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Out of the Shadows: The Eclipse League
This save - despite its somewhat politically-charged premise - is, like all of my saves, merely a "what-if" exercise and nothing more.
Specifically, in the case of The Eclipse League, that "what-if" asks what may have happened if the color-line worked the other way and white players were the ones excluded from the game. The EL is set in 1968, and consists of 20 teams selected from the Negro League ranks filled with historical players from both the MLB and NeL (an AAA level will be introduced a few seasons in once the pool is big enough) entering in a random debut format via manual import. I have never done as much preparatory work as I have with this exercise; nor have I derived so much enjoyment and learned so much (both about the players and OOTP itself) in the doing thereof. I won't bore you with the details, other than to say the vast majority of NeL historical players have been hand-curated to give them more accurate ratings and biographical / anecdotal veracity. I want to thank my friends LansdowneSt and Makonnen, with whom I have been for some time now engaged in an ongoing project to try and sort out these NeL players in a way that can hopefully be incorporated into OOTP at some stage down the track. Their help along the way has been invaluable. The graphics are courtesy of the amazing modding skills of txranger, NeilsonCP and the Silvam / Adion dream team. I've still got a fair few profiles to finish for the EL's inaugural FA Draft, so there will be radio silence for a bit while I get them done, as there will be on a regular basis. With only somewhere in the vicinity of 6000 players available, this sort of deeper dive work is needed to make the league function as I want / need it to over the course of 50-60 seasons. This save will be one that (hopefully) rewards your patience, as I plan to take my time with it so as to do it justice. But I just wanted to whet your appetites in the meantime and get this thread underway. Here's how the teams will line up in 1968 (those of you following my AtHoL save will now understand why some franchise changes were necessary in that league). Back with updates as news comes to hand. Next, I'll give you a quick run-through of the settings I'll be using. |
Settings in use
As much as I like how recalc works, this is too speculative an exercise to be overly bothered about historical verisimilitude. Plus there is the issue of NeL stat accuracy and how they are treated in-game.
And so, after much deliberation, I decided to set this up as a fictional league with dev on and set to 0.9 with ageing at 0.75 to lengthen careers a bit. I've also put TCR at 160 to spice things up, make some of the lesser-known players "pop" but hopefully not too much at the expense of others. AI eval is at 25/50/20/5. Because I will merely be observing rather than participating in how clubs and players are managed, scouting is set at 100% with full ratings on. Coaching / owner goals are ON for a bit of fun but personalities are OFF because they are just too arbitrary. Morale is also OFF. To begin with, injuries are at EXTREMELY LOW. Once the pool has grown sufficiently this will be ticked up to LOW. Position player fatigue is AVERAGE, pitcher stamina HIGH. Suspensions are ON but LOW. Trading is at one notch below HARD and about halfway toward FAVOR PROSPECTS. A 162-game interleague schedule will be used. DH will start OFF but enabled a few years down the track. Financials are ON and set to 1968, then will roll along with the timeline. Service Days are set to 90 to avoid manipulation. 5 years for FA / 3 for Arb. When the AAA league begins, MiLB FA will be introduced along with option years etc. 2017 CBA rules for lost FAs with max 1 QA. 3-week ST with an ASG. Playoffs will involve just the 4 Association winners in a 7-game series with the WS also best-of-seven. No min batter faced / kinky XI rules thanks very much. Active rosters at 26 throughout. 6 relievers / 16 position players. Reserve Roster in place until the minors kick off, then 40-man. 10-day IL for all players. Trading ON and set to HIGH. 10/5 Rule ON and Draft Picks can be traded. Rookie Draft in December every year, 5 Rounds. Rule 5 will start after the MiLB level comes in. One of the major challenges with such a small playing group and manual import being used is ensuring adequate coverage around the field. Catcher ad SP are the most problematic, and for these I have had to make a couple compromises. Any player who played even just a small number of innings at C will be given a rating there, albeit a low one. This will at least give clubs some depth there should a rash of injuries or poor AI decisions occur. I have also imported players with position ratings based on their entire career. Some pitchers who would under different circumstances be designated as straight-up relievers have had their stamina pumped up a tad to enable them to spot start if needed. To help make sure the rotations work smoothly and not allow pitchers to amass ridiculous amounts of IP, they will initially be set to 4-man strict order / occasionally highest rested with reliever usage at NORMAL and closers SOMETIMES. The historical LTMs will be used for each season until they run out, at which point I'll start selecting appropriate historical ones from season to season. This save starting in the pitcher-dominant 1968 season will hopefully keep the hinky offensive output you often see at the start of a new game to a minimum. OK, that's all that, then. Next some historical context on the teams being used, to which I'll then add the game-specific details of players / lineups etc to familiarise y'all with who is playing for whom. |
Team profiles: Atlantic City Bacharach Giants
The Bacharach Giants was a Negro league baseball team first based in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The team originally were the Duval Giants out of Jacksonville, Florida but relocated to Atlantic City in 1916. They were named after the city’s mayor Harry Bacharach, and were managed by pitcher Dick “Cannonball” Redding. The roster included shortstops John Henry “Pop” Lloyd and Dick Lundy, outfielder Spotswood “Spot” Poles, first baseman Ben Taylor, Oliver Marcelle at third base, and Redding and Jesse “Nip” Winters on the mound as pitchers.
