Independent Teams

With the Negro “Leagues” concentrated predominately in the north and northeast, regional leagues gave hundreds of cities across the country the chance to see professional black baseball on a regular basis. These “Minor” league teams were generally very competitive in their level of talent and on the field performance. Most Negro “Minor” league organizations were just as organized and professionally run as their Negro “League” counterparts in the big northern cities. Many of the teams even had their own ballparks.



Examples of some of the more predominant Negro “Minor” – regional leagues were:

Beaumont Player (c. 1910's)

• Baseball Association of America
• Florida State Negro League
• Florida West Coast Negro League
• Negro American Association
• Negro Carolina League
• Negro Eastern League
• Negro Southern League
• South Texas Negro League
• Texas Negro League
• Texas-Oklahoma-Louisiana Negro League
• West Texas Colored League

Besides providing local fans a steady opportunity to see black baseball, the Negro “Minor” leagues also provided young ball players an opportunity to showcase their talents with the hope of moving up to the Negro National League or Negro American League. These leagues also gave older ball players who had played with the “major” clubs the opportunity to return home and continue to play very competitive baseball. During most of the history of Negro “League” baseball, there generally wasn’t a lot of money to be made by a ball player leaving home and going north to play for one of the “League” teams. The Negro “Minor” league system gave many outstanding ballplayers who didn’t want to leave home the opportunity to stay in their local communities with permanent jobs and still play professional baseball. 

Harrisburg Giants (1954)

Some of the most famous Negro “Minor” League teams were the:

•  Charlotte Black Hornets
• Miami Giants
• Oklahoma Black Indians
•  Dallas Giants
• Monroe Monarchs
• Pepsi Cola Giants
•   Ft. Worth Black Cats
• Nashville Cubs
• San Antonio Black Sox
•  Greensboro Red Wings
• New Orleans Creoles
• Tampa Grays
•  Harrisburg Giants
• New Orleans Black Pelicans
• Winston-Salem Pond Giants

Greensboro Red Wings (1948)