3 The series also included a dance in Rowland Hall on the Oberlin campus.

Before the start of the 1921 season, Jim Taylor left Indianapolis to manage the Stars. He immediately set out to sign some new players for his squad, beginning with Ralph (Roy) Moore, first baseman and pitcher. While Taylor worked on the roster, owner George Tate and his business manager Devoe worked on a deal to use one of the Akron parks for practice while their own field was under construction. Tate Field became their new home, and by June they were enjoying their home-field advantage as they took two games from the Pittsburgh Keystones, 8-7 and 8-3. Branham came away with the victory in both contests. Outfielder Willie Miles and second baseman Claude Johnson led the offensive charge in both games. Errors hurt the Stars in the first contest, but they only committed one in the second.4

The Stars played through some hot streaks in the summer, winning eight out of nine games in late June. They finished the streak with a come-from-behind win against the Columbus Buckeyes, 10-9. A six-run rally brought them back from defeat, with Rev Cannaday providing solid hitting. In mid-July they pulled off a sweep with a doubleheader victory over the Bacharach Giants, 3-1 and 6-5. In the first contest the Stars beat Cannonball Dick Redding behind the four-hit pitching of Johnson.5

In a battle of wills, the Tate Stars beat Suds Sutherland (a former Detroit Tiger) and his Cowpers teammates 7-6 in sixteen innings. The Stars got twenty-one hits off the former major league pitcher but gave up sixteen of their own. The Stars pulled off a nice doubleheader victory against the Kansas City Monarchs near the end of the season, winning 8-6 and 6-4. Johnson hit a home run in the second game to support the six-hit pitching of Hamilton. In late 1921 the Stars played the Indianapolis ABCs and came out on the losing end of a 6-1 score before a hometown crowd. The Stars hit into four double plays and could not stop the hard hitting of Ben Taylor, who went 3 for 3 and a walk to lead the ABCs.6

The Stars lost again to the ABCs near the start of the 1922 season, with a 4-0 shutout going to Taylor’s crew. They lost another doubleheader to the ABCs in June when they were outhit 30-24. Indianapolis clouted nine extra base hits, including three homers, compared to the Stars’ three for extra bases. Indianapolis continued to give the Tates trouble with three out of four victories in September.7 While they did not enjoy much success in the NNL in 1922, the Tate Stars did establish a strong record in Ohio with their independent play against teams such as the Great Americans of Mansfield. In October they were tied for the lead in the Cleveland City Series after beating the Tellings 16-0. They relied on the strong pitching of Branham and Bob McClure, and solid hitting and fielding from Johnson, Cannaday, Taylor, and Fred Boyd. For example, they won two straight from the Tellings in April, with Branham getting the victory in the second game, 6-4. Cannaday led the attack with two hits and two runs scored. Branham later beat the Detroit Stars 5-1, with the only hit being a home run by Bruce Petway. They beat the Kansas City Monarchs in late July, with Johnson helping the hitting attack and McClure beating “Bullet Joe” Rogan 6-5. The Monarchs came back in the nightcap to triumph 9-3, with Drake besting Branham.8

In 1923, the Tate Stars appeared to have an uncertain future. Rube Foster paid a visit to the city in February in an effort to encourage more support for the team and to try to fix “the tangled up affairs” of the ballclub.9 Reports indicated that the owners found themselves in court over unpaid debts. George Tate struggled to make ends meet and finally had to sell the Tate ballpark to businessman George R. Hooper in early July to save the team. These early difficulties may have been the harbinger of things to come for future Cleveland entries in the NNL. In fact, the Stars played many of their home games in Toledo at Washington Park. They lost a doubleheader to the ABCs there in August when they could not turn their hits into runs. In the first game the Stars had eleven hits but scored only twice, and in the nightcap they had eight hits and still only scored two runs to lose 3-2. Bob McCall came out the loser in the first game, while Branham lost the second.10