The Bacharach Giants joined the Negro National League (NNL) in 1920 as an associate member, and briefly split into two separate teams in 1922. By 1923, they reunited as one team, and the Bacharach Giants became the founding members of the Eastern Colored League (ECL). After Dick Lundy took over as manager in 1926, the team brought home two consecutive pennants (1926, 1927), but were unsuccessful in winning the Negro League World Series. Lundy brought in center fielder Chaney White, and pitchers Luther Farell, Arthur “Rats” Henderson, and Claude Grier, but the team could not pay player salaries because of low attendance at games. The Bacharach Giants played as an independent team when the ECL failed in 1928 and finished the season with a 19-45 record. They disbanded after the 1929 season. In 1931, a white Philadelphia sporting goods storeowner and sports promoter, Harry Passon, decided to resurrect the Giants team. He took over a vacant lot at 48th and Spruce streets in Philadelphia and named it Passon Field. The new owner installed lights and seating for 6,000 fans, hoping to draw crowds. The owner of the Philadelphia Stars baseball team, Ed Bolden, argued that the city could not support two Black baseball teams, and Passon and the new Philadelphia Giants were denied membership into the Negro National League. The League decision, however, did not stop Passon from continuing to field his team, and in 1934, the team was offered membership into the National Negro League. Passon Field was plagued by violence, and the Philadelphia Bacharach Giants withdrew from the league in 1935 but continued to play at the field until Harry Passon died in 1942. At that point they disbanded. Source: Blackpast |
Team profiles: Baltimore Elite Giants
Owner Tom Wilson's franchise originated in Nashville in 1921, evolving from the Nashville Standard Giants, and entered the Negro National League in 1930, but in search of a large population base for financial support, the team was subsequently moved to Columbus in 1935 and to Washington, D.C., in 1936-1937, before finding a home in Baltimore in 1938.
The ballclub remained a fixture in the city for the next thirteen years. During the Elites' years in the Negro National League, the Homestead Grays were the dominant team, claiming nine consecutive titles, and competition was fierce between the two teams. The Elites battled them every year for league supremacy, and in 1939 the Elites claimed a tainted championship when they defeated the pennant winning Grays in a four team postseason tournament. When the league folded after the 1948 season, the Elites joined the Negro American League, which assimilated the four remaining solvent franchises from the defunct Negro National League. In 1949, the first season of the restructured league and under the tutelage of new manager Lennie Pearson, the Elites won both halves of the split season to capture the Eastern Division title, and swept the Western Division's Chicago American Giants in four straight games to claim the league championship. Tom Wilson was the force behind the Elites for a quarter century but, in declining health, he sold the franchise to longtime associate Vernon "Fat" Green in 1946. The franchise was floundering under his leadership, but he placed Dick Powell in charge of the team's operations in 1948. After Green's death Powell continued to run the team under power of attorney from Green's widow, and he temporarily resurrected the team for a final hurrah in 1949. But after slipping to second place in the East in 1950 and suffering financial problems, the club was sold to William Bridgeforth in the spring of 1951 for $11,000. After returning the team to Nashville for a final season, the team was dissolved and the Elite Giants' identity was lost. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: Birmingham Black Barons
Except for 1926, when they played in the Negro Southern League, the Black Barons were members of the Negro National League from 1924 through 1930; and except for 1939, they were members of the Negro American League from 1937 through 1950. Actually the franchise continued as members of the Negro American League on into the 1950s, but the league was strictly a minor operation then, and the focus here is on the teams before the doors of organized baseball were opened to the best black athletic talent in the country.
The first significant success enjoyed by the Black Barons was their second half title in the 1927 Negro National League split season, before losing the League Championship Series in a four game sweep by the Chicago American Giants. The high points of Birmingham's nineteen-year black baseball history were the three Negro American League pennants in 1943, 1944, and 1948. Unfortunately, each time they lost the Negro World Series to the Homestead Grays. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: Brooklyn Royal Giants
Organized in 1905 by John Connors, the portly black owner of the Brooklyn Royal Cafe, they were one of the best ballclubs in the East during the first decade of the century, and claimed eastern championships in 1909, 1910, 1914, and 1916. In 1914 they lost a challenge playoff against the western champion Chicago American Giants.
Before the onset of World War I, Connors sold the team to Nat Strong, a white booking agent in New York City. He was a good promoter and was a powerful figure in black baseball. When the Eastern Colored League was organized in 1923, the Royals became charter members, finishing third with an even .500 winning percentage, their highest finish during their stay in the league. After dropping to the second division in 1924-1925, they dropped to the cellar for the next two seasons, and dropped out of the league after the 1927 season. They continued as an independent team and in 1933 were an associate member of the Negro National League, but after Strong died of a heart attack, the quality of both the administration of the team and the level of play dropped below major league standards, and during the late 1930s and afterward they played mostly against white semi-pro teams. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: Chicago American Giants
Organized by Rube Foster, who built the team into a dynasty before his demise, the organization was the longest continuous franchise in the history of black baseball. The team began in 1910 when Rube Foster and Frank Leland, who were the manager and owner, respectively, of the Leland Giants, separated and formed two different ballclubs. Foster retained the team name of Leland Giants for the first season, but beginning in 1911 the club became known as the American Giants. For the first decade of the team's existence, they won every declared western championship, losing only to the 1916 Indianapolis ABCs. The American Giants' dominance continued after Foster organized the first black professional league, the Negro National League, in 1920, winning the first three pennants.
