This List of Negro league baseball champions includes champions of black baseball prior to the organization of any traditional Negro league and goes through to the collapse of segregated baseball after Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line in 1946. Champions include self-declared, regional and (later) league champions, but is limited to top-tier teams and major Negro leagues. The champions listed after 1948 through the 1950s are listed for posterity, but the quality of play had deteriorated so far as to only incidentally be covered by contemporary media or historians.
During the formative years of black baseball, most Negro teams toured the US playing white or mixed-race teams of an amateur or semi-pro standing. There was little to no collaboration between black teams, and few if any scheduled meetings. Therefore, during this era, it was usually up to an individual team (or newspaper writer) to declare themselves the black champion and see if anyone challenged them.
Year | Champion | Games | Runner-up | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1867 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Philadelphia Excelsiors | 1-0 | Brooklyn Uniques | [1] | |
1868 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | |||
1869 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Philadelphia Pythians | 1-0 | Chicago Uniques | ||
1870–86 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | |||
1887 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | New York Gorhams | 1-0 | Cuban Giants | ||
1888 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Cuban Giants | tourn.* | Pittsburgh Keystones | ||
1889 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | New York Gorhams | 2–0 | Cuban Giants | ||
1890–91 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — |
There were no championships claimed during this period.
Beginning around 1890, political and economic turmoil—eventually leading to the Panic of 1893—took a toll on the bottom line of each Negro team. Every significant Negro team, except for two, ceased operations entirely. Only one team, the Chicago Unions, managed to survive the crisis intact; while the Cuban Giants suspended play at the end of 1891 but reformed for the 1893 season.
Segregated baseball leagues, both black and white, started to appear around this time. Starting in 1887, the International League began prohibiting the signing of black players. By 1890, the last of the "white" leagues (the American Association and the National League) had unofficially banned blacks, and the color line was drawn. Early on, due to social and lingering fiscal reasons, there was minimal interest and press coverage regarding black teams, so champions were not easily determined. After the economic crisis had subsided around 1897, black teams began actively competing against other black teams for local or regional championships.
Western-region champions | Eastern-region champions | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Lg | Champion | Games | Runner-up | Ref | Year | Lg | Champion | Games | Runner-up | Ref | |||
1895 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | 1895 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | |||||
1896 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | 1896 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Page Fence Giants | 10–5 | Cuban X-Giants | ||||
1897 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | 1897 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Cuban X-Giants | 2–1 | Genuine Cuban Giants | ||||
1898 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | 1898 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | |||||
1899 | —----— | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago Unions[2] ----Chicago Columbia Giants | β----5–0 | ----Chicago Unions | 1899 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | CUBAN X-GIANTS | β | ||||
1900a----1900b | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | CHICAGO UNIONS----CHICAGO COLUMBIA GIANTS | β----β | ---- | [3] | 1900a----1900b | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Cuban X-Giants----Genuine Cuban Giants | β----β | ---- | ||
1901 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | 1901 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | |||||
1902 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | 1902 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | |||||
1903 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Algona Brownies | ?–? | Chicago Union Giants | 1903 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Cuban X-Giants | 5–2 | Philadelphia Giants | |||
1904 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | 1904 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Philadelphia Giants | 2–1 | Cuban X-Giants | ||||
1905 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | 1905 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Philadelphia Giants | 3–0 | Brooklyn Royal Giants | ||||
1906 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | 1906 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Philadelphia Giants | 5–0 | Cuban X-Giants | ||||
1907 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | 1907 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | — | |||||
1908 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | CHICAGO LELAND GIANTS | β | 1908 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | PHILADELPHIA GIANTS | β | |||||
1909 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago Leland Giants | β* | 1909 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | PHILADELPHIA GIANTS | β | |||||
1910 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago Leland Giants (II) | β | [4] | 1910 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Cuban Stars of Havana | § | ||||
1911 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago American Giants | § | [5] | 1911 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Cuban Stars of Havana | § | ||||
1912 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago American Giants | § | [6] | 1912 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | New York Lincoln Giants | § | ||||
1913 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago American Giants | β | [7] | 1913 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | NEW YORK LINCOLN GIANTS | β | ||||