The Stars did manage to play their early games at home, even with the future of the park and the team in jeopardy. They split an early series with the Homestead Grays, losing the first game 3-1 but pounding the ball in the second to triumph 14-5. Johnson had three extra base hits in the second, including two home runs.11 In a non-league series with the Ambridge Eagles of Ambridge, Pennsylvania, the Stars continued their heavy hitting with a 27-hit barrage to win 14-1 and 8-2. George (Rube) Henderson hit the only home run in the second game for the Tates. A series of August games in Memphis did not go as well; the Tates lost to the Red Sox 5-1 and 8-1.12

Compiling the roster for the Tate Stars reveals few names that many would recognize, and it appears that many of the players were local stars who never played outside the Cleveland area. An important exception to that pattern was the inclusion of Candy Jim Taylor, who was with the Stars in 1921 and 1922 as player-manager. A few other names that are more recognizable are Vic Harris, Cannaday, Boots McClain, Buck Ewing, Hooks Johnson, and Bob McCall. Vic Harris is best known for the many years he spent with the Homestead Grays beginning in 1925, but he got his start with the Tate Stars in 1923 before going on to have a successful baseball career spanning twenty-eight years. Jim Taylor came in with a strong reputation as a player and a well-known name as one, with Ben and C. I., of the Taylor brothers.

When the Tate Stars folded and did not return in 1924 a new Cleveland entry, the Browns, joined the

NNL and continued to use Hooper Park for their home games. As the Stars had struggled financially so too did the entries that succeeded them in the Negro Leagues. In mid-1924 a reporter explained that the Browns could not win despite “apparent strength both on the offense and defense.” 13 Without a winning record, fans would not come out in large enough numbers to support the teams. The Tate Stars started out with a great deal of excitement and promise but were unable to translate that into winning records, and ultimately they had to leave the NNL.

 

NOTES

1. “Tate Stars Start Training,” Chicago Defender, April 12, 1919; “Tates Win First Game of Season,” Chicago Defender, May 17, 1919.

2. “Two-run Rally in Ninth Wins for Tate Stars,” Chicago Defender, July 2, 1921.

3. “Oberlin Club Lost Game to Clevelanders,” Chronicle Telegram, September 10, 1920.

4. “Tate Stars to build New Park in Cleveland,” Chicago Defender, March 19, 1921; “Tate Stars Take Two from Pittsburgh Keystones,” Chicago Defender, June 11, 1921.

5. “Tate Stars Nose Out Columbus Buckeyes,” Chicago Defender, June 25, 1921; “Tate’s Stars Win Two Games from Connors,” Chicago Defender, July 15, 1922.

6. “Tate Stars Win 16-Inning Game Off Sutherland,” Chicago Defender, August 13, 1921; “Tate Stars Surprise Fans; Win 2 from Kansas City,” Chicago Defender, August 27, 1921; “ABCs Win 6 to l,” Indianapolis Star, September 27, 1921.

7. “ABCs Trounce Tate Stars 4-0,” Savannah Tribune, May 4, 1922; “Charleston Gets 2 Homers; A.B.C’s Down Tates Twice,” Chicago Defender, June 12, 1922; “Indianapolis Takes Three Out of Four from Tates,” Chicago Defender, September 2, 1922.

8. “Cleveland Akron Stars Will Oppose Great Americans This Week,” Mansfield News, July 19, 1922; “Tate Stars 6; Tellings 4,” Chicago Defender, April 29, 1922; “Detroit Stars Stop Tates, Pennant Aspirations, 8-2,” Chicago Defender, May 27, 1922; “Tate’s Defeat Rogan in Last Half of Ninth, “Chicago Defender, July 22, 1922; “Tate Stars Tie Up the Cleveland City Series,” Chicago Defender, October 17, 1922.

9. “Rube Foster Banqueted by Cleveland Business Men,” Chicago Defender, February 17, 1923.

10. “Cleveland Business Man Buys Tate’s Baseball Park,” Chicago Defender, July 14, 1923; “ABCs Grab Double Bill from Cleveland,” The Indianapolis Star, August 17, 1923.

11. “Tate Stars Split Even with Homestead Grays, “Chicago Defender, May 19, 1923.

12. “Tate Stars Win Two,” Chicago Defender, July 28, 1923; “Memphis Beats Tate Stars,” Chicago Defender, August 11, 1923.

13. “St. Louis Takes 2 from Cleveland,” Chicago Defender, July 5, 1924.