RetroSeasons
RetroSeasons recaps past sports seasons through stories, photos, videos, and stats from every team, league, and stadium in history. Coverage includes the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL, as well as vintage media from defunct teams and leagues.
- Players
- Teams
- Atlanta
- Arizona
- Baltimore
- Boston
- Buffalo
- Calgary
- Carolina
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Edmonton
- Houston
- Indiana
- Jacksonville
- Kansas City
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Louisville
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- Minnesota
- Montreal
- New Orleans
- New York
- Oakland
- Oklahoma
- Orlando
- Ottawa
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- Seattle
- San Francisco
- St. Louis
- Tampa Bay
- Tennessee
- Toronto
- Utah
- Vancouver
- Washington DC
- Winnipeg
- Leagues
- Stadiums
- More
Independent Negro League Teams (Negro)
1887 Negro Teams
Recap
The success of the Cubans led to the creation of the first recognized "Negro league" in 1887—the National Colored Base Ball League. It was organized strictly as a minor league and founded with six teams: Baltimore Lord Baltimores, Boston Resolutes, Louisville Fall City, New York Gorhams, Philadelphia Pythians, and Pittsburgh Keystones. Two more joined before the season but never played a game, the Cincinnati Browns and Washington Capital Citys. The league, led by Walter S. Brown of Pittsburgh, applied for and was granted official minor league status and thus "protection" under the major league-led National Agreement. This move prevented any team in organized baseball from signing any of the NCBBL players, which also locked the players to their particular teams within the league. The reserve clause would have tied the players to their clubs from season to season but the NCBBL failed. One month into the season, the Resolutes folded. A week later, only three teams were left.
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I sincerely appreciate the research work, and the information being shared. It is important and interesting history.