1914 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago American Giants | § | [8] | 1914 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | |||||
1915 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago American Giants | β | 1915 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | NEW YORK LINCOLN STARS | β | |||||
1916 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Indianapolis ABCs | 4–1 | Chicago American Giants | [9] | 1916 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | — | ||||
1917 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | CHICAGO AMERICAN GIANTS | β | [10] | 1917 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | New York Lincoln Stars | β | ||||
1918 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago American Giants | β | [11] | 1918 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | New York Lincoln Giants | β | ||||
1919 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Detroit Stars | β | [12] | 1919 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | AC Bacharach Giants | 9–5 | Hilldale |
β — Self-declared champion or unchallenged § — Unofficial champion derived from estimates of the known won-loss records; no team claimed or was awarded a championship in these years due mainly to the organized schedule being abandoned for financial reasons and the team listed is only a generalization |
Year | Region | Champion | Games | Region | Runner-up | Ref | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1899a----1899b | East----East | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Cuban X-Giants----Cuban X-Giants | 9–5----7–4 | West----West | Chicago Unions----Chicago Columbia Giants | ||
1900a----1900b | West----West | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago Unions----Columbia Giants | ?–?----?–? | East----East | Cuban X-Giants----Genuine Cuban Giants | ||
1908 | West East | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago Leland Giants Philadelphia Giants | 3–3 (tie) | ||||
1909 | East | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Philadelphia Giants | 3–1 | West | Chicago Leland Giants | ||
1910 | West | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago Leland Giants (II) | β | ||||
1913 | East | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | New York Lincoln Giants | 7–4–1 | West | Chicago American Giants | ||
1915 | East | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | New York Lincoln Stars | 4–4–1 (tie) | West | Chicago American Giants | ||
1917 | West | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago American Giants | 4–3 | East | New York Lincoln Stars |
With the emergence of the hard-fisted leadership of former pitcher Rube Foster, playing a formal scheduled season between other black teams became reality. Foster, known for his business acumen, recognized that attendance was just high enough so that a reasonable profit can be derived from gate receipts to sustain the travel and commitment required to maintain a league schedule. This led to the formation of a handful of official Negro leagues, and later to a planned end-of-season World Series.
Western-region champions | Eastern-region champions | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lg | Champion | Games | Runner-up | Ref | Lg | Champion | Games | Runner-up | Ref | |||||
1920 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago American Giants | 1920 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Brooklyn Royal Giants Hilldale Club | 1–1–2 (tie) | ||||||
1921 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago American Giants | 1921 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Bacharach Giants Hilldale Club | 2–2 (tie) | [13] | |||||
1922 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago American Giants | 1922 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Bacharach Giants of New York | § | ||||||
1923 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Kansas City Monarchs | 1923 | ECL | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Hilldale Club | |||||||
1924 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | KANSAS CITY MONARCHS | 1924 | ECL | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Hilldale Club | |||||||
1925 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Kansas City Monarchs1 | 5–3 | St. Louis Stars2 | [14] | 1925 | ECL | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | HILLDALE CLUB | ||||
1926 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | CHICAGO AMERICAN GIANTS2 | 5–4 | Kansas City Monarchs1 | 1926 | ECL | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Bacharach Giants | |||||
1927 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | CHICAGO AMERICAN GIANTS1 | 4–0 | Birmingham Black Barons2 | 1927 | ECL | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Bacharach Giants | |||||
1928 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | St. Louis Stars1 | 5–4 | Chicago American Giants2 | 1928 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Bacharach Giants | § | ||||
1929 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Kansas City Monarchs1&2</sup> | 1929 | ANL | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Baltimore Black Sox1&2</sup> | |||||||
1930 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | St. Louis Stars1 | 4–3 | Detroit Stars2 | [15] | 1930 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Homestead Grays | 6–4 | New York Lincoln Giants | ||
1931 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | St. Louis Stars1&2</sup> | 1931 | — | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Hilldale Daisies | § |
1 — First half champion 2 — Second half champion 1&2</sup> — Both first and second half champion § — Unofficial champion derived from estimates of the known won-loss records; no team claimed or was awarded a championship in these years due mainly to the organized schedule being abandoned for financial reasons and the team listed is only a generalization |
See main article: article and Negro World Series. Beginning in 1924, the championships during this period were formal, pre-arranged post-season challenges agreed to by the respective leagues. The 1922 championship was an informal post-season challenge issued by the individual teams.
