| New York Black Yankees | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| League | |
| Ballpark |
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| Established | 1931 |
| Disbanded | 1948 |
TheNew York Black Yankees were a professionalNegro league baseball team based inNew York City;Paterson, New Jersey; andRochester, New York. Beginning as the independentHarlem Stars, the team was renamed the New York Black Yankees in 1932 and joined theNegro National League in 1936, and remained in the league through 1948.[1]
The Black Yankees played at Paterson, New Jersey'sHinchliffe Stadium from 1933 to 1935 and from 1937 to 1938. They had no primary home ballpark in 1939. From 1940 to 1947, they primarily played home games atYankee Stadium. In 1948, they played the majority of their home games atRed Wing Stadium in Rochester.[2][3]
The team was founded inHarlem as the Harlem Stars in 1931 by financierJames "Soldier Boy" Semler and dancerBill "Bojangles" Robinson. By 1932, the club was renamed the New York Black Yankees.[4]
The team's left fielderFats Jenkins was chosen by fans to play in the East team for the firstEast-West All-Star Game in 1933. A succession of other players were sent to the big game in 1937–1942, 1947 and 1948.[5]
The team's schedule could be punishing. In the 1930s they played two doubleheaders 350 miles (560 km) apart on successive days. They leftPittsburgh after the first two games at about 10:00PM to cross theAllegheny Mountains forSouth Orange, New Jersey. One of the two cars broke down so nine of the 16 players crowded into the other car to ensure that play would start on time. They arrived just twenty minutes behind the scheduled start time. They were given five minutes to warm up. The other seven players arrived a few minutes later so they were able to lunch and sleep before taking two of their exhausted team mates to play the second game. Despite their fatigue, the team won both games.[6]
In September 1933, the New York Black Yankees played thePhiladelphia Stars for the Colored Championship of the Nation at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey. They lost the championship, but not their momentum, opening the following season with an eight-game winning streak at Hinchliffe Stadium. The streak-ending ninth game with thePittsburgh Crawfords came on July 28, 1934, a face-off that saw Hall-of-FamersJosh Gibson,Judy Johnson,James "Cool Papa" Bell, andOscar Charleston all play in regular-season tilt.
Rain ended the game after7+1⁄2 innings, but not before Crawfords' star Gibson and YankeeBob Clark had both hit powerful home runs, Gibson's contributing to his League championship home run record for that year.
On July 13, 1935,Elmer McDuffy pitched an 8-0 no-hitter at Hinchliffe Stadium against the House of David. According to the Paterson Evening News, it was "the first time such a feat had ever been turned in by the Negro club in this territory."
The team played the last season of the Negro National League, 1948, inRochester, New York usingRed Wing Stadium, home of theInternational LeagueRochester Red Wings, as their home park. After an opening day doubleheader sweep of theNewark Eagles on May 25, 1948, the team did not fare well and finished the lastNegro National League season with a record of 8-32.[7]
| International | |
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| National | |
