This list of Negro league postseason games includes postseason participants of black baseball prior to the organization of any traditional Negro league and goes through to the collapse of segregated baseball after Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line in 1946. Games include self-declared, regional and league champions, primarily in the "major league" era of Negro league baseball from 1920 to 1948. While black baseball did first play in 1867, postseason baseball can only be traced to 1913. As such, series length varied from time to time from best-of-two to best-of-five to even best-of-fourteen, and in postseason history there were thirteen ties (usually due to curfew rules). Negro baseball did continue after 1948, but it was at a quality that was considered minor by news of the time and historians. Historical research has revealed the existence of 23 years in which there was a postseason series held between Negro league teams. Box scores exist for just a fraction of the games.[1]
While the Negro leagues from 1920 to 1948 are retroactively considered "major league", black baseball had existed for several years prior, with varying levels of organization. 1913 was a matchup of two teams considered the best of their regions: the New York Lincoln Giants of the East, and the Chicago American Giants of the West (as a whole, the "West" region for baseball at any level was considered to be in the city of Chicago or St. Louis, with the actual West Coast being reserved to other interests). Of all the matchups in Negro league playoff history, this one ended up being the most comprehensive of them all, as it was played over the span of three weeks in two different cities with fourteen games played. New York won eight games while Chicago won five (game two ended in a tie).[2]
The first Negro National League formed in 1920 with eight teams, with Rube Foster leading the way with his Chicago American Giants. While the organization of a league did not mean a uniform number of games, the league pennant was generally awarded to the team with the best winning percentage, although there would be numerous occasions when a League Championship Series would be held. At the conclusion of the 1921 season, Chicago had won their second straight NNL pennant. They accepted a challenge to meet the team considered the best of the East Coast in the Hilldale Club (two years later, the team was one of the founding members of the Eastern Colored League). Six games were played over the course of eleven days in three different cities as Hilldale won the series three games to two.[4]
1921 Championship Series: Chicago American Giants vs. Hilldale Club(Hilldale wins series 3–2–1)
In 1924, the Negro National League and the Eastern Colored League agreed to meet in a postseason series of the two best teams in each league, which would be called a "Colored World Series". Since its inception, the National League had done a split-season schedule with first and second halves.[11]
In 1925, for the first time ever, two different teams were champions of the split-half season, necessitating a Championship Series to determine the pennant, as Kansas City won the first half and the St. Louis Stars won the second half. The two teams initially agreed to a best-of-nine series before settling to seven due to scheduling problems. Bizarrely, the Monarchs played their home games not in Kansas City but in Chicago, and the final two games of the series were played as a double-header.[12]
1925 Negro National League Championship Series: St. Louis Stars vs. Kansas City Monarchs (Kansas City wins series 4–3)
In 1926, the first-half champion Kansas City Monarchs played against the second-half champion Chicago American Giants in a best-of-nine series. Game 9 ended after just five innings, having been played the same day as Game 8. Bill Foster beat Bullet Rogan in both games as Chicago won the pennant.[20]
The St. Louis Stars won the first half of the National League while the Chicago American Giants won the second half. The two-time defending league champion would play a best-of-nine series with the first four games in Chicago. However, it would be the Stars that would celebrate at the end of the series in St. Louis, as St. Louis recovered from a 4–3 series deficit by winning the final two games. They would not await the winner of the ECL, however. The ECL folded before finishing its season, thereby leaving the Stars as the lone league champion of the Negro leagues.[22] 1929 saw the creation of the American Negro League and its one champion in the Baltimore Black Sox, but the ANL did not hold a playoff before it dissolved after the season ended.
1930 is considered to have had four postseason series, as teams from the East Coast challenged both each other and the National League for who was best among black baseball. It started with two games in April between the St. Louis Stars and the Homestead Grays, which the Grays won. On August 21, they then played Detroit Stars for four games over the course of a week, winning three of them before returning to St. Louis to play them for five games. The Stars won four of the matchups, with the last one played on September 3. The Grays then played an "East Coast Championship Series" against the New York Lincoln Giants, which was a best-of-ten series that saw Homestead win that took place from 9/20-9/28. Around the same time, St. Louis and Detroit met up for the NNL Championship Series from 9/13 to 9/22, with St. Louis winning over Detroit.[23]
East-West Challenge Series: Homestead Grays vs. St. Louis Stars & Detroit Stars
April 19, 1930 at Stars Park, St. Louis, Missouri: Homestead 4, St. Louis 1
April 21, 1930 at Stars Park, St. Louis, Missouri: Homestead 6, St. Louis 2
August 21, 1930 at League Park, Akron, Ohio: Homestead 11, Detroit 3
August 22, 1930 at League Park, Akron, Ohio: Homestead 16, Detroit 5
August 27, 1930 at Hamtramck Stadium, Detroit, Michigan: Detroit 7, Homestead 5
August 28, 1930 at Hamtramck Stadium, Detroit, Michigan: Homestead 5, Detroit 3
August 30, 1930 at Stars Park, St. Louis, Missouri: Homestead 10, St. Louis 6
August 31, 1930 at Stars Park, St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis 9, Homestead 1
September 1, 1930 at Stars Park, St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis 6, Homestead 5
September 2, 1930 at Stars Park, St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis 18, Homestead 11
September 3, 1930 at Stars Park, St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis 6, Homestead 5 (eleven innings)
1930 East Coast Championship Series: Homestead Grays vs New York Lincoln Giants (Grays win series 6–4)
September 20, 1930 at Forbes Field (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania): Homestead 9, New York 1