Lg | Champion | Games | Lg | Runner-up | Ref | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1924 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Kansas City Monarchs | 5–4–1 | ECL | Hilldale Club | ||
1925 | ECL | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Hilldale Club | 5–1 | NNL1 | Kansas City Monarchs | ||
1926 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago American Giants | 5–4–2 | ECL | Bacharach Giants | ||
1927 | NNL1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago American Giants | 5–3–1 | ECL | Bacharach Giants |
Lg | Champion | Games | Runner-up | Ref | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1933 | NNL2 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Pittsburgh Crawfords2* | 0–0–1 (tie) | Cole's American Giants1 | [16] | |
1934 | NNL2 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Philadelphia Stars2 | 4–3–1 | Chicago American Giants1 | ||
1935 | NNL2 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Pittsburgh Crawfords1 | 4–3 | New York Cubans2 |
Negro league baseball hit its stride after the country had recovered from the devastation of the Great Depression. The second incarnation of the Negro National League became the "eastern" league and a year later the new Negro American League assumed the role of the "western" league. Both leagues generally respected the players' contracts and a relative peace existed between the leagues. An agreed upon championship series was held at the end of the season between each league's pennant winner. Only integration could challenge their success, and it came in 1946. By 1949, the NNL broke up and the NAL was the only league in operation.
1 — First half champion 2 — Second half champion 1&2</sup> — Both first and second half champion |
See main article: article and Negro World Series.
Lg | Champion | Games | Lg | Runner-up | Ref | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1942 | NAL | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Kansas City Monarchs | 4–0 | NNL2 | Washington Homestead Grays | ||
1943 | NNL2 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Washington Homestead Grays | 4–3–1 | NAL | Birmingham Black Barons | ||
1944 | NNL2 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Washington Homestead Grays | 4–1 | NAL | Birmingham Black Barons | ||
1945 | NAL | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Cleveland Buckeyes | 4–0 | NNL2 | Washington Homestead Grays | ||
1946 | NNL2 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Newark Eagles | 4–3 | NAL | Kansas City Monarchs | ||
1947 | NNL2 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | New York Cubans | 4–1–1 | NAL | Cleveland Buckeyes | ||
1948 | NNL2 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Washington Homestead Grays | 4–1 | NAL | Birmingham Black Barons |
By 1949, enough black talent had integrated into the white leagues (both major and minor) that the Negro leagues themselves had become a minor league circuit. With the demise of the NNL, only the NAL remained as a top-tier league for black players. If the purpose of the Negro leagues was to end segregation, then in 1947 (with Jackie Robinson's MLB debut) they became a success and their mission was complete. With an infrastructure still in place and a viable audience for a short period of time, there was still money to be made for a few more years before total demise. Therefore, the following teams are listed for posterity; the real black championship contest was now considered to be the annual East–West Game.
Below are the regional and league championships by club. During the formative years until about 1891, it was usually up to an individual team (or newspaper writer) to declare themselves the black champion and see if anyone challenged them; these are listed in the chart as "Declared" champions. Later, up until the end of the Great Depression, there were periods when press coverage and fan interest waned to the point that some seasons a champion was not determined; in these years a champion was retroactively determined by historical research as to which team probably had the most successful season and these are listed in the chart as "Unofficial" champions. Where a champion was determined via a traditional play-off, it is listed in the chart as an "Earned" champion. Only the seasons prior to integration are considered for this table; teams who continued after 1948 are represented by a "+".
