Chicago American Giants vs. Cleveland Buckeyes Negro American League (1943)

This ticket is from a 1943 Negro American League season game between the Chicago American Giants and the Cleveland Buckeyes. The game was played on Monday, May 31, 1943 at Comiskey Stadium in Chicago, Illinois. This ticket was from a promotional give away conducted by the Birleys Beverages and Chum Company. 



Teams that played in the Negro American League in 1943 and their final league standings were:

                           Chicago American Giants

                           Birmingham Black Barons

                           Cleveland Buckeyes

                           Kansas City Monarchs

                           Cincinnati Clowns

                           Memphis Red Sox 

The Chicago American Giants were founded by the legendary Negro League player and baseball executive Rube Foster in 1911. The team was sold to Dr. J.B. Martin in 1937 when they joined the Negro American League. Over their career in Negro League baseball, the Chicago American Giants played in the following leagues:         

                         Independent                  1911-1919 and 1936

                         Negro National League   1920-1931 and 1933-1935

                         Negro Southern League  1932

                         Negro American League  1937-1952         

Some of the standout players on the 1943 Chicago American Giants team were Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe (player-manager), John Bissant, Sug Cornelius, Ducky Davenport, Gentry Jessup, Art Pennington, Alex Radcliffe and Lonnie Summers.

The Cleveland Buckeyes were organized in 1942 by Ernest Wright as the Cincinnati-Cleveland Buckeyes. They split their schedule between Cincinnati and Cleveland that first year. In 1943 the team moved to Cleveland on a permanent basis. The Buckeyes played in the Negro American League from 1942-1950, only missing the 1949 season. The highlight of the Buckeyes team history was winning the Negro League World Championship under player-manager Quincy Trouppe in 1945. 

Some of the star players on the 1943 Cleveland Buckeyes team were Chet Brewer, Willie Grace, Sam Jethroe, Quincy Smith, Theo Smith Archie Ware and Parnell Woods.

Chet Brewer