September 20, 1930 at Forbes Field (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania): Homestead 17, New York 16 (ten innings)
September 21, 1930 at Yankee Stadium (New York, New York): New York 6, Homestead 2
September 21, 1930 at Yankee Stadium (New York, New York): Homestead 3, New York 2 (ten innings)
September 25, 1930 at Penmar Park (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania): Homestead 11, New York 3
September 25, 1930 at Penmar Park (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania): New York 6, Homestead 4
September 27, 1930 at Yankee Stadium (New York, New York): New York 9, Homestead 8
September 27, 1930 at Yankee Stadium (New York, New York): Homestead 7, New York 3
September 28, 1930 at Yankee Stadium (New York, New York): New York 6, Homestead 2
September 28, 1930 at Yankee Stadium (New York, New York): Homestead 5, New York 2
The Negro National League would have its first incarnation run until 1931. In 1932, two leagues came and went as "major league" status in the East-West League and Negro Southern League, but only the latter ran long enough to have a playoff series. The NSL was known for most of its history as a minor league, but 1932 saw the league composed of surviving NNL teams that made it a major league for this season only. As such, the NSL had a split-season schedule that saw its first half champion in the Chicago American Giants meet up against the second half champion Nashville Elite Giants for a Championship Series matchup.[24]
1932 Negro Southern League Championship Series: Chicago American Giants vs. Nashville Elite Giants (Chicago wins series 4–3)
September 3, 1932 at Schorling Park (Chicago, Illinois): Nashville 6, Chicago 5
September 4, 1932 at Schorling Park (Chicago, Illinois): Nashville 3, Chicago 2 (fifteen innings)
September 4, 1932 at Schorling Park (Chicago, Illinois): Chicago 5, Nashville 3
The Negro National League re-formed in 1933. Historians dispute if there was postseason play during the year, as several teams matched up against each other in games called "playoff" or "exhibition" matchups.[25]
1934 Negro National League Championship Series: Chicago American Giants vs. Philadelphia Stars(Philadelphia wins series 4–3–1)
September 11, 1934 at Passon Park (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania): Chicago 4, Philadelphia 3
September 16, 1934 at Schorling Park (Chicago, Illinois): Chicago 3, Philadelphia 0
September 16, 1934 at Schorling Park (Chicago, Illinois): Philadelphia 5, Chicago 3
September 17, 1934 at Schorling Park (Chicago, Illinois): Chicago 2, Philadelphia 1
September 27, 1934 at Passon Park (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania): Philadelphia 1, Chicago 0
September 29, 1934 at Passon Park (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania): Philadelphia 4, Chicago 1
October 1, 1934 at Passon Park (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania): 4–4 tie
October 2, 1934 at Passon Park (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania): Philadelphia 2, Chicago 0
Second half champion New York Cubans was matched against first half champion Pittsburgh Crawfords. Pittsburgh came back from a 3–1 series deficit to win three straight games (all in Pittsburgh) to win the pennant. [26]
1936 was the only year without a clear Championship Series winner. Both the first and second half champion were settled by disputes: The Washington Elite Giants played the Philadelphia Stars for the first half title, with the Giants winning 7–5 on September 17. The Pittsburgh Crawfords played the Newark Eagles in a five-game series that Pittsburgh won 3-1-(1) from 9/12-9/15. The Elite Giants and Crawfords played three games from September 21–27, but the Series was abandoned before it formerly ended, with Washington having won two games. Pittsburgh, having the best winning percentage among all teams, is generally considered the champion of the NNL.[27]
The Negro American League attempted to hold a full-scale series for its pennant champion. The Memphis Red Sox won the first half of the season while the Atlanta Black Crackers won the second half. Two games were played in the Series but no further. The Black Crackers could not find a suitable venue to play their home games of the Series. It was decided two months later that the Red Sox were the champions of the league.[29]
For the first time ever, both the Negro American League and the Negro National League held postseason series to determine their champion. In fact, the NNL went further and had a four-team playoff to determine the champion.[30]
Negro American League Championship Series: Kansas City Monarchs vs. St. Louis Stars (Kansas City wins series 4–1)
The Negro National League held a Championship Series in 1941 to determine its champion after the Homestead Grays won the first half and the New York Cubans won the second half.[31]
In 1937, the Negro American League had formed. Five years later, they would agree with the Negro National League II to a matchup of the two best teams of their leagues to a "Negro World Series", the first of its kind since the 1920s. They would meet each other for the next six years, before the dissolution of the National League in 1948 saw the demise of the World Series and "major league" Negro baseball as a whole. 1943 and 1948 were the only occasions that a League Championship Series had to be held to determine the champion of the pennant.
The first-half champion Birmingham Black Barons were tasked to face the second-half champion Chicago American Giants for the Negro American League pennant; Birmingham won in five games for their first ever league pennant. [33]
1943 Negro American League Championship Series: Chicago American Giants vs. Birmingham Black Barons (Black Barons wins series 3–2)
September 13, 1943 at Toledo, Ohio: Chicago 3, Birmingham 2
September 14, 1943 at Columbus, Ohio: Birmingham 16, Chicago 5
September 15, 1943 at Dayton, Ohio: Chicago 5, Birmingham 4
September 17, 1943 at Cramton Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama): Birmingham 4, Chicago 1
1948 was the first time since 1939 that each League held a Championship Series to determine the pennant. The tie in Game 3 of the NNLCS proved key to the end of the Series. In the top of the 9th inning, Homestead had erased a 4–4 tie with four runs that saw them with the bases loaded. However, a curfew of 11:00pm had meant that the game would be reverted to the score of the previous inning, which was a 4–4 tie. A protest filed by the Grays came after the playing of Game 4 (a Baltimore win). The NNL ruled that Game 3 would be replayed from the point where it had stopped in the ninth inning, not the previous inning. Baltimore, rather than play to an 8–4 deficit, forfeited that game and with it the Series.[38]