After Foster's incapacitation from his mental illness, his white business partner, John M. Schorling, ran the ballclub, and in 1926 and 1927, with Foster's lieutenant David Malarcher at the reins, the team won both the Negro National League flag and the Negro World Series, each time facing the Eastern Colored League's champion Bacharach Giants. In the spring of 1928 Schorling sold the ballclub to William E. Trimble, a white florist, alleging that he was "squeezed out" by a conspiracy of the other owners to diminish the gates by keeping the best clubs out of Chicago. After Foster's death and the demise of the Negro National League, the franchise again rose to prominence as Cole's American Giants, under the management of new owners Robert A. Cole and Horace G. Hall, in 1932-1934, winning pennants the first two years before losing a hard fought League Championship Series to the Philadelphia Stars in 1934. The first of the two pennants came while playing in the Negro Southern League and the second in the newly reorganized Negro National League. After dropping out of the Negro National League to play as an independent team in 1936, the American Giants prospered again under new ownership as Dr. J.B. Martin took control of the team, and the American Giants became a charter member of the Negro American League in 1937. Although the franchise encountered many difficulties during the 1940s, the ballclub remained in the league even after it had ceased to be of major-league caliber. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: Cleveland Buckeyes
In 1942, when the franchise was first organized, some games were played in Cleveland, but a permanent move was not made until the ballclub moved from Cincinnati in 1943 and remained until 1949, when they moved to Louisville for a season before returning in 1950.
The highlight of the franchise's history came in 1945, when catcher manager Quincey Trouppe led the Buckeyes to a Negro American League pennant (winning both halves of the split season and finishing with an overall 53-16 record for a .768 winning percentage and a sweep of the Homestead Grays in the Negro World Series. The Buckeyes, under Trouppe's tutelage, captured another flag in 1947 with a 54-23 record (.701 pct.) but lost the World Series to the New York Cubans in five games. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: Cuban Stars East
The version of the Cuban Stars that played on the east coast, in the Eastern Colored League and American Negro League is identified by historians as Cuban Stars (East).
The team played independent baseball from 1916 to 1922. The team was then a charter member of the ECL from 1923 until the league collapsed in 1928. The Stars then joined the ANL in 1929. After the eastern leagues the team played under the Cuban House of David moniker in the early '30s. The team also played in the East-West League in 1932. Source: BBRef. |
Team profiles: Cuban Stars West
The Cuban Stars were members of the Negro Leagues from 1904 through 1930. From 1916 through 1929, two teams used that name - one playing on the east coast, one in the midwest. Historians differentiate them as Cuban Stars (West) and Cuban Stars (East). The western team played in the Negro National League from 1920 through 1930. Usually a traveling team, they spent two years in Cincinnati, OH (1921-1922) and were called the Cincinnati Cubans in 1921. The eastern team was called the New York Cubans in 1916, Havana Cuban Stars in 1917 and All-Cubans in 1921. The Cuban Stars were called the All Cubans in 1904-1905. In the 1930s it became known as the Cuban House of David and in 1932 became the New York Cubans. From 1923-1928 that group of Cuban Stars played in the Eastern Colored League and in 1929 in the American Negro League.
Unlike the previous Cuban Giants and Cuban X-Giants, the teams actually were composed of Cuban players. As they had both light- and dark- skinned Cubans, several Cuban Stars played in both the Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball, including Rafael Almeida (Stars member 1907), Mike Gonzalez (1914, 1917), Pedro Dibut (1922), Mike Herrera (1928) Prominent players included Jose Mendez (1909-1912), José Muñoz (1910), Cristobal Torriente (1913-1919), Bernardo Baro (1916-1929), Alejandro Oms (1917, 1922-1928), Martin Dihigo (1922-1927, 1930), Valentin Dreke (1923-1927), Lazaro Salazar (1924, 1930), Cocaina Garcia (1927-1928), Ramon Bragana (1928, 1930) and Agustin Bejerano (1928). The teams never won a title, but were competitive frequently. Had they joined together to form one team, they might have won a title. Source: BBRef. |
Team profiles: Detroit (Motown) Stars
Organized in 1919, the franchise fielded a team of outstanding players that defeated Rube Foster's Chicago American Giants in a showdown series and were in all probability the best team in the West that season. They became a charter member in the Negro National League in 1920 and remained an annual entry until the league's demise after the 1931 season.
Afterward the Motor City made two efforts to reprieve the Stars' legacy by entering franchises in the inaugural season of new leagues, the Negro National League in 1933 and the Negro American League in 1937. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: Hilldale (Athletics) Club
This ballclub began as a boys' team in 1910 but became a professional-level club in 1916. In 1917 they had Spot Poles and Bill Pettus in the lineup and posted a record of 23-15-1. For postseason exhibitions against major leaguers they added Smokey Joe Williams, Louis Santop, Dick Lundy, and other "ringers" to the lineup. The next year, 1918, they improved the quality of their team considerably and became competitive with any team in the East.
