Golden Age Era Sports--Baseball
|
|
|
|
|
The Knickerbocker Nine
First Baseball Team 1864
|
|
Cinncinati Red Stockings
First Professional Team 1869
|
|
One of the earliest regular, Golden Age Radio shows was "Coca-Cola Top Notchers", beginning in 1930, with Baseball's legendary sportswriter, Grantland Rice, and sponsored by Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola, Grantland Rice, and Baseball. Just add a hotdog, and you have the very essence of the American Ideal -- for males, at the very least. Indeed, in the background of many popular shows of the era, one can hear sporting events of the era, often incorporated into the episode or used as material for a monologue. And who hasn't heard Abbott and Costello's unforgettable "Who's On First?" routine? Here's a sampling one of the more popular Sports of the era--American Baseball. Use this Chronology of the Modern Major League Baseball, Negro League, and All-American Girls Professional Baseball League as a point of reference as you listen to your favorite shows. Many of the more notable baseball games of the era were recorded for rebroadcast and are still available to collectors on our own FTP Site.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Los Angeles Angels
The Anaheim Angels were called the California Angels from September 1965 until November 19, 1996, and were named the Los Angeles Angels when they came into the American League in 1960, named after the City of Angels
Original Venue (Dodger Stadium)
Venue 1961 (Wrigley Field)
Current Venue (Angel Stadium)
<back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox entered the league in 1901 as the Somersets after the owner, Charles Somers. At various times they were called the Puritans, Pilgrims and Plymouth Rocks. It was as the Pilgrims that they won the first-ever World Series between the American and National leagues. In 1907 they became the Red Sox when the National League Boston team switched its stockings from red to white.
Original Venue (Huntington Avenue Grounds)
Current Venue (Fenway Park)
Proposed Venue (New Fenway Park)
<back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
St Louis Browns
The present Baltimore Orioles were named after the state bird of Maryland. Many other major and minor league clubs have also been known as Orioles. The ML Orioles began life in St. Louis as the Browns, moving to Baltimore in 1954.
Browns Venue (Sportsmans Park)
Orioles Venue '54 - '91 (Memorial Stadium)
Current Venue (Oriole Park at Camden Yards)
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians began in the 1890s as the Spiders and were later called the Blues, as well as the Babes or Broncos around the turn of the century. When Napoleon Lajoie became manager in 1902, the team was called the Naps in his honor. In 1909 under manager Jim McGuire, they were tabbed the Molly McGuires. In 1915, a newspaper contest for a new nickname was held and Indians won, after the famous Louis Sockalexis, a Penobscot Indian from Maine, who was then a star on the team.
Original Venue 1891 - 1946 (League Park)
Venue '32 - '96 (Cleveland Stadium)
Current Venue (Jacobs Field)
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox began life in 1900 as the White Stockings and changed a year later to White Sox to prevent confusion with the old Chicago White Stockings in the National League.
Original Venue '01 - '10 (South Side Park)
Original Venue '10 - '90 (Comiskey Park)
Current Venue (U.S. Cellular Field)
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers, American Leaguers since 1901, are named after the striped stockings they wear.
Original Venue '01 - '10 (Bennett Park)
Original Venue '12 - '99 (Tiger Stadium)
Current Venue (Comerica Park)
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Washington Senators
The Minnesota Twins were the original Washington Senators, who moved to the Twin Cities in 1960, hence their nickname.
Original Venue '01 - '02 (American League Park)
Venue '03 - '61 (Griffith Stadium)
Venue '61 - '62 (RFK Stadium)
Venue '62 - '81 (Metropolitan Stadium)
Current Venue (Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome)
Proposed Venue (as yet unnamed)
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Philadelphia Athletics
The Oakland Athletics were once in Kansas City before the Royals; they had departed Kansas City for Oakland in 1968. They had moved to Kansas City in 1954 from Philadelphia, where their nickname was the Athletics, which came from the original name of the club: the Philadelphia Athletic Club.
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Boston Braves
The Atlanta Braves, once in Boston, were called The Doves around the turn of the century for its owners, the Dovey Brothers. They were also known as The Beaneaters and The Red Caps at various times until tabbed The Braves by John Montgomery Ward in 1912. They stayed the Braves until 1936, when a fan poll was held and the name was changed to The Bees. In 1941 they returned to their more popular name and have remained so through moves of the franchise to Milwaukee in 1953 and in 1966 to Atlanta.
