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