In 1923 they became a charter member of the Eastern Colored League, and won the first of three pennants with records of 32-17 and 47-13. The latter two years, they played in the first two Negro World Series between their league and the more established Negro National League. After losing the first Series to the Kansas City Monarchs in 1924, they defeated the Monarchs in a rematch between the same two teams in 1925, to claim the first (and only) World Series victory by an Eastern Colored League team. After the dissolution of the Eastern Colored League early in the 1928 season, the ballclub joined the American Negro League in 1929, which was essentially the same league with a new name. That league also folded, after only one season, and Hilldale played as an independent team for the next two seasons. The franchise was sold to John Drew, who owned a bus line from Darby to Philadelphia, in 1929 and he called the team the Darby Daisies, but to the public, the team remained Hilldale. Under Drew's direction the club faltered, and in 1932 Ed Bolden resumed control. He and manager Judy Johnson tried one more effort for financial stability by joining the East-West League, but both the league and the franchise folded in the throes of the Depression. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: Homestead Grays
One of the best known black baseball teams, the Homestead Grays' ballclub was organized in 1910, and Cum Posey, who would become the owner of the team, joined it as a player in 1912. Homestead was a steel mill town, and the workers at the U.S. Steel mill formed a baseball team for weekend recreation. Posey, a former football player and basketball star at Penn State University, was a railway mail worker and joined the steelworkers to play for the team. Playing on West Field in Homestead. the team began also playing twilight games during the week in addition to weekends. New players kept joining the team, and their reputation increased to the point of their becoming the leading attraction in the tri-state area. At first they added a little comedy to the game to enhance their appeal as a good gate attraction.
Soon after Posey started handling the team, it became a full-time job. He booked all the leading teams around the Pittsburgh area and, with the Grays playing as an independent team, made a good profit every year from 1912 to 1929. They joined the American Negro League in 1929, but the league lasted only one year. The next two seasons the Grays fielded its strongest teams since the franchise's inception, winning eastern championships both seasons. The 1931 club is called by many the greatest black team of all time. But when the Depression hit in the thirties, there were some lean years for the Grays, and Gus Greenlee took advantage of Posey's economic situation to lure some of his best players to the Pittsburgh Crawfords. With no league in the East and the collapse of the Negro National League in the West, in 1932 Cum Posey organized the East-West League, but it didn't even last the year and folded in June. In 1933 the Negro National league reorganized, and a year later, with Posey forming a partnership with Rufus "Sonnyman" Jackson to bring some money back to the organization, the Grays entered the Negro National League as associate members and became full members the following year, fielding a team each year until the league folded after the 1948 season. During this time the Grays dominated the league, building a dynasty around the power tandem of Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard, dubbed the "thunder twins" and also called the black Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig by the media. The Grays won nine consecutive Negro National League pennants, 1939-1945, and also annexed the last flag in 1948. During this time they also played in five of the seven World Series played between the Negro National League and the Negro American League, including the first and the last of these Series. They lost the first Series to the Kansas City Monarchs in 1942 and lost to the Cleveland Buckeyes in 1945, but defeated the Birmingham Black Barons in each of the other three Series, in 1943-1944 and 1948. After the league broke up the Grays continued to play for two more years as an independent team, playing against lesser opposition, but disbanded after the 1950 season. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: Indianapolis ABCs
This was previously a franchise of lesser distinction, but owner Thomas Bowser and manager C.I. Taylor stocked the team with players of major league caliber in 1914, and it immediately became one of the best teams in black baseball. An intense rivalry developed between Taylor and Rube Foster, the two managers acknowledged as the best in black baseball. After losing a hard fought championship series to Foster's Chicago American Giants in 1915, the ABCs overcame a division within the management between Bowser and Taylor to defeat the Chicago American Giants for the western championship in 1916.
A schism had developed between Bowser and Taylor following the 1915 season, and at the beginning of the 1916 season there were two ABC teams, with Bowser leading one and Taylor the other. Eventually Taylor's aggregation retained the quality players who formed the nucleus of his championship squad, and Bowser's team melded into obscurity. Under Taylor's leadership the ABCs became charter members of the Negro National League and fielded a team each year from 1920 to 1926. After Taylor's death in 1922, his wife tried to run the team with C.I.'s brother Ben at the helm, but wholesale defection of players to the new Eastern Colored League and a misunderstanding that led Ben also to take a managerial position in the East led to financial difficulties for Mrs. Taylor, and the team was disbanded. In later years, a different franchise under new ownership but bearing the same name entered into league play in 193133, and again in 1938-1939 in the Negro American League. Each of the teams from the Depression years of the 1930s who bore the once proud ABCs name were characterized by instability and confusion. About the only commonality between the 1931 and 1932 teams was the manager, Candy Jim Taylor (another of the famous Taylor brothers). The players were different and they played in different leagues, with the former team in the Negro National League and the latter in the Negro Southern League. In 1933 the team started in Indianapolis but very early in the spring moved to Detroit and played as the Stars. In the last effort to bring an ABCs team back to Indianapolis, the 1938 ABCs franchise shifted operations to the Midwest and played as the St. Louis Stars in 1939 40, while the Atlanta Black Crackers of 1938 moved into Indianapolis and played under the ABCs banner for a short time in 1939. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: Kansas City Monarchs
Owned by J.L. Wilkinson, a white businessman, the Monarchs were one of the best known and most successful black teams. The Monarchs captured a total of ten pennants, tying the Homestead Grays for the most flags by any Negro League team, and suffered only one losing season during their entire association with the Negro Leagues. And that season was during World War II, when the roster was decimated by the loss of players to military service. The Monarchs also hold the distinction of having won the first World Series ever played between opposing leagues, both in the initial World Series in 1924 between the Negro National League and the Eastern Colored League, and again in the reinstated World Series in 1942 between the Negro National League and the Negro American League.
