Chicago Brown Bombers vs Pittsburgh Crawfords
United States League (1945)
This program is from a game played between the Chicago Brown Bombers and the Pittsburgh Crawfords of the United States League (USL). The game was played at Nicollet Ball Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Stadium officials at Nicollet Park used programs from the Minneapolis Millers, printed up lineup cards for both USL teams and pasted these in the scorecard section of the program.
The United States League was started by Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers (Major League Baseball) in 1945. Gus Greenlee, who was the former owner of the Pittsburgh Crawfords, assisted Rickey in the venture. Public opinion was that Rickey started the league to scout Negro League talent. The league folded after the first season. Teams that played in the United States League were:
Boston Blues |
(Tom Parker – manager) |
Brooklyn Brown Dodgers |
(Branch Rickey – owner) |
Chicago Brown Bombers |
|
Cleveland Clippers |
(Jim Bender – manager) |
Detroit Motor City Giants |
(William “Dizzy” Dismukes – manager) |
Hilldale Giants |
|
Pittsburgh Crawfords |
(Gus Greenlee – owner) |
Toledo Rays |
(William “Pee Wee” Spencer – manager) |
The staring lineup and batting order for the Chicago Brown Bombers were:
Morehead |
catcher |
Turner |
third base |
Walker |
second base |
Noble |
right field |
Rhodes |
first base |
Ray |
left field |
Wyatt |
short stop |
Smith |
center field |
Mitchell |
pitcher |
The Pittsburgh Crawfords were managed by former Negro League great Roy “Red” Parnell. The starting lineup and batting order for this game for the Crawfords were:
Petroff |
first base |
Daniels |
third base |
Jimmy Johnson |
shortstop |
Boot Smith |
second base |
Fred Morefield |
left field |
Gabriel Patterson |
right field |
Jorge Almagro |
center field |
Eudie Napier |
catcher |
Cecil Kaiser |
pitcher |
Chicago Brown Bombers vs. Pittsburg Crawfords
Starting Line-up Card