Negro League Tapestries

Cool Papa Bell was known as the fastest runner in baseball history.

The Detroit Stars were an American baseball team in the Negro Leagues and played at historic Mack Park. The Stars had winning seasons every year but two, but were never able to secure any championships. Founded in 1919 by Tenny Blount with the help of Rube Foster, owner and manager of the Chicago American Giants, the Detroit Stars immediately established themselves as one of the most powerful teams in the West. Foster transferred several of his veteran players to the team, including player-manager Pete Hill and legendary catcher Bruce Petway. Left-hander John Donaldson, Frank Wickware, Dicta Johnson, and Cuban great José Méndez took up the pitching duties, and Texan Edgar Wesley was brought in to handle first base.

Tribute to the great Cool Papa Bell

The Detroit Stars were an American baseball team in the Negro Leagues and played at historic Mack Park. The Stars had winning seasons every year but two, but were never able to secure any championships. Founded in 1919 by Tenny Blount with the help of Rube Foster, owner and manager of the Chicago American Giants, the Detroit Stars immediately established themselves as one of the most powerful teams in the West. Foster transferred several of his veteran players to the team, including player-manager Pete Hill and legendary catcher Bruce Petway. Left-hander John Donaldson, Frank Wickware, Dicta Johnson, and Cuban great José Méndez took up the pitching duties, and Texan Edgar Wesley was brought in to handle first base.

Josh Gibson

The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional Negro league baseball team active between 1913 and 1936, based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Black Sox started as an independent team in 1913 by Howard Young. They were one of the original six teams to make up the Eastern Colored League in 1923.

Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson - Brooklyn Dodgers

The St. Louis Stars, originally the St. Louis Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently from as early as 1906 to 1919, and then joined the Negro National League (NNL) for the duration of their existence. After the 1921 season, the Giants were sold by African-American promoter Charlie Mills to Dick Kent and Dr. Sam Sheppard, who built a new park and renamed the club the Stars. As the Stars, they eventually built one of the great dynasties in Negro league history, winning three pennants in four years from 1928 to 1931.

The New York Cubans were a Negro league baseball team that played during the 1930s and from 1939 to 1950. Despite playing in the Negro leagues, the team occasionally employed white-skinned Hispanic baseball players as well, because Hispanics in general were largely ignored by the major league baseball teams before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

The Detroit Stars were an American baseball team in the Negro leagues and played from 1919 to 1931, when the NNL ended. The Stars had winning seasons every year but two, but were never able to secure any championships.

Satchel Paige - Cleveland Indians

The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 by Cumberland Posey, and remained in continuous operation for 38 seasons. The team was originally based in Homestead, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Pittsburgh. By the 1920s, with increasing popularity in the Pittsburgh region, the team retained the name "Homestead" but crossed the Monongahela River to play all home games in Pittsburgh, at the Pittsburgh Pirates' home Forbes Field and the Pittsburgh Crawfords' home Greenlee Field.

The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional Negro league baseball team active between 1913 and 1936, based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Black Sox started as an independent team in 1913 by Howard Young. They were one of the original six teams to make up the Eastern Colored League in 1923.

The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional Negro league baseball team active between 1913 and 1936, based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Black Sox started as an independent team in 1913 by Howard Young. They were one of the original six teams to make up the Eastern Colored League in 1923.

The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball team in the Negro American League. Tracing their origins back to the 1930s, the Clowns were the last of the Negro league teams to disband, continuing to play exhibition games into the 1980s. They began play as the independent Ethiopian Clowns, joined the Negro American League as the Cincinnati Clowns and, after a couple of years, relocated to Indianapolis. Hank Aaron was a Clown for a short period, and the Clowns were also one of the first professional baseball teams to hire a female player.

Satchel Paige career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972

Baseball's Finest in acrylic by Chicago Artist Billy Jackson.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era.

The New York Cubans were a Negro league baseball team that played during the 1930s and from 1939 to 1950. Despite playing in the Negro leagues, the team occasionally employed white-skinned Hispanic baseball players as well, because Hispanics in general were largely ignored by the major league baseball teams before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

Best

The Pittsburgh (Later Toledo) Crawfords, popularly known as the Craws, were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team, previously known as the Crawford Colored Giants,[1] was named after the Crawford Bath House, a recreation center in the Crawford neighborhood of Pittsburgh's Hill District.[2] The Crawfords were owned by Gus Greenlee. During the mid-1930s, the Crawfords were one of the strongest Negro league teams ever assembled. Greenlee Field was demolished and the Crawfords moved to Toledo, becoming the Toledo Crawfords in 1939.

A black and white artistic depiction of Jackie Robinson, next to his quote, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."

Designs inspired by vintage sports.

The Black Babe Ruth

The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1930. J. L. Wilkinson was the first Caucasian owner at the time of the establishment of the team. In 1930, the Monarchs became the first professional baseball team to use a portable lighting system which was transported from game to game in trucks to play games at night, five years before any major league team did. The Monarchs won ten league championships before integration, and triumphed in the first Negro League World Series in 1924.

The Akron Black Tyrites were a Negro league baseball team that played out another team's schedule for a portion of a single season. They were based in Akron, Ohio, and were a member team of the Negro National League (II). The Columbus Blue Birds finished last in the first half of the 1933 season, were disbanded and ended up merging with the Tyrites, one of the top independent Negro league teams of their day.[2] The Tyrites then more or less became the Cleveland Giants, which finished out Columbus's schedule for the season. The team did not continue after 1933.

The late great Satchel.

Satchel Paige

The Legendary Jackie Robinson.

Rube Foster

The Detroit Stars were an American baseball team in the Negro leagues and played at historic Mack Park. The Stars had winning seasons every year but two, but were never able to secure any championships. Among their best players was Baseball Hall of Famer Turkey Stearnes. Founded in 1919 by Tenny Blount with the help of Rube Foster, owner and manager of the Chicago American Giants, the Detroit Stars immediately established themselves as one of the most powerful teams in the West.

Jackie Robinson became the first African American to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15th 1947

The New York Cubans were a Negro league baseball team that played during the 1930s and from 1939 to 1950. Despite playing in the Negro leagues, the team occasionally employed white-skinned Hispanic baseball players as well, because Hispanics in general were largely ignored by the major league baseball teams before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

The Dayton Marcos history predates the formal organized leagues of Negro league baseball. As an independent team, and also as the only black team in the Ohio-Indiana League [1] they played black and white teams all over the country throughout the 1910s. Old newspaper accounts and fading memories are some of the only sources of information on the Marcos.[2] The team was started by Daytonian Moses Moore, a real estate agent. Moore owned the New Marco Hotel and apparently named his team after that enterprise.[3] The team was to be entertainment for Dahomey Park, the first black-owned and operated amusement park in the United States.[4] Local newspapers sometimes referred to the team as "Moses Moore's Marcos."

The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball team in the Negro American League. Tracing their origins back to the 1930s, the Clowns were the last of the Negro league teams to disband, continuing to play exhibition games into the 1980s. They began play as the independent Ethiopian Clowns, joined the Negro American League as the Cincinnati Clowns and, after a couple of years, relocated to Indianapolis. Hank Aaron was a Clown for a short period, and the Clowns were also one of the first professional baseball teams to hire a female player.