| Classification | Major league |
|---|---|
| Sport | Negro league baseball |
| Founder | Rube Foster |
| First season | 1920 |
| Ceased | 1931 |
| No. of teams | 22; operated asynchronously |
| Country | United States |
| Most titles | Chicago American Giants (5) |
The firstNegro National League (NNL I) was one of the severalNegro leagues that were established during the period in the United States whenorganized baseball was segregated. The league was formed in 1920 with former playerRube Foster as its president.
Led byRube Foster, owner and manager of theChicago American Giants, the NNL was established on February 13, 1920, by a coalition of team owners at a meeting in aKansas CityYMCA.[1] The formation included the creation of the NLL constitution, written by journalistCary B. Lewis, David Wyatt from theIndianapolis Ledger, Elwood C. Knox from theIndianapolis Freeman, and attorney Elisha Scott.[2][3]
The new league was the first African-American baseball circuit to achieve stability and last more than one season. At first the league operated mainly inmidwestern cities, ranging from Kansas City in the west toPittsburgh in the east; in 1924 it expanded into thesouth, adding franchises inBirmingham, Alabama, andMemphis, Tennessee.
The two most important east coast clubs, theHilldale Club ofDarby, Pennsylvania, and theBacharach Giants of Atlantic City, were affiliated with the NNL as associate clubs from 1920 to 1922, but did not compete for the championship. In 1923 they and four other eastern teams formed theEastern Colored League (ECL) and raided the NNL for many of its top players, includingJohn Henry Lloyd,Biz Mackey,George Scales,George Carr, andClint Thomas, and signingOscar Charleston, andRube Curry in 1924. The war between the two leagues came to an end in 1924, when they agreed to respect each other's contracts and arranged for theColored World Series between their champions.
The NNL survived controversies over umpiring, scheduling, and what some perceived as league president Rube Foster's disproportionate influence and favoritism toward his own team. It also outlasted Foster's decline into mental illness in 1926, and its eastern rival, the ECL, which folded in early 1928. The NNL finally fell apart in 1931 under the economic stress of theGreat Depression.
TheNegro American League, founded in 1937 and including several of the same teams that played in the original Negro National League, would eventually carry on as thewestern circuit of black baseball. Asecond Negro National League was organized in 1933, but eventually became concentrated on theeast coast.
To distinguish between the two unrelated leagues, they are usually referred to as the first Negro National League (NNL I) and the second Negro National League (NNL II).
From 1920 through 1924, the team in first place at the end of the season was declared the Pennant winner. Due to the unorthodox nature of the schedule (and little incentive to enforce it), some teams frequently played many more games than others did in any given season. This led to some disputed championships and two teams claiming the title. The 1931 season did not finish all games, which meant that while St. Louis was awarded the title, non-memberPittsburgh Crawfords disputed their status as champion.[4] From 1924 to 1927, the pennant champion went to play in theNegro World Series. Generally, the team with the bestwinning percentage (with some minimum number of games played) was awarded the Pennant, but other times it was the team with the most victories. The "games behind" method of recording standings was uncommon in most black leagues.
† – Pennant was decided via a split-season schedule with the winner of the first half of the season playing the winner of the second half of the season, unless one team won both halves.
From 1925 through 1931, the NNL split the season into two halves. The winner of the first half played the winner of the second half for the league Pennant. As mentioned above, disputes also occurred in the split season finishes. 1929 and 1931 saw Kansas City win both halves.[17][18]
| Year | Winning team | Games | Losing team | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | Kansas City Monarchs(first half) | 4–3 | St. Louis Stars(second half) | [19] |
| 1926 | Chicago American Giants(second half) | 5–4 | Kansas City Monarchs(first half) | [20] |
| 1927 | Chicago American Giants(first half) | 4–1 | Birmingham Black Barons(second half) | [21] |
| 1928 | St. Louis Stars(first half) | 5–4 | Chicago American Giants(second half) | [22] |
| 1930 | St. Louis Stars(first half) | 4–3 | Detroit Stars(second half) | [23] |
For the duration of the league, a Colored World Series took place four times, from 1924 through 1927. The NNL Pennant winner met the champion of the rivalEastern Colored League. Three out of the four years, the Negro National League team (below inbold) won.
| Year | Winning team | Games | Losing team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Kansas City Monarchs | 5–4–(1)[T] | Hilldale Club |
| 1925 | Hilldale Club | 5–1[T] | Kansas City Monarchs |
| 1926 | Chicago American Giants | 5–4–(2)[T] | Bacharach Giants |
| 1927 | Chicago American Giants | 5–3–(1)[T] | Bacharach Giants |