New York Black Yankees
Encyclopedia
The New York Black Yankees was a professional baseball
team based in New York City
, Paterson, NJ, and Rochester, NY which played in the Negro National League
from 1936 to 1948. The Black Yankees played in Paterson, New Jersey from 1933-1937 and then from 1939-1945. The 1938 season saw the Black Yankees trying their fate at New York's Triborough Stadium. Paterson's strong fan support returned the Black Yankees to Paterson's Hinchliffe Stadium.
The team was founded in Harlem
by financier James "Soldier Boy" Semler and dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.
The team's left fielder Fats Jenkins
was chosen by fans to play in the East team for the first East-West All-Star Game in 1933. A succession of other players were sent to the big game in 1937–1942, 1947 and 1948.
The team's schedule could be punishing. In the 1930s they played two doubleheaders 350 miles apart on successive days. They left Pittsburgh
after the first two games at about 10:00 PM to cross the Allegheny Mountains
for South Orange, New Jersey
. One of the two cars broke down so nine of the 16 players crowded into the other car to ensure that play would start on time. They arrived just twenty minutes behind the scheduled start time. They were given five minutes to warm up. The other seven players arrived a few minutes later so they were able to lunch and sleep before taking two of their exhausted team mates to play the second game. Despite their fatigue, the team won both games.
In September 1933,the New York Black Yankees played the Philadelphia Stars for the Colored Championship of the Nation at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey. They lost the championship, but not their momentum, opening the following season with an eight-game winning streak at Hinchliffe Stadium. The streak-ending ninth game with the Pittsburgh Crawfords came on July 28, 1934, a face-off that saw Hall-of-Famers Josh Gibson
, Judy Johnson
, James “Cool Papa” Bell, and Oscar Charleston
all play in regular-season tilt.
Rain ended the game after 7½ innings, but not before Crawfords’ star Gibson and Yankee Bob Clark had both hit powerful home runs, Gibson’s contributing to his League championship home run record for that year.
On July 13, 1935, Elmer McDuffy pitched an 8-0 no-hitter at Hinchliffe Stadium against the House of David. According to the Paterson Evening News, it was “the first time such a feat had ever been turned in by the Negro club in this territory.”
The team played its last season, 1948, in Rochester, New York
using Red Wing Stadium
, home of the International League
Rochester Red Wings
, as their home park. After an opening day doubleheader sweep of the Newark Eagles
on May 25, 1948, the team did not fare well and finished the last Negro National League
season with a record of 8-32.
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 New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Paterson, NJ, and Rochester, NY which played in the Negro National League
Negro National League (the second)
The second Negro National League was one of the several Negro leagues which were created during the time organized baseball was segregated. It established in 1933, two years after the first Negro National League had disbanded...
from 1936 to 1948. The Black Yankees played in Paterson, New Jersey from 1933-1937 and then from 1939-1945. The 1938 season saw the Black Yankees trying their fate at New York's Triborough Stadium. Paterson's strong fan support returned the Black Yankees to Paterson's Hinchliffe Stadium.
The team was founded in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
by financier James "Soldier Boy" Semler and dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.
The team's left fielder Fats Jenkins
Fats Jenkins
Clarence Reginald "Fats" Jenkins was an African American professional baseball and basketball player from about 1920 to 1940 when both professional sports were racially segregated...
was chosen by fans to play in the East team for the first East-West All-Star Game in 1933. A succession of other players were sent to the big game in 1937–1942, 1947 and 1948.
The team's schedule could be punishing. In the 1930s they played two doubleheaders 350 miles apart on successive days. They left Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
after the first two games at about 10:00 PM to cross the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
for South Orange, New Jersey
South Orange, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 16,964 people, 5,522 households, and 3,766 families residing in the township. The population density was 5,945.3 people per square mile . There were 5,671 housing units at an average density of 1,987.5 per square mile...
. One of the two cars broke down so nine of the 16 players crowded into the other car to ensure that play would start on time. They arrived just twenty minutes behind the scheduled start time. They were given five minutes to warm up. The other seven players arrived a few minutes later so they were able to lunch and sleep before taking two of their exhausted team mates to play the second game. Despite their fatigue, the team won both games.
In September 1933,the New York Black Yankees played the Philadelphia Stars for the Colored Championship of the Nation at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey. They lost the championship, but not their momentum, opening the following season with an eight-game winning streak at Hinchliffe Stadium. The streak-ending ninth game with the Pittsburgh Crawfords came on July 28, 1934, a face-off that saw Hall-of-Famers Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson
Joshua Gibson was an American catcher in baseball's Negro leagues. He played for the Homestead Grays from 1930 to 1931, moved to the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1932 to 1936, and returned to the Grays from 1937 to 1939 and 1942 to 1946...
, Judy Johnson
Judy Johnson
William Julius "Judy" Johnson was an American third baseman in Negro league baseball.Johnson was born in Snow Hill, Maryland. Although his father wanted him to be a boxer, Johnson, who was 5 ft 11 in and only 150 lb , was far better suited for a career in baseball...
, James “Cool Papa” Bell, and Oscar Charleston
Oscar Charleston
Oscar McKinley Charleston was an American center fielder and manager in baseball's Negro leagues from to ....
all play in regular-season tilt.
Rain ended the game after 7½ innings, but not before Crawfords’ star Gibson and Yankee Bob Clark had both hit powerful home runs, Gibson’s contributing to his League championship home run record for that year.
On July 13, 1935, Elmer McDuffy pitched an 8-0 no-hitter at Hinchliffe Stadium against the House of David. According to the Paterson Evening News, it was “the first time such a feat had ever been turned in by the Negro club in this territory.”
The team played its last season, 1948, in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
using Red Wing Stadium
Red Wing Stadium
Silver Stadium was a baseball stadium located at 500 Norton Street in Rochester, New York. It was the home stadium for the Rochester Red Wings of the International League from 1929 to 1996, and for the New York Black Yankees of the Negro National League for their final season in 1948...
, home of the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
Rochester Red Wings
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Red Wings play in Frontier Field, located in downtown Rochester.The Red Wings were an...
, as their home park. After an opening day doubleheader sweep of the Newark Eagles
Newark Eagles
The Newark Eagles was a professional Negro league baseball team that played in the second Negro National League from 1936 to 1948.- Formation :...
on May 25, 1948, the team did not fare well and finished the last Negro National League
Negro National League (the second)
The second Negro National League was one of the several Negro leagues which were created during the time organized baseball was segregated. It established in 1933, two years after the first Negro National League had disbanded...
season with a record of 8-32.
Notable players
- 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...
- Fats JenkinsFats JenkinsClarence Reginald "Fats" Jenkins was an African American professional baseball and basketball player from about 1920 to 1940 when both professional sports were racially segregated...
- 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...
- George "Mule" Suttles
- Willie WellsWillie WellsWillie James Wells was an American shortstop who played from -48 for various teams in the Negro Leagues.Wells was born in Austin, Texas...
- Kenny BlankKenny BlankKenny Blank, full birth name Kenneth Michael Benbow Blank , is an American actor and prodigy musician. Later, he changed his name to Kenn Michael...