| Baltimore Elite Giants | |||||
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| Location | Baltimore, Maryland | ||||
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| Established | 1920 | ||||
| Disbanded | 1950 | ||||
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TheBaltimore Elite Giants were a professionalbaseball team that played in theNegro leagues from1920 to1950. The team was established byThomas T. Wilson, inNashville, Tennessee as the semi-proNashville Standard Giants on March 26, 1920. The team was renamed the Elite Giants in1921, and moved toBaltimore, Maryland in1938, where the team remained for the duration of their existence. The team and its fans pronounced the word "Elite" as "ee-light".[1]
TheNashville Standard Giants were formed as a semi-professional all-Negro team inNashville, Tennessee, on March 26, 1920.[2] The club was chartered by Thomas T. Wilson, T. Clay Moore, J. B. Boyd, Marshall Garrett, Walter Phillips, W. H. Pettis, J. L. Overton, and R. H. Tabor.[2] The team's origins lie in that of two of Nashville's local negro amateur baseball teams: the Nashville Maroons (formed in 1909) and the Elites (formed in 1913).[2] Their home games were played atSulphur Dell andGreenwood Park, the African American community's local park.[2] The Standard Giants welcomed any and all competition, including white-only teams, but played independently of any organized leagues until the mid-1920s.[2]
The team was renamed theNashville Elite Giants (pronouncedEE-light) in 1921.[3] That same year, they swept theMontgomery Grey Sox (of the minor leagueNegro Southern League) in a four-game championship series to win the right to declare themselves the Southern Colored Champions.[4] They continued to play independently until joining theNegro Southern League in 1926.[2] Nashville completed its first season in the league with a 15–15 (.500) record.[5]
In 1929, Nashville was granted an associate membership in theNegro National League.[6] The team finished in eighth (last) place with a 10–20 (.333) record.[6] That same year, Wilson built a new ballpark for his team,Tom Wilson Park, which also served as a spring training site for other Negro league teams, as well as white-only minor league teams, such as theSouthern Association'sNashville Vols.[7]Babe Ruth,Lou Gehrig, andRoy Campanella are known to have played at the park.[7] The 8,000 (or 4,000)[2] seat facility featured a single-decked, covered grandstand.[7] The ballpark was centrally located in Nashville's largest black community, known as Trimble Bottom, near the convergence of Second and Forth Avenues, just north of the fairgrounds.[2]
In1930, the team gained admission into their first organized league, theNegro National League. The Elite Giants finished in seventh place with a 39–47 record.
The Elite Giants joined theNegro Southern League, where they played in 1931 and 1932.
A second incarnation of theNegro National League was formed in1933, where the Elite Giants played for the following two seasons. Nashville finished the 1933 season in fifth place with a 29–22 record and tied as winners of the second half of the season with thePittsburgh Crawfords. Nashville lost a three-game playoff with Pittsburgh for a spot in the league championship game. In1934, the Elite Giants finished in fourth place with a 20–28 record.
In1935, the team moved toColumbus, Ohio and became theColumbus Elite Giants. They played only one season in Columbus, 1935, finishing in fourth place with a 16–17 record.
In1936 the team moved toWashington, D.C. and became theWashington Elite Giants. In their first season, they finished in fifth place with a 21–24 record. In1937, the Elites finished in third place with a 27–17 record.
The team moved again in1938 to Baltimore, Maryland and became theBaltimore Elite Giants. In1939, the Elites won the Negro National Title, defeating theHomestead Grays. In1948, they won the first half, but lost the championship to second half winners, the Homestead Grays.
In1949, theNegro National League ceased operations, and the Elite Giants joined theNegro American League. In their first season with the new league, Baltimore captured the Eastern and Western Division titles, earning them a second Negro National Title. In thirteen seasons in Baltimore, of the eleven which have available standings, the Elite Giants finished in the top three during nine of those seasons. In dire financial straits, the club played one final season in1950 before dissolving.
These Baltimore Elite Giants alumni have been inducted to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
| Baltimore Elite Giants Hall of Famers | ||||
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| Inductee | Position | Tenure | Inducted | |
| Roy Campanella | C | 1937–1945 | 1969 | |
| Ray Dandridge | 3B / 2B / SS | 1933 | 1987 | |
| Leon Day | P | 1949 | 1995 | |
| Biz Mackey | C / SS / 1B | 1936–1939 | 2006 | |
| Willie Wells | SS / 3B | 1946 | 1997 | |
A number of future major leaguers wore the uniform of the Elite Giants, including Hall of FamersRoy Campanella andLeon Day (who played in with the team in the non-major league years of 1949-50). Also a member of the Elite Giants were two future National League Rookie of the Years inJunior Gilliam (1953) andJoe Black (1952), each who played with Campanella for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Elite Giants also added the first known professional baseball player of Cape Verdean descent,Joe Campini, to their roster in 1948.
| Season | Manager | Record | Postseason |
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| 1939 | Felton Snow | 20–24 | 3–1–1 overHomestead Grays |
| Total Negro National League pennants | 1 | ||
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