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs have the distinction of being the only club in the league to have retained continuous membership since 1876. They were first called The White Stockings, however, and later they became The Colts because their manager Cap Anson had appeared in a film titled "The Runaway Colt." They were called The Orphans for a year, but after Anson retired in 1899, a newspaper contest for a new name was held and The Cubs won
<back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cinncinati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds were named after the legendary Red Stockings, the very first professional baseball team back in 1869.
<back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros entered the league in 1962 as The Colt .45s in honor of the six shooter widely used in the American Frontier, but a trademark problem with Colt Firearms Co. necessitated a name change. A contest was held and Astros won, naming the team after the Home of The Astronauts in 1965. Oddly enough, most people think the Astros were named after the Astrodome, the world's first enclosed sports stadium, but in fact, it was the other way around. The official name of the ballpark is the Harris County Domed Stadium and derives its nickname from the Astros.
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers began their baseball history in Brooklyn back in the 1880s with the American Association (then a major league). They were called The Bridegrooms at first because so many of the players were married. They then became Ward's Wonders after manager Montgomery Ward, later Foutz's Fillies for manager Dave Foutz. They became known as the Trolley Dodgers for a while, after the fans who had to dodge trolley cars to get to the ballpark. When the team entered the National League they were called The Superbas by manager Ned Hanlon, after a popular vaudeville act of jugglers and in 1910, they were called The Robins for manager Wilbert Robinson. In 1911 the nickname returned to The Dodgers.
Original Venue (Ebbets Field)
Venue '58 - '61 (L.A. Memorial Coliseum)
Current Venue (Dodger Stadium)
<back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New York Mets
The New York Mets almost became the New York Burros when they came into the league in 1962. A number of names were suggested by fans, but Mets won out, named after the old New York Metropolitans team of the 1880s.
<back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are the oldest, continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional sports. The Philadelphia Athletics began life in 1866 but were suspended in 1876 for failing to meet their schedule and Philidelphia went unrepresented through 1982. The Worcester, MA 'Ruby Legs' were an N.L. franchise since 1880, but suffering financially by the end of the1882 season. In 1883, the league shifted its Worcester, Mass., team to Philadelphia and adopted the nickname Phillies, short for Philadelphians.
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates had to go through two other leagues before settling in the NL in 1887. They started in the National Association, shifted to the American Association, then finally moved to the NL. They were first called The Alleghenies, but in 1890, the nickname 'The Pirates' stuck after the team pirated second baseman Louis Bierbauer away from Philadelphia.
<back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New York Giants
The San Francisco Giants started playing in New York in 1883 as the New York Gothams and were first called Giants in 1885 by another newspaperman, Joe Pritchard, probably due to two very tall players: Roger Connor and Del Gillespie. They began the 1886 season as The New York Giants.
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
St Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals were once birds of a different color--brown. They were known as the St Louis Browns since 1892, but when Frank Robison bought the club, he changd their uniforms from brown to white with red trim and sportswriter Willie McHale dubbed them the Cardinals in his daily column. The name stuck. In 1900 an A.L. team took the name St Louis Browns and the St Louis team has been 'The Cardinals' ever since.
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Atlanta Black Crackers
The Black Crackers played against teams located in Birmingham, Ala. Nashville, Little Rock, Ark, New Orleans, Mobile, Ala., Memphis and Chattanooga, Tenn. They played in Atlanta's historic Ponce de leon Park when the white Minor League Atlanta Crackers were out of town.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Baltimore Black Sox
The Sox were charter members of the Eastern Colored League in 1923. In their first season, they finished last with a 19-30 record, but they turned it around the following season for a second-place finish with 30-19 record.
In 1929, the Baltimore Black Sox boasted the "Million Dollar Infield" of Jud "Boojum" Wilson (first base), Frank Warfield (second base), Oliver "Ghost" Marcelle (third base) and Sir Richard Lundy (shortstop). They were given the name by the media because of their prospective worth had they been white players. In 1929, they won more than 70 percent of their games to capture the American Negro League Championship.
- Participated in 1923-29
- Participated in 1932-34
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Baltimore Elite Giants
The Sox were charter members of the Eastern Colored League in 1923. In their first season, they finished last with a 19-30 record, but they turned it around the following season for a second-place finish with 30-19 record.
In 1929, the Baltimore Black Sox boasted the "Million Dollar Infield" of Jud "Boojum" Wilson (first base), Frank Warfield (second base), Oliver "Ghost" Marcelle (third base) and Sir Richard Lundy (shortstop). They were given the name by the media because of their prospective worth had they been white players. In 1929, they won more than 70 percent of their games to capture the American Negro League Championship.