A charter member of the Negro National League, they played through the 1930 season, winning pennants in 1923-1925 and 1929 while never experiencing a losing season. They narrowly missed a fourth straight pennant in 1926, when they won the first half title but lost a bitter nine game playoff to the Chicago American Giants by dropping a doubleheader on the last day. The Monarchs played in the first two World Series ever played, facing the Hilldale team on both occasions. After dropping out of the league they played independent ball until joining the Negro American League as a charter member in 1937 and remaining even after the league lost its major status. During the first six seasons (1937-1942) they won five pennants, missing only in 1938. After the return of many of their best players, who had been called to service during World War II, they annexed another flag in 1946. In 1942, the first World Series since 1927 was played between the Monarchs and the Homestead Grays, with the Monarchs sweeping the Grays in four straight games. In 1946 the Monarchs lost a tough seven game Series to the Newark Eagles. In 1948 the Monarchs won the second half of the split season but lost a seven game play off to the Birmingham Black Barons for the pennant and thereby missed a chance to appear in the last Negro World Series ever played. Following that World Series, the Negro National League folded and the Negro American League absorbed some of the franchises and expanded into division play. The Monarchs won the first half title in 1949 and annexed a division title in 1950. Wilkinson had sold the franchise after the 1948 season to Tom Baird, who continued to operate the Monarchs through the 1950s, but by then the league was strictly a minor league operation. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: Memphis Red Sox
The Memphis Red Sox franchise was owned by two brothers, Dr. J.B. Martin and Dr. B.B. Martin, members of a prominent family in Memphis. Both men were dentists, and J.B. also operated a drugstore and a funeral home and had investments in real estate. He built his own ballpark for the team, owned a hotel next to the park, and operated the concession stand where he served chitterlings in addition to the standard ballpark cuisine. The franchise fielded a team in the Negro National League each year between 1924 and 1930, except for 1926, when they joined the Negro Southern League in its inaugural season. The Red Sox also fielded a team in the Negro Southern League in 1932, the only season when it was designated as a major league.
In 1937 Memphis became a charter member in the Negro American League and won the first half championship in 1938 with a 21-4 record. In the playoff with the second half winner, the Atlanta Black Crackers, the Red Sox won the first 2 games but the Series was canceled because of discord between the managements of the two ballclubs. The Red Sox remained in the league through 1950 but never again contended for the title. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: New York Black Yankees
The New York Black Yankees' franchise was basically an extension of the New York Lincoln Giants, filling a void created when the Lincoln Giants folded operations after the 1930 season. In 1931 John Henry Lloyd managed an interim New York team, the Harlem Stars, which served as a bridge between the two longtime franchises.
In 1932 the New York Black Yankees began operation, with George Scales installed as manager. In 1936 the Black Yankees entered the Negro National League for the second half, finishing with an 8-7 league ledger, and for the next dozen seasons (1937-1948) the Black Yankees fielded a team in the Negro National League. But rather than dominating their league, as did their white counterparts (the New York Yankees), they were the doormats of the Negro National League, usually finishing in the cellar and never higher than fifth in a six team league. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: New York Lincoln Giants
The New York Black Yankees' franchise was basically an extension of the New York Lincoln Giants, filling a void created when the Lincoln Giants folded operations after the 1930 season. In 1931 John Henry Lloyd managed an interim New York team, the Harlem Stars, which served as a bridge between the two longtime franchises.
Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: Newark Eagles
Abe Manley acquired ownership of two floundering teams, the Brooklyn Eagles and the Newark Dodgers, and consolidated the two franchises into the Newark Eagles. The Eagles joined the Negro National League in 1936 and remained a highly competitive team until the league's demise in 1948. The highlight of the franchise's history was in 1946, when they won the Negro National League pennant and defeated the Kansas City Monarchs in a hard-fought 7-game World Series.
The next season they again started strong, winning the first half title, but lost Larry Doby to organized baseball and slumped in the second half, losing the pennant to the New York Cubans without a play off. After the league folded in 1948, the Eagles were sold and moved to Houston. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: Philadelphia (Liberty) Stars
Organized by Ed Bolden in 1933, the Stars won a Negro National League flag in 1934, their first season in the league. After copping the second half title, the Stars defeated the Chicago American Giants in a bitterly contested 7-game championship series. One of the games in the playoff was protested by the Chicago American Giants, but the Stars' victory was upheld, and Philadelphia claimed the pennant. Unfortunately, this was to be their last flag, even though they remained in the league until its demise in 1948.
The nearest they came to another title were strong second half finishes in 1938 and 1944, with their front office claiming they were cheated out of the latter pennant. After the Negro National League folded, the Stars entered the Eastern Division of the Negro American League but without any appreciable success. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: Pittsburgh Crawfords
Formed by Gus Greenlee from a youth team in 1931, the new owner loaded the team with outstanding talent, including Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, and the Crawfords became a powerhouse for the following five years (1932-1936). The Crawfords played as an independent in 1932, finishing with a 99-36 record for the season. In 1933 they joined the new Negro National League and were a co-claimant to the league's first pennant. The Crawfords finished the first half with a 20-8 league record, only half a game behind the Chicago American Giants. The second half of the season was not completed, and the Chicago American Giants claimed the title, but Greenlee, as president of the league, declared the Crawfords to be the champions, and the matter was never resolved. In 1934 the Crawfords fielded another outstanding team, finishing with a combined 29-17 record for a .630 winning percentage in league play. However, they failed to win either half of the split season, and missed the playoffs.