Championships | Team | Years played | Championship seasons | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago American Giants | 1910–48 | 1910–15, 1917–18, 1920–22, 1926–27, 1932 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 10 | 10 | - | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Kansas City Monarchs | 1920–48+ | 1923–25, 1929, 1939–42, 1946 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 10 | 10 | - | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Homestead Grays | c. 1912–48+ | 1930, 1937–38, 1940–45, 1948 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 6 | 4 | - | 2 | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Bacharach Giants | 1916–29 | 1919, 1921–22, 1926–28 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 6 | 5 | - | 1 | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Hilldale Club | 1916–32 | 1920–21, 1923–25, 1931 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Philadelphia Giants | 1902–16 | 1904–06, 1908–09 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Cuban X-Giants | 1897–1907 | 1897, 1899–1900, 1903 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 3 | - | 2 | 1 | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | New York Lincoln Giants | 1911–30 | 1912–13, 1918 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | St. Louis Stars | 1906–31 | 1928, 1930–31 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Pittsburgh Crawfords | 1931–40 | 1933, 1935–36 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Birmingham Black Barons | 1920–48+ | 1943–44, 1948 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | New York Gorhams | 1886–92 | 1887, 1889 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Cuban Giants | 1885–c. 1915 | 1888, 1900 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 2 | - | 2 | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago Unions | 1887–1900 | 1899–1900 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago Columbia Giants | 1899–1900 | 1899–1900 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 2 | - | 2 | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Chicago Leland Giants | 1901–09 | 1908–09 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 2 | - | - | 2 | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Cuban Stars of Havana | 1906–32 | 1910–11 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | Cleveland Buckeyes | 1942–48+ | 1945, 1947 | |
bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | align=left; bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | New York Lincoln Stars | 1914–17 | 1915, 1917 |
See main article: article and East–West All-Star Game.
Major League Baseball began the tradition of an "All-Star" exhibition game between the stars of the American League and National League in 1933. Encouraged by the success of the white game, Gus Greenlee organized a black All-Star game at the end of the 1933 season. This game was to feature the top talent from the western region against the top eastern region talent, hence the name "East–West Game". In the years a World Series was not held, the East–West Game was a surrogate championship game – replete with the media hype and sold-out attendance.
Year | Winner | Score | Loser | Year | Winner | Score | Loser | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1933 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 11–7 | East | 1947 | 2 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 8–2 | East | ||
1934 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | East | 1–0 | West | 1948 | 1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 3–0 | East | ||
1935 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 11–8 | East | 1948 | 2 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | East | 6–1 | West | ||
1936 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | East | 10–2 | West | 1949 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 4–0 | East | |||
1937 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | East | 7–2 | West | 1950 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 5–3 | East | |||
1938 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 5–4 | East | 1951 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | East | 3–1 | West | |||
1939 | 1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 4–2 | East | 1952 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 7–3 | East | ||
1939 | 2 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | East | 10–2 | West | 1953 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 5–1 | East | ||
1940 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | East | 11–0 | West | 1954 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 8–4 | East | |||
1941 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | East | 8–3 | West | 1955 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 2–0 | East | |||
1942 | 1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | East | 5–2 | West | 1956 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | East | 11–5 | West | ||
1942 | 2 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | East | 9–2 | West | 1957 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 8–5 | East | ||
1943 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 2–1 | East | 1958 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | East | 6–5 | West | |||
1944 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 7–4 | East | 1959 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 8–7 | East | |||
1945 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 9–6 | East | 1960 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 8–5 | East | |||
1946 | 1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | East | 6–3 | West | 1961 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 7–1 | East | ||
1946 | 2 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 4–1 | East | 1962 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 5–2 | East | ||
1947 | 1 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | West | 5–2 | East | TOT | 35 | bgcolor=#f2f2f2 | WEST | 22–13 | EAST |