The Negro Leagues' Best Baseball Clubs: #2: Homestead Grays

Top 15 Negro League Teams

#2: Homestead Grays 

League Affiliation: Negro National League

Established: 1900

Folded: 1951

Based in: Pittsburgh, PA

 

1939 Homestead Grays

                The Homestead Grays were formed in Pittsburgh at the beginning of the twentieth century. They were first known as the Germantown Blue Ribbons and played mostly sandlot baseball for the first ten years of their existence. In 1911, they changed their name to the Murdock Grays, and changed that to the Homestead Grays in 1912.

                They remained an independent team until 1929 when they joined the American Negro League in 1929 but only played one season before becoming independent again. They became members of the East-West League for one year in 1932, then joined the second Negro National League in 1935 where they would remain until the league folded in 1948.

                They would win nine consecutive NNL Pennants from 1937 until 1945. They would win again in 1948 to make it a total of ten and were also victorious in the Negro World Series in 1943, 1944 and 1948, by beating the winners of the Negro American League.

                After the NNL folded after the 1948 season, the Grays once again became an independent team but struggled to find financial success and disbanded in May of 1951.

                Notable players included “Cool Papa” Bell, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Buck Leonard and “Smokey” Joe Williams.