But in each of the next two seasons, 1935-1936, the Crawfords won Negro National League pennants, and the 1935 club is generally regarded as the greatest black baseball team of all time. The 1935 squad won the first half with a 26-6 mark, for a .785 winning percentage, then defeated the second-half titlists, the New York Cubans, in a closely contested 7-game championship series. In 1936, after a third-place first-half finish, the Crawfords copped the second-half title with a 20-9 mark and finished with the best overall record, 36-24, for a .600 winning percentage, while the first half titlists, the Washington Elites, finished under .500 for the entire season. A play-off was not completed, and again Greenlee declared the Crawfords champions. Unfortunately, the team was falsely accused of throwing a game to the Bushwicks, and despite the denial and retraction, the team's reputation was tarnished. The following spring Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, and several other Crawfords players departed for Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, to play for the country's dictator, Trujillo, and the franchise never again reclaimed the glory from the five preceding seasons. After two second division finishes and a business reversal, Greenlee sold the team, and the franchise moved to Toledo in 1939 and then to Indianapolis in 1940, playing in the Negro American League each of these seasons, and eventually disbanded. In the mid 1940s another team using the same Pittsburgh Crawfords' name was formed, but it was not related to the original franchise. Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994. / NLB eMuseum |
Team profiles: St. Louis Giants
The St. Louis Stars were a Negro League Baseball team that originally played independently, but later joined the National Negro League (NNL). The team’s original name was the St. Louis Giants, and it was formed in 1906 by African American bank messenger and baseball fan, Charles A. Mills. Mills was successful in his attempt to approach ballpark owner Conrad Keubler to invest in a local team called the Leland Giants. Former Leland Giants third baseman Dick Wallace became the new team’s manager, and during his tenure, Wallace assembled a core group of veteran players. He signed first basemen Ben Taylor and Tullie McAdoo, shortstop Joe Hewitt, catcher/ outfielder Sam Bennett, pitchers Bill Drake and Bill Gatewood, and outfielders Charles Blackwell and Jimmie Lyons.
The St. Louis Giants won the 1912 and 1913 St. Louis City League Championships but were unable to beat the top ranked Indianapolis ABC’s and the Chicago American Giants in the western championship in the following years. By 1920, the Giants finished sixth in an eight-team league, with a 25-32 record. The team, now in the newly formed National Negro League, acquired star center fielder Oscar Charleston in 1921 and he helped the Giants surge to second place with a 40-28 record. After the 1921 season, team owner Mills sold the team to Dick Kent and Dr. Sam Sheppard who renamed it the St. Louis Stars. The Stars played in Stars Park, one of the few facilities built especially for a Negro League team. The Stars inherited most of the Giants roster with the exception of Charleston. It dropped to fourth place in 1922, with a 35-26 record, and in 1923 the team fell to sixth place, with a 28-44 record. Later in the year the team acquired several players from the Toledo Tigers, as well as new manager and third baseman Candy Jim Taylor. Taylor later brought in left-handed pitcher Cool Papa Bell, first baseman Mule Suttles, shortstop Willie Wells, and pitcher Ted Trent. By 1924, the team rose to fourth place in the league, at 42-34, and by the following year they rose to second place, with a 38-12 record. Taylor left in 1926, and the team fell to 49-30, in third place. Taylor returned to the team in 1927, bringing the Giants back to firth place in 1928, with a 66-26 record. The team won two more pennants before folding with the NNL in 1931. Source: Blackpast. |
Inaugural Draft and Player Constitution
The Inaugural Draft will actually be held as a Free Agent Draft rather than a Rookie Draft. The initial pool is comprised of 700 players, 35 for each of the 20 clubs. It, as will be the case all through, is broken down to roughly 55% MLB players and 45% NeL players.
I want the league to somewhat replicate the historical at the club level, with the stronger teams as they were in real life. I have set the financials to lend themselves to this and the order for the Inaugural Draft will be in line with the number of games each club played historically, to get things underway in this regard. So it will look like this: 1. Atlantic City Bacharach Giants 2. Baltimore Elite Giants 3. Birmingham Black Barons 4. Brooklyn Royal Giants 5. Chicago American Giants 6. Cleveland Buckeyes 7. Cuban Stars East 8. Cuban Stars West 9. Detroit Motown Stars 10. Hilldale Athletics 11. Homestead Grays 12. Indianapolis ABCs 13. Kansas City Monarchs 14. Memphis Red Sox 15. New York Black Yankees 16. New York Lincoln Giants 17. Newark Eagles 18. Philadelphia Liberty Stars 19. Pittsburgh Crawfords 20. St. Louis Giants Not wanting these discrepancies in strength to take hold too early, this first Draft will take place in serpentine, rather than straight, order. Then the financials should slowly work their magic to create the desired hierarchy within a matter of years as players become FAs and salaries and budgets start to dictate proceedings more. Nearly done with the profiles, so we're not far away from a start here. Nervous and excited at the same time. |
January 1, 1968: EL Inaugural Draft
This has now been held and here are a few interesting facts:
First player taken overall: 1B Jose Abreu by the Chicago American Giants First NeL player taken: OF Spot Poles by the Philadelphia Liberty Stars (8th overall) Last player taken: P Luis Marte taken by the St. Louis Giants A few notable lower-round picks:
I'll do a full run-through of each club on Opening Day. |
Franchise Details and Initial Squads
So as to familiarise y'all with who's playing what and where, I've included the full 35-man squad in each of the franchise summaries below.
