BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) - Long before Major League Baseball broke its color barrier, there was another professional league for black ball players, the Negro League. These included Reese “Goose” Tatum, who became known as the “Clown Prince of Basketball.”. Leaders. The Official Site of Minor League Baseball web site includes features, news, rosters, statistics, schedules, teams, live game radio broadcasts, and video clips. Sanders traded that broomstick for a bat â and later played in the Negro League for the Birmingham Black Barons, the New Orleans Bears and several other teams. The Birmingham Black Barons (originally the Birmingham Stars) played professional baseball for Birmingham in the Negro Leagues from 1919 to 1960 when the Major Leagues successfully integrated. The team lost the 1946 Negro League World Series to the Cleveland Buckeyes. Whether youâre a current student, parent, player, fan or alumni, youâll find over 500 products to customize from, including Birmingham Black Barons The 1946 Birmingham Black Barons included Negro American League stars Piper Davis, Artie Wilson, and Lester Lockett. Your team store allows you to customize clothing and face masks for every type of Birmingham Black Barons Baseball fan. The Barons are considered by many as one of the most successful minor league teams in baseball. Lorenzo "Piper" Davis played in the game four years straight while shortstop Artie Wilson played in four contests. The team had its greatest success in the 1940s, winning three Negro National League pennants (1943, 1944, and 1949). ", For over 40 years, the Black Barons were "the jewel of Southern black baseball" and an integral part of the African-American community that developed in Birmingham in the wake of segregation. Home games, however, only represented half of the Black Barons' busy schedule. Courtesy of Birmingham Public Library Archives. $35.69 Minor League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are the property of Minor League Baseball. Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948, playing with them until he was signed by the Giants once he graduated high school in 1950. Paige is considered by many to be the best pitcher in baseball history. The Birmingham Barons are the Double-A Minor League Baseball Affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. It has no adjusting strap...and yet, only two sizes fit 98% of all people in the U.S.!It is fashioned from pro quality material and features a vintage Black Barons logo embroidered on wool athletic ⦠In 1920, the Black Barons became charter members of the Negro Southern League, an eight-member circuit that loosely mirrored the all-white Southern Association, sharing both their ballparks and minor-league status. That same year, Rube Foster organized the Negro National League. Financial pressures from the Great Depression caused the Black Barons to drop back to the Negro Southern League in 1931. In the small towns of the South, the Black Barons were greeted with enthusiasm by the locals, many having never before seen a professional team. Frank Perdue of the Birmingham Black Barons was voted the leagueâs first president. He ended up on Iwo Jima. Saperstein also owned the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, and some Black Barons earned extra money by playing basketball during the off-season. Hall of Fame outfielders Mule Suttles and Willie Mays played for the Barons from 1923 to 1925 and from 1948 to 1950, respectively. The Birmingham Black Barons was a professional baseball team active in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1960. The park was built by A. H. One of their managers during this period, Willie Wells, is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. From the 1920s to the 1940s, the team was among the most successful baseball teams in the Negro Leagues. Winning over 2,000 of the estimated 2,500 games he pitched in, Leroy "Satchel" Paige is arguably the greatest pitcher of all-time. That same year, Rube Foster organized the Negro National League. He played for the Black Barons through the end of the 1930 season and then, like so many other promising players in the South, he left for the wealthier, more profitable franchises of the North. Regardless, their baseball legacy continues. The Birmingham Barons are a minor league baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The Birmingham Black Barons won three Negro American League (NAL) pennants in the 1940s. In 1920, the Birmingham Stars formed as one of the eight original teams in the Negro Southern League. All Rights Reserved. The success of baseball’s integration led to the gradual decline of the Birmingham Black Barons. Only in the past several years have the careers of these athletes been salvaged from anonymity, their feats on the base paths finally being put down on paper for future generations. Frequent road trips took the team throughout the South, Midwest, and North, playing from town to town all the way to their final destination. Three years later, Birmingham was given its first opportunity for a major-league franchise by the Negro National League, the highest level of black baseball in American and the home of the Barons for the remainder of the decade. Yet his speed, combined with his natural sense of showmanship, made Satchel the club's top drawing card. Many of the baseball greats got their start in Birmingham with the Birmingham Black Barons. