Barnstorm (sports)
Encyclopedia
Barnstorming in athletics
refers to sports teams or individuals that travel to various locations, usually small towns, to stage exhibition matches.
Some barnstorming teams lack any home arena whatsoever, while other teams have been known to go on "barnstorming tours" in the off-season. Teams in baseball's Negro Leagues often barnstormed before, during and after their league's "regular season". Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Satchel Paige barnstorm toured with Dempsey Hovland
's Caribbean Kings. He was also the founder and proprietor of a number of teams including the well-known Texas Cowgirls (1949-1977) team, the first female basketball team to tour worldwide like the Harlem Globetrotters. Hovland also founded and managed The New York Harlem Queens.
While barnstorming is no longer as popular as it was in the twentieth century, some teams such as basketball's Harlem Globetrotters
, softball
's King and His Court
founded by Eddie Feigner and ice hockey's Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team
carry on the tradition. In the 1990's the Colorado Silver Bullets
women's baseball team resurrected barnstorming as there was no women's league in which to compete at the time.
It was very common in the early days of professional football; for instance, the Los Angeles Wildcats
of the first American Football League
of 1926 played the regular season as a traveling team, then went on a post-season barnstorming tour of Texas and California, with Red Grange
and the New York Yankees
as the designated opponent for most of these games. NFL teams were also known to barnstorm in small towns against local teams all the way up through World War II.
Barnstorming teams differ from traveling team
s in that barnstorming teams operate outside the framework of an established athletic league, while traveling teams (also known as "road teams") are designated by a league, formally or informally, to be a designated visiting team for all, or almost all, of its league games.
Numerous auto racers
, most notably Barney Oldfield
, staged exhibitions around the United States in the early twentieth century. Oldfield barnstormed against the aviator Lincoln Beachey
at least 35 times in 1914.
In rugby union
, the Barbarians
(an invitation-only team) are famous for having no ground or clubhouse.
Baseball
Caribbean Kings
Basketball
Ice Hockey
Softball
Rugby Union
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
refers to sports teams or individuals that travel to various locations, usually small towns, to stage exhibition matches.
Some barnstorming teams lack any home arena whatsoever, while other teams have been known to go on "barnstorming tours" in the off-season. Teams in baseball's Negro Leagues often barnstormed before, during and after their league's "regular season". Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Satchel Paige barnstorm toured with Dempsey Hovland
Dempsey Hovland
Dempsey Hovland was a well-known national baseball and basketball barnstorming entrepreneur and promoter and multiple sports team owner. He also founded the 20th Century Booking Agency, a sports booking management for arranging and marketing of barnstorming events and booking of venues...
's Caribbean Kings. He was also the founder and proprietor of a number of teams including the well-known Texas Cowgirls (1949-1977) team, the first female basketball team to tour worldwide like the Harlem Globetrotters. Hovland also founded and managed The New York Harlem Queens.
While barnstorming is no longer as popular as it was in the twentieth century, some teams such as basketball's Harlem Globetrotters
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
's King and His Court
Eddie Feigner
right|thumbnail|Eddie Feigner in the early 1980s.Eddie "The King" Feigner was an American softball player. Feigner was born in Walla Walla, Washington as Myrle Vernon King...
founded by Eddie Feigner and ice hockey's Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team
Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team
The Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team is an independent barnstorming hockey team located in Buffalo, New York. Its roster consists entirely of retired National Hockey League players, mostly former members of the Buffalo Sabres...
carry on the tradition. In the 1990's the Colorado Silver Bullets
Colorado Silver Bullets
The Colorado Silver Bullets was an all-female professional baseball team that played in the United States in the mid-1990s. The Bullets were the first such team since the folding of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1954.- History :...
women's baseball team resurrected barnstorming as there was no women's league in which to compete at the time.
It was very common in the early days of professional football; for instance, the Los Angeles Wildcats
Los Angeles Wildcats
The Los Angeles Wildcats was a traveling team of the first American Football League that was not based in its nominal home city but in Chicago, Illinois...
of the first American Football League
American Football League (1926)
The first American Football League , sometimes called AFL I, AFLG, or the Grange League, was a professional American football league that operated in 1926. It was the first major competitor to the National Football League. Founded by C. C...
of 1926 played the regular season as a traveling team, then went on a post-season barnstorming tour of Texas and California, with Red Grange
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange, nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Yankees. His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League...
and the New York Yankees
New York Yankees (NFL)
The New York Yankees were a short-lived professional American football team from 1926 to 1928. The team was a member of the first American Football League in 1926, and later the National Football League from 1927-1928. They played their home games at Yankee Stadium...
as the designated opponent for most of these games. NFL teams were also known to barnstorm in small towns against local teams all the way up through World War II.
Barnstorming teams differ from traveling team
Traveling team
In professional team sports, a traveling team is a member of a professional league that never or rarely competes in its home arena or stadium. This differs from a barnstorming team in that the latter does not compete within a league or association framework...
s in that barnstorming teams operate outside the framework of an established athletic league, while traveling teams (also known as "road teams") are designated by a league, formally or informally, to be a designated visiting team for all, or almost all, of its league games.
Numerous auto racers
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
, most notably Barney Oldfield
Barney Oldfield
Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield was an automobile racer and pioneer. He was born on a farm on the outskirts of Wauseon, Ohio. He was the first man to drive a car at 60 miles per hour on an oval...
, staged exhibitions around the United States in the early twentieth century. Oldfield barnstormed against the aviator Lincoln Beachey
Lincoln Beachey
Lincoln J. Beachey was a pioneer American aviator and barnstormer. He became famous and wealthy from flying exhibitions, staging aerial stunts, helping invent aerobatics, and setting aviation records....
at least 35 times in 1914.
In rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, the Barbarians
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
(an invitation-only team) are famous for having no ground or clubhouse.
Popular culture
- Barnstormers is a video game that the main character plays in Danger BoyDanger BoyDanger Boy, created and written by Mark London Williams, is a young adult time travel series. Beginning in 2019, the series follows the time spanning adventures of twelve year old Eli Sands, the eponymous protagonist, and his companions: Clyne, a good-natured dinosaur from another planet who...
by Mark London WilliamsMark London WilliamsMark London Williams is an American author, playwright, journalist, and creator of the young adult time travel series Danger Boy.-Biography:As a journalist, Williams has written for Variety, Los Angeles Times online, Los Angeles Business Journal, Moving Pictures Magazine and others. He was...
. In the game players can chose humans, vampires, zombies and many other types of creatures to build a baseball team and then travel around the country to compete against other teams.
List of barnstorming teams
American Football- Los Angeles WildcatsLos Angeles WildcatsThe Los Angeles Wildcats was a traveling team of the first American Football League that was not based in its nominal home city but in Chicago, Illinois...
Baseball
Caribbean Kings
Basketball
- Harlem GlobetrottersHarlem GlobetrottersThe Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
- House of David
- Texas Cowgirls
Ice Hockey
- Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey TeamBuffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey TeamThe Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team is an independent barnstorming hockey team located in Buffalo, New York. Its roster consists entirely of retired National Hockey League players, mostly former members of the Buffalo Sabres...
Softball
- King and His Court
Rugby Union
- Barbarian F.C.Barbarian F.C.The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...