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Fleet Conference - National Association
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Weldy Conference - American Association
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Weldy Conference - National Association
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1968 Opening Day (1)
After a Spring Training that saw strong performances by the Bacharach Giants, Athletics, Black Barons and ABCs, all is in readiness for the league to get underway. The only injury of note was an ankle sprain to Pittsburgh's Alejandro Oms, but he should only miss the first week or so of the regular season.
The EL Top 100 Prospects list has been updated, and the best 10 stars of the future have been adjudged thus:
The Top 20 EL stars of today in both the position player and pitching ranks have also been announced: https://i.imgur.com/scWo8eA.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/MFGjZ66.png?1 The experts believe Brooklyn is the team to beat, predicting 100+ wins from the Royal Giants. It's a Giants clean sweep according to them, with St. Louis, Baltimore and Chicago all tipped to win their respective Associations. Here are the pitchers who have the honor of taking the mound for the league's inaugural Opening Day. The Sabathia / Dihigo match-up will be of particular interest. https://i.imgur.com/33hXNzf.png?1 I'll just be reporting on things of note as they happen with a short update at the end of each month and some color thrown in along the way with player focuses and the like. See how we go from there. Let's kick this thing in the guts then. (An old Aussie saying...) |
1968 Opening Day (2)
The Sabathia - Dihigo game is a blowout as Walt Williams and the Black Yankees get to Marty early and shell him throughout for a comfortable 11-3 win.
This game is the exception, however, with all but one of the others decided by 2 runs or less; 6 by just the single run. This was undoubtedly the pick of them, as Masahiro Tanaka goes 13 scoreless but has to settle for a no-decision as his opposing pitcher Gary Eave fans a dozen and the Liberty Stars walk it off in 17 against the Grays. https://i.imgur.com/Gl297cQ.png?1 |
A couple of firsts for the EL
The league gets its first 5-hit game and first shutout.
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That'll test the pitching depth...
... especially with just six relievers on hand.
https://i.imgur.com/G8h2POB.png?1 Edsall "The Catskill Wild Man" Walker opts for the far less circuitous route, overcoming both his surname and nickname to get another shutout for the Black Yankees, whose pitching staff has begun strongly. https://i.imgur.com/bF9rCRk.png?1 |
Out of the Shadows: Edsall Walker
For those of you interested in taking a deeper dive with some of these NeL players, I'll be posting links and short features of my own creation from time to time under the theme "Out of the Shadows". As seen in the previous post, Edsall Walker made a most auspicious EL debut. Here's his story.
Edsall Elliott Walker learned to love baseball as a child growing up in Catskill, New York. That love and a sinking fastball led him to the Negro Leagues, where he starred for nearly a decade. When his arm wore out he returned to the city where his career began: Albany, New York. After a brief semipro stint Walker then turned his attention to Little League baseball and teaching children the game he loved. A former player, Andrell Young, recalled “he was always giving, always had time for a youngster.” Walker finally called it quits in 1989—over 60 years after he first suited up for the Albany Colored Giants (later the Black Sox) and played in Albany’s Bleecker Stadium. To read the full article by Chris Rainey on SABR Bio, click HERE. |
Rough start for KC...
... losses like this will not help matters. But with quality players such as Cleon Jones and Lourdes Gurriel jr, and a rotation led by the Dominican Dandy himself, one would think they'll turn things around somewhat before too long.
https://i.imgur.com/hsZFSrp.png?1 |
A big call...
... by ABCs skipper Jake Plumbtree, who hooks starter Mike Forneles just two outs shy of the league's first no-no. At 141 pitches his decision is understandable and it pays off, as Marcos Mateo gets the other two outs for a combined hitless game and 1-0 win over Memphis, with Bill North's leadoff homer in the 1st holding up all the way to the end.
https://i.imgur.com/jiMNB2k.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/S32v5gb.png?1 |
A baptism of fire...
... for one of the Nel A-Listers and all-time greats of the game, Martin "El Inmortal" Dihigo of the Crawfords.
He is being used as a two-way player and it will be really interesting to see what happens in this regard over the course of his career. Things have - understatement alert! - not begun well in the EL for Martin, who sits at 0-5 with an ERA of 5.53 and is a woeful 5-for-51 at the plate for an 098 BA with just 2 doubles and 4 RBI. His last performance on the mound was his best so far, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits over 7+ in a no-decision against the Eagles and I've no doubt he'll find his footing before too long and be better for the experience. Then, watch out Eclipse League! https://i.imgur.com/iGNuFKx.png?1 |
Coupe of young guns...
... starting to justify their early selection in the Inaugural Draft. Abreu was 1st overall; Soto 7th.
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Poles Apart
Another of the NeL big guns has a good day at the plate but still ends up on the losing side.
https://i.imgur.com/N6uvNoD.png?1 |
Simply epic...
