INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 BLACK BASEBALL, BLACK ENTREPRENEURS, BLACK COMMUNITY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Michael E. Lomax, B.Ed., M.A. ***** Dissertation Committee: Approved By Melvin Adelman Nancy Wardwell Marshall Stevenson Advisor School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation UMI Number: 9710611 Copyright 1996 by Lomax, Michael Eugene All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9710611 Copyright 1997, hy UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition Is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Copyright by Michael Eugene Lomax 1996 ABSTRACT During the 1980s, popular and professional historians of baseball gave increased attention to the black experience in the national pastime. This scholarship has enhanced our knowledge of black involvement in baseball, examined the trials and triumphs of black ballplayers and extolled their competency as they confronted racist America. Their research has also pointed to the connection between black baseball and black community, particularly emphasizing how the game served as a unifying element to communities in transition and how it influenced to bridge class distinctions. While these efforts have dramatically expanded our knowledge, their approaches in examining black baseball has been problematic. Essentially, their approaches limits our comprehension of the structure of black baseball and the multiple meanings the game has had for African-Americans. A major deficiency is the overwhelming emphasis on the experience of players and the game on the field. While they have noted the connection between black baseball and black community, most of the research, ii especially in popular works, has neglected to analyze this linkage. While some academics state that black baseball served as a unifying element and a bridge in class distinctions, their vision is based on limited case studies, presenting a monolithic response within the black community, and is generally more stated than substantiated. Part and parcel of these deficiencies is the virtual absence of any analysis which intersect the role of local businessmen and communal patterns with the development of black baseball. This study examines the interconnection between black baseball, the black community, and the black entrepreneurs, from 1880 to 1 930. It analyzes the forces that led to the professionalization of black baseball and the creation of both the Negro National and the Eastern Colored Leagues. Three themes serve to unify the narrative: (1) the role of local entrepreneurs in the organization and development of the structure of black baseball; (2) black baseball's relationship with black community development; and (3) the rise and eventual demise of both the Negro National League and the Eastern Colored League in the 1920s. Ill ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study would have never been written without the help and encouragement of many people. But first, I want to give honor to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without Christ operating in my life none of this would have been possible. I feel a special debt to my father and mother Donald F. and Ollie Scott, who shared their time and moral support with a prospective scholar who had nothing else to talk about but this study on the weekends. The moral support provided by the congregation of World Peace Tabernacle in Xenia, Ohio has been invaluable these past four years. Melvin Adelman has been involved, providing his expertise in devising the framework and through a line by line edit of the initial manuscript. Marshall Stevenson, Paulette Pierce, and Nancy Wardwell have all reviewed the manuscript at one stage or another and forced me to think through ideas and conclusions in need of refinement. A special thanks goes to the interlibrary loan staff at Ohio State, who replied and located numerous sources for this IV study. Without the encouragement and support of the aforementioned, this study would have never seen the light of day. VITA November 17, 1956............ Born - Columbus, Ohio 1 990........................ B.S. Physical Education, Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio 1 992........................ M.S. Physical Education, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1 993 - present.............. Graduate Teaching Assistant, The Ohio State University FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Sport Studies VI TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT........................................... ü ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................... iv VITA............................................... Vi INTRODUCTION....................................... 1 PART ONE: FROM SLAVERY TO "MONEY PERIOD" INTRODUCTION....................................... 22 CHAPTER PAGE I. BLACK BASEBALL BEGINNINGS: FROM SLAVERY TO EMANCIPATION.............................. 24 II. INDEPENDENT BALL: THE RISE OF SEMIPROFESSIONAL BASEBALL, THE BIRTH OF THE CUBAN GIANTS AND THE GORHAMS OF NEW YORK................... 45 III. LEAGUE AFFILIATION: ORGANIZED BASEBALL'S "PECULIAR INSTITUTION," THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE BLACK INDEPENDENTS............ 94 PART TWO: BLACK BASEBALL IN THE AGE OF BOOKER T. INTRODUCTION...................................... 158 CHAPTER PAGE IV. BLACK BASEBALL, BLACK MIGRATION, AND GHETTOIZATION 1890-1915................... 162 V. WHITE SEMIPROFESSIONALS ORGANIZE: BLACK BASEBALL IN NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA..... 207 VI. THE RISE OF ANDREW "RUBE" FOSTER........... 252 Vll PART THREE: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE NEGRO NATIONAL AND EASTERN COLORED LEAGUES INTRODUCTION...................................... 287 CHAPTER PAGE VII. BLACK BASEBALL AND THE GREAT MIGRATION 191 5-1 920.......................... 290 VIII. PITFALLS OF BLACK BASEBALL: THE FORMATION OF THE NEGRO NATIONAL LEAGUE 1920-1922....... 326 IX. BLACK BASEBALL WAR: THE FORMATION OF THE EASTERN COLORED LEAGUE 1 923-24............ 362 X. THE SEEDS OF DECLINE 1925-26.............. 399 XI. 1927-28 REORGANIZATION: THE EASTERN COLORED LEAGUE DISBANDS............................ 441 XII. DECLINE AND FALL 1 929-30................... 469 CONCLUSION................................. 497 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................... 508 v iix INTRODUCTION During the 1980s, popular and professional historians of baseball gave increased attention to the black experience in the national pastime. This scholarship has enhanced our knowledge of black involvement in baseball, examined the trials and triumphs of black ballplayers and extolled their competency as they confronted racist America. Their research has also pointed to the connection between black baseball and black community, particularly emphasizing how the game served as a unifying element to communities in transition and how it influenced to bridge class distinctions. While these efforts have dramatically expanded our knowledge, their approaches in examining black baseball has been problematic. Essentially, their orientation limits our comprehension of the structure of black baseball and the multiple meanings the game has had for African Americans. A major deficiency is the overwhelming emphasis on the experience of players and the game on the field. While they have noted the connection between black baseball and black community, most of the research, especially in 1 popular works, has neglected to analyze this linkage. While some academics state that black baseball served as a unifying element and a bridge in class distinctions, their vision is based on limited case studies, presenting a monolithic response within the black community, and is generally more stated than substantiated. Part and parcel of these deficiencies is the virtual absence of any analysis which intersect the role of local businessmen and communal patterns with the development of black baseball. This study examines the interconnection between black baseball, the black community, and the black entrepreneurs, from 1880 to 1930. It analyzes the forces that led to the professionalization