Memphis Red Sox
Encyclopedia
The Memphis Red Sox were a professional Negro League
baseball
team based in Memphis, Tennessee
from the 1920s until the end of segregated baseball.
The Red Sox played in the Negro National League for most of the League's existence, although they also played independently, and in the Negro Southern League, before becoming charter members of the new Negro American League in 1937
. The team did not perform as well in the new league as its roster would suggest.
For the greater part of its history the team was owned by J. B. Martin
and B.B. Martin of Memphis, brothers who both maintained dental practices and other business enterprises. The brothers built Martin Park on Crump Boulevard for their club, making the Red Sox one of the few clubs in the Negro Leagues with their own ballpark.
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
baseball
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 based in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
from the 1920s until the end of segregated baseball.
The Red Sox played in the Negro National League for most of the League's existence, although they also played independently, and in the Negro Southern League, before becoming charter members of the new Negro American League in 1937
1937 in sports
-American football:* First Cotton Bowl Classic is played in Dallas.* Washington Redskins win the NFL title in their first year at Washington after moving from Boston...
. The team did not perform as well in the new league as its roster would suggest.
For the greater part of its history the team was owned by J. B. Martin
J. B. Martin
Dr. J. B. Martin was president of the Negro American League and owned the Chicago American Giants baseball team.Martin and his brother B.B. Martin were Memphis dentists with other business interests. One of these was the Memphis Red Sox...
and B.B. Martin of Memphis, brothers who both maintained dental practices and other business enterprises. The brothers built Martin Park on Crump Boulevard for their club, making the Red Sox one of the few clubs in the Negro Leagues with their own ballpark.
Notable players
- Larry BrownLarry Brown (Negro leagues)Larry Brown was a baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play catcher and played from 1919 to 1938.-References:*...
- Marlin CarterMarlin CarterMarlin Theodore "Pee Wee" Carter was an African-American baseball infielder in the Negro Leagues. Carter played from 1932 to 1951 with the Memphis Red Sox, Cincinnati Tigers, and the Chicago American Giants and appeared in the East-West All-Star Game in 1942.-References:*...
- Bill FosterBill Foster (baseball player)William Hendrick "Bill" Foster was an American left-handed pitcher in baseball's Negro leagues in the 1920s and 1930s, and had a career record of 143-69...
- Joe "Prince" HenryJoe Henry (baseball)"Prince" Joe Henry was an American baseball player. He played for several Negro League teams in the 1950s.-Biography:...
- Larry LeGrande
- Verdell MathisVerdell MathisVerdell Mathis is a retired baseball player in the Negro Leagues. He would play infielder and pitcher and played from 1940 to 1950.-References:*...
- Ernest McBride, Sr.Ernest McBride, Sr.Ernest McBride, Sr., was an American professional baseball player born in 1909. He played for the Memphis Red Sox in the Negro National League in 1930, and, later, was a civil rights activist in Long Beach, California. McBride died in 2007.- References :...
- Buck O'NeilBuck O'NeilJohn Jordan "Buck" O'Neil was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout, and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball...
- Charley PrideCharley PrideCharley Frank Pride is an American country music singer. His smooth baritone voice was featured on thirty-nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis...
- Ted "Double Duty" RadcliffeTed RadcliffeTheodore Roosevelt "Double Duty" Radcliffe was at his death thought to be the oldest living professional baseball player , one of only a handful of major league players who lived past their 100th birthdays, and a former star in the...
- Neil Robinson
- Joe B. ScottJoe B. ScottJoseph Burt Scott, was an American baseball player who played outfield and first-base in several different Negro Leagues.A left-handed hitter, Scott played professionally from 1936 until 1956...
- Satchel PaigeSatchel PaigeLeroy Robert "Satchel" Paige was an American baseball player whose pitching in the Negro leagues and in Major League Baseball made him a legend in his own lifetime...