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox major-league club. MiLBstore.com sells official merchandise on behalf of the Birmingham Barons and all other Minor League Baseball clubs in an effort to offer you the most extensive online selection of team apparel, including jerseys, hats, t-shirts, an array of novelty and collectible items and much more. Their most famous player during this era was Charley Pride, a talented player who became better known as a country music singer. Their most famous player during these years was a youngster named Willie Mays who would become a household name and Hall of Fame player with the New York Giants. The Black Barons played their last season in 1963, quickly fading away into obscurity against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement. Barred from organized baseball by an unwritten, but universal, policy of racial discrimination, the Black Barons and the other teams of the Negro Leagues gave an opportunity to play to those who were otherwise excluded from the game. In 1923, the Black Barons became associate members of the Negro National League under new owner Joe Rush. Winning three pennants in 1940, 1945, and 1948, and producing another future star, Willie Mays, the Black Barons enjoyed success in a time when other Negro League franchises were folding. This listing of rosters for Birmingham Black Barons teams was originally compiled by the editors of The Negro Leagues Book.It was republished, with additional research, in Every Other Sunday.The original source for each roster is given where available. Joining the Black Barons in 1928, Paige quickly became a Birmingham favorite, although his now-legendary control was still far from perfect. Birmingham Black Barons, 1946 From the 1920s to the 1940s, the Birmingham Black Barons were among the most successful baseball teams in the Negro Leagues, featuring such all-time greats as Leroy "Satchel" Paige, Lorenzo "Piper" Davis, and Willie Mays. Mays started his baseball career as a teenager with the Negro American League champion Birmingham Black Barons in 1948. He still remembers the huge crowds that came to watch the Negro League games. In 1948, the Black Barons and the Homestead Grays met in the last Negro League World Series, playing in Rickwood and other Southern parks in hopes of drawing large crowds. Birmingham Black Barrons Negro Leagues 1/4 Zip Short Sleeve Shadow Ball XL. This database is a keyword index to articles that appeared in local newspapers including the Birmingham News and the Birmingham World. The Black Barons won the Negro American League pennant in 1943, 1944, and 1948, but lost the Negro League World Series both season. They played their home games at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The Birmingham Black Barons played from 1920 to 1960 in the diverse Negro Leagues. Four of the Birmingham players from those years, Mays, Wilson, Jehosia Heard, and Bill Greason played in the majors following integration. History: In 1948, the Black Barons featured a precocious teenage outfielder named Willie Mays, who had already made a name for himself as a multi-sport star at Fairfield Industrial High School in nearby Fairfield, Alabama. Not only heroes on the diamond, these men were also an important part of the community that supported them, as they served as role models of success and professionalism. When manager Piper Davis penciled in his name on his lineup card as the left fielder and seventh-place batter for the Black Barons, the future superstar was a seventeen-year old high school student. And now our fan webstore is glad to offer you a variety of Birmingham Black Barons hats. The first Black Barons team emerged in the years following World War I, and may have been an ACIPCO team that defected to create the professional franchise. The Birmingham Barons Official Store is located at 1401 1st Ave S. Birmingham, AL, 35233. Birmingham lost the series, 4-1, but more importantly, the diminished number of fans and small profits clearly spelled out the end of the league was near and simply a matter of time. The nickname that stuck with him throughout his career, âPiperâ, came from the coal mining town near Birmingham where he was born on July 3, 1917; Piper, Alabama. Make Offer - Birmingham Black Barons Shirt XXL Negro League Baseball Urban Hip Hop Streetwear. Several members of the Black Barons during the 1920s had careers that led to their induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The team played