Negro leagues were professional baseball leagues formed for Black players who were barred from white-controlled baseball because of racial segregation. The Negro leagues operated from 1920 to 1962.
An all-Black professional baseball team existed as early as 1885. For many years, Black teams played one another as independent teams. They also played all-white teams in exhibition games. In 1920, Rube Foster, the owner of a Black team, the Chicago American Giants, founded the Negro National League (NNL). Several other all-Black leagues formed during the 1920’s and early 1930’s. However, most failed for economic reasons.
The NNL operated successfully until 1931. After that, the two dominant leagues were a new Negro National League (1933-1948) and the Negro American League (1937-1962). The two leagues played an annual World Series and an all-star game.
In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first Black player in modern major league baseball. After Robinson’s success with the Brooklyn Dodgers, major league teams quickly signed star players from the Negro leagues, leading to the end of those leagues.
Baseball historians agree that many players in the Negro leagues would have starred in the white leagues. Veteran players from the Negro leagues who succeeded in the major leagues included Roy Campanella, Larry Doby, and Satchel Paige. Stars who spent their entire careers in the Negro leagues included Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, and Buck Leonard.
In 2020, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that the Negro leagues will be raised to major league status. MLB planned to review the statistics and records of the approximately 3,400 players who played in the Negro leagues from 1920 to 1948 and incorporate them into major league historical records.