... although Hanley Ramirez's 0-for-10 effort leaves a lot to be desired.
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1968 April Recap
The talk around the league is mainly centred on the strong start by the Giants. Led by Aaron Judge on offence and the surprisingly dominant pitching of Jose de Jesus, both of whom claim the monthly award, the St. Louis outfit has the best record in all of the EL at 21-7, and already leads the FC National by a healthy 7.5 games. Despite their low pick - the lowest, in fact - they have drafted really well to compile a squad full of solid if unspectacular ballplayers such as George Scott, Michael Taylor and Jeffrey Hammonds, with Judge really their only out-and-out gun, along with a pitching staff led by Hideki Irabu that should more often than not keep them in games. They look set to give it an almighty shake over these first few seasons before FA kicks in and, as a smaller-market team in this league, these are the types of affordable and reliable players they'll need to source continually if they want to keep up with some of the bigger clubs and remain competitive.
Besides Judge and de Jesus, Ruppert Jones of the Cuban Stars East has shone the brightest so far, slashing 363/463/699 with 8 homers, 25 ribbies and a healthy 2.9 WAR in this opening stanza. Khris Davis of Memphis and the Buckeyes' Joe Nunnally have both shown plenty of early pop, with their 10 round-trippers the highest in the EL, but it is Homestead hurler and 3rd pick overall Masahiro Tanaka who leads all players with 3.2 WAR to this point. April award-winners as follows:
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Eighth time's the charm...
... as Senor Dihigo finally gets in the win column with a fine outing against the Red Sox. In a nice touch of serendipity, a big hit by his old mate Alejandro Oms in the 6th helps him get there. Sweet Lou Whitaker also cracks his first EL homer to lead off the 1st.
https://i.imgur.com/MNlBEdV.png?1 |
A Big Day for Big Z
Carlos Zambrano has begun his EL career in fine fashion, as has his Cuban Stars East club. They sit at 22-13 after this win, atop the WC National by a game from the American Giants.
https://i.imgur.com/3rgTsgo.png?1 |
Allen Sets Early Hit Streak Mark
The EL has seen its first 20+-game hit streak come and go, as Rod Allen takes it to 24 before being stopped by the BGs.
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EL Featured Game #1, 1968
I won’t solely be zoning in on NeL players in this exercise, but they will take the large part of my focus and this matchup was simply too good to let pass.
Friday 10th May, 1968 – Pittsburgh Crawfords @ Newark Eagles 7.05pm, Ruppert Stadium, Newark NJ Martin Dihigo (2-6, 4.43) v Hilton Smith (3-5, 3.84) Neither of these HOFers will be happy with how their EL careers have kicked off, a fact that I am sure will only intensify their desire to do well here. Neither are overpowering pitchers and the result will undoubtedly be greatly affected by who can spot their pitches better in the key moments. https://i.imgur.com/I7bjxDx.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/d5cA6nV.png?1 The Eagles started slowly but have found form of late with 6 straight wins and closed the gap to the top of the FC American Association to just 3 games, currently sitting at 16-20. The Crawfords have run hot-and-cold to this point and sit just two games better off than their opponents tonight at 18-18. Here's how the two sides line up tonight. Plenty of top-notch talent on show, should be a ripper. https://i.imgur.com/Bg68ad3.png?1 Both pitchers start confidently with scoreless 1st innings, but the Crawfords get a break in the next when, after Dihigo singles with one out, Eagles 2B Richie Weeks muffs one and a single by Humberto Cota puts Pittsburgh ahead. Dihigo handles the dangerous Newark middle without issue the first time through the order and in fact doesn't give up a hit until Guerrero jr singles in the 4th. Smith, too, has found his groove, but the Crawfords double their lead in the 6th with a two-out rally and a run driven in with a single by Jose Oliva. The pressure gets to all of the Eagles as Smith walks the bags full then gives up an RBI single to Joel Guzman, with a second coming in on a needless throwing error by RF Chuck Carr. 4-0 Pittsburgh. Newark threatens in the home half but Dihigo wriggles his way out of it and Pittsburgh pad their lead with another run in the 8th when Oms triples and comes home on an Oliva groundout. https://i.imgur.com/q6QDsYj.png?1 Dihigo is left in to try and finish off the shutout and he does so with a 1-2-3 9th. A commanding three-hitter for El Inmortal and more disappointment for Mr Smith. |
Give 'em Hell, Odell
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Another First for the EL...
... as AC's Adolfo Phillips is the first player to hit for the cycle, in a 7-6 home win over the Eagles.
https://i.imgur.com/WMQ4RTX.png?1 |
The Crawfords Put a Hurtin' on the Monarchs...
... behind a sterling pitching effort by Shairon Martis and James Loney's 2 HR / 6 RBI performance.
https://i.imgur.com/l4KO5jW.png?2 |
Don't Duke with Earl...
... this win moves him to a tidy 8-3. Not sure how one "scatters" one hit, but anyway...
https://i.imgur.com/rj9xKzv.png?1 |
CC Me In...
... as his tidy 2.74 ERA (117 ERA+) and 81 FIP- will attest, young Carsten Charles can consider himself unlucky to be sitting at 4-7, mainly due to his Black Yankees side not being overly generous with run support (3.0 per 9).
This is what he is capable of and what I am sure we will see much more of from him over the course of his career. https://i.imgur.com/6IEFSsR.png?2 |
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