their home games at Rickwood Field. Those were pitcher Bill Foster, the legendary Leroy “Satchel” Paige, and George “Mules” Suttles. The team was able to get back to the big-time Negro League in the 1940s under co-owners Tom Hayes and Abe Saperstein. Birmingham Black Barons. Frank Perdue paid ⦠They alternated home stands with the Birmingham Barons in West End 's Rickwood Field, usually drawing larger crowds and equal press. Wilson played for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League from 1942 to 1948, where he was considered the league's best shortstop, and was named the starting shortstop of the league All-Star team four times from 1944 to 1948 (missing out only in 1945, when he was beaten out by Jackie Robinson, shortly before he broke the baseball color line in 1947). The Negro Southern League Museum is open, but with restrictions, due to COVID-19. Top Hitter Roy Parnell. This Birmingham Black Barons cap looks like a custom-fitted cap. Birmingham Black Barons The Birmingham Black Barons played in Rickwood Field for over two decades. You looked good and the people were out there to see you, and that's what made you want to play. The team played their home games at Rickwood Field. By the early 1960s, they were essentially a barnstorming team. For over 40 years, the Black Barons were "the jewel of Southern black baseball" and an integral part of the African-American community that developed in Birmingham in the wake of segregation. The Birmingham Black Barons, one of the most successful baseball teams in the Negro Leagues, played from the 1920's until the 1950's. This database is a keyword index to articles that appeared in local newspapers including the Birmingham News , the Birmingham World and the Birmingham Reporter . Birmingham Black Barons Shirt XXL Negro League Baseball Urban Hip Hop Streetwear. From: To: Leagues: Record: 652 - 719 - 25 (.476) 3 League Championships . Over the next few years, their crowds grew increasingly smaller. In addition to the thrill of the game, jitterbug contests, beauty pageants, and visiting celebrities like Lena Horne and Lionel Hampton added a degree of excitement to the program and brought hundreds more to the park. Early Years Many consider the Birmingham Black Barons to be the most successful of the Southern Negro League baseball teams. That same year, Rube Foster organized the Negro National League. For questions regarding merchandise and order status please contact the Barons Merchandise Manager, David Lindsey at dlindsey@barons.com or by calling (205) 988-3200. Black Barons The Birmingham Black Barons were organized in 1920 as the Birmingham Stars, one of the first eight teams of the Negro Southern League. At Chicago's Comiskey Park, the annual Negro League East-West All-Star game saw 12 different Black Barons between 1940 and 1950. !function(){var e=document.createElement("script");e.type="text/javascript",e.async=!0,e.src="https://omnisrc.com/inshop/launcher-v2.js";var t=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];t.parentNode.insertBefore(e,t)}(); The Birmingham Black Barons were organized in 1920 as the Birmingham Stars, one of the first eight teams of the Negro Southern League. Built-in 1910, Rickwood Field stands today as the nation's oldest baseball park. Birmingham Black Barons, 1946. Like most Negro League teams, the Black Barons did not have a ballpark of their own, but instead rented Rickwood Field from the white Barons, using the park on Sundays or during the Barons' road trips. Greason, now 96, reminiscing of the days when he played for the Birmingham Black Barons which is a part of the Negro League. The Black Barons formed the cornerstone of professional Negro baseball in the South for more than 30 years. Suttles hit 127 known home runs in Negro League competition, a number that may make him the League’s all-time home run king. Birmingham Black Barons. Based out of Rickwood Field in Birmingham, the team organized in 1920, the same year Rube Foster organized the Negro National League, and entered the Negro Southern League. Today, the legacy of the Black Barons can be seen in every ballpark in America, where the game they devoted so much of their lives to is open to all and can truly be considered our "National Pastime.". "And you thought you were something when you had it on. The Birmingham Black Barons were a professional baseball team that was active in the Negro Leagues. In 1923, the team became an associate member of the Negro National League. The Barons play in Regions Park, located in Hoover, Alabama; the park seats 10,800 fans. The Official Site of the Birmingham Barons. "Your uniform was about the best thing you had," recalled former Birmingham Baron Nat Pollard. omnisend.push(["accountID", "5e78e4ea99f0b7499fcf9ea9"]); Once the team joined the Negro National League that same year, they became the Black Baronsâa reference to Birminghamâs white team, the Birmingham Barons. 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