Cuban X-Giants
Encyclopedia
The Cuban X-Giants were an African-American professional baseball
team for about ten seasons around 1900. Originally most of the players were former Cuban Giants, or ex-Giants.
Like the Cuban Giants, the members were not Cuban, the name simply indicating that they were an African American team. Many members were former Cuban Giants. They began to rival that top black team in 1895. E. B. Lamar Jr. piloted a team which included 2B Sol White
and pitcher George Stovey
. In 1897 they beat the Giants 2 games to 1 in a series. With Frank Grant
joining in 1898 the club continued to establish themselves as the new powerhouse in the east. Grant and White left in 1900 and Bill Monroe joined at second base; both the Giants and X-Giants claimed to be the champions, a situation that was duplicated a year later. In 1903 the club boasted Rube Foster on the mound and a middle infield of Charlie Grant
and Home Run Johnson
. They played in the integrated Tri-State Independent League and then took 5 of 7 games from the Philadelphia Giants
for the title as top black team in the east. Foster won 4 games in the series and also was 6 for 17 at the plate.
For the 1904 season Philadelphia hired Grant and Foster, and later beat the X-Giants in the series 2 games to 1, as Foster was 2-0 against his old teammates. (Grant and Foster replaced Frank Grant
and Harry Buckner as regulars.) In 1905 the X-Giants became the first black team to beat a Major League Baseball
team, when they took one of two games from the National League
's Brooklyn
, outscoring them 7–2 in the first game and losing 2–1 in the second. Pop Lloyd played for the team in 1906, right before it folded for good.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team for about ten seasons around 1900. Originally most of the players were former Cuban Giants, or ex-Giants.
Like the Cuban Giants, the members were not Cuban, the name simply indicating that they were an African American team. Many members were former Cuban Giants. They began to rival that top black team in 1895. E. B. Lamar Jr. piloted a team which included 2B Sol White
Sol White
* , Personal profiles at Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. – identical to Riley * , by Sol White. Compiled and with an introduction by Jerry Malloy -External links:...
and pitcher George Stovey
George Stovey
George Washington Stovey is considered the best African-American baseball pitcher of the nineteenth century, but discrimination barred him from the majors and led him to move from team to team until he had no further opportunities to play in the minors...
. In 1897 they beat the Giants 2 games to 1 in a series. With Frank Grant
Frank Grant
* , Personal profiles at Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. – identical to Riley -External links:* – unknown content, URL confirmed 2010-04-16...
joining in 1898 the club continued to establish themselves as the new powerhouse in the east. Grant and White left in 1900 and Bill Monroe joined at second base; both the Giants and X-Giants claimed to be the champions, a situation that was duplicated a year later. In 1903 the club boasted Rube Foster on the mound and a middle infield of Charlie Grant
Charlie Grant
Charles Grant was an African American second baseman in negro league baseball. Grant nearly crossed the baseball color line decades before Jackie Robinson when Major League Baseball manager John McGraw attempted to pass him off as a Native American named "Tokohama".-Background:Grant was born in...
and Home Run Johnson
Home Run Johnson
Grant "Home Run" Johnson was an American shortstop in baseball's Negro Leagues. He played for many of the greatest teams of the deadball era. Born in Findlay, Ohio, he died at age 88 in Buffalo, New York....
. They played in the integrated Tri-State Independent League and then took 5 of 7 games from the Philadelphia Giants
Philadelphia Giants
The Philadelphia Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1902 to 1916. From 1904 to 1909 they were one of the strongest teams in black baseball, winning five eastern championships in six years. The team was organized by Sol White, H. Walter Schlichter, and Harry Smith.- Founding...
for the title as top black team in the east. Foster won 4 games in the series and also was 6 for 17 at the plate.
For the 1904 season Philadelphia hired Grant and Foster, and later beat the X-Giants in the series 2 games to 1, as Foster was 2-0 against his old teammates. (Grant and Foster replaced Frank Grant
Frank Grant
* , Personal profiles at Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. – identical to Riley -External links:* – unknown content, URL confirmed 2010-04-16...
and Harry Buckner as regulars.) In 1905 the X-Giants became the first black team to beat a Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
team, when they took one of two games from the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
's Brooklyn
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
, outscoring them 7–2 in the first game and losing 2–1 in the second. Pop Lloyd played for the team in 1906, right before it folded for good.