The Negro Leagues' Best Baseball Clubs: #11: Detroit Stars

Top 15 Negro League Teams

#11: Detroit Stars

League Affiliation: Negro National League

Established: 1919

Folded: 1931

Based in: Detroit, Michigan

1921 Detroit Stars

                 The original version of the Detroit Stars was formed as an independent team in 1919, joined the Negro National League in 1920 and folded at the end of the 1931 season. There were three attempts to start the franchise again. The experiments of 1933 and 1937 failed, while the third attempt had a bit more success (1954-1961) but the Negro Leagues by that point were not much more than minor leagues.

                The Stars were founded by Tenny Blount, and they immediately became one of the best teams in Black Baseball. They were a charter member of the first Negro National League in 1920, and finished in second place with a 35-23 record. But they never achieved more success than that. Two more second place finishes occurred, but the Stars were never good enough to win the Pennant.

                The team disbanded when the NLL collapsed after the 1931 season. The first attempt to re-incarnate the Stars happened in 1933, joining the second Negro National League, but the experiment only lasted on year. In 1937, there was another effort to get the Stars going again, this time in the Negro American League. Again, the club lasted all of one year.

                Some notable players for the Detroit Stars included: Joe “Prince” Henry, Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe, Norman “Turkey” Stearnes and Sam Crawford.

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