- Participated in 1923-29
- Participated in 1932-34
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Birmingham Black Barons
The Birmingham Black Barons played their games at historic Rickwood Field and they were the Negro American League Champions in 1943, 1944 and 1948. Their last championship team featured a 17-year old named Willie Mays.
Other Barons of Major League caliber included Lorenzo "Piper" Davis, Lloyd "Pepper" Bassett, Nat Rogers and Ulysses Hollimon. Future New York Giant Artie Wilson and Chicago White Sox star Sam Hairston also played for the Barons.
- Participated in 1923-25
- Participated in 1927-30
- Participated in 1937-38
- Participated in 1940-50
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brooklyn Royal Giants
The Brooklyn Royal Giants were one of the premier professional teams before World War I. At times their pitching staff featured the unstoppable duo of "Smokey" Joe Williams and "Cannonball" Dick Redding. Another ace, Frank Wickware, defeated Hall of Famer Walter Johnson twice. War hero Spottswod Poles, a Ty Cobb prototype, batting champion Charles "Chino" Smith, and ageless John Henry "Pop" Lloyd were other stars for the Royal Giants team..
- Participated in 1905-22
- Participated in 1923-27
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chicago American Giants
The team was owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by the masterful Andrew "Rube" Foster, the father of Negro League Baseball and who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
Along with the New York Lincoln Stars and the Indianapolis ABC's, the 1917 edition of the Chicago American Giants was one of the premier teams during World War I. Legendary greats such as Bruce Petway, John Henry "Pop" Lloyd, Pete Hill, Frank Wickware, and "Cannonball" Dick Redding were on the squad.
The Giants won Negro National League titles in 1920, 1921 and 1922. Managed by "Gentlemen" Dave Malarcher, they beat the Bacharach Giants of Atlantic City in the Colored World Series in 1926 and 1927. The Giants dominated black professional baseball during the Roaring Twenties.
On the roster during the 1920s were Rube Foster's brother, Willie, "Colonel" Jimmie Crutchfield and Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe. The Giants under Foster played in the 5,000 seat stadium at 39th and Wentworth that White Sox owner Charles Comiskey gave up when he built the Baseball Palace of the World in 1910.
- Participated in 1920-35
- Participated in 1937-52
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Detroit Stars
They played their games at Mack Park -- until it burned down in 1929 -- and then in Hamtramack Stadium. The Stars were one of the original members of the Negro National League in 1920. They spotlighted one of the great home run hitters in baseball history, Norman "Turkey" Stearnes. Another star was catcher Bruce Petway who twice threw out Ty Cobb attempting to steal bases in a Cuban game. The notorious streak hitter Pete Hill also was on the squad in 1919.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hilldale Daisies
Years in the Negro Leagues: Seven, 1923-27, 1929, 1932 The Hilldale Daisies were the powerhouse team of the short-lived Eastern Colored League. Their home base was Darby, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia. In 1923, they captured their first league championship.
The next year the Daisies lost the first Colored World Series to the Kansas City Monarchs in a 10-game series, but avenged their defeat the following year, beating KC in six games.
At times, their infield was anchored by future Hall of Famers John Henry "Pop" Lloyd and Judy Johnson. Giants fans also had the pleasure of watching the battery of lefty "Nip" Winters and the jovial "Biz" Mackey, the dean of catchers
- Participated in 1923-27
- Participated in 1929
- Participated in 1932
<back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Homestead Grays
Located first in a small steel town outside of Pittsburgh, they dominated the Eastern baseball scene. From 1937 to 1945, the Grays won nine consecutive league pennants. They were led by future Hall of Famers Josh Gibson (catcher), "Cool" Papa Bell (outfield), Judy Johnson (third base), Buck Leonard (first base) and Cuban great Martin Dihigo (second base, pitcher, outfielder). Their ace pitcher was "Smokey" Joe Williams, who once struck out 27 batters in a 12-inning game.
During World War II, the Grays played their home games at both Forbes Field (Pittsburgh) and Griffith Stadium (Washington, D.C.) when the white Major League clubs were on the road. The Grays traditionally outdrew their white counterparts, the cellar-dwelling Washington Senators.
Unheralded greats included Vic Harris (outfield), Jerry Benjamin (outfield), Howard Easterling (third base), Luke Easter (outfield, first base) and Sam Bankhead (shortstop, second base, outfield). In fact, Bankhead became the first black manager in Minor League Baseball in 1951
|
|
|
|
</ | |
.png)
