Henry Greys Letter Collection (1908-1915)

The Henry Greys Letter Collection may be the most important collection of baseball letters related to black baseball in existence for two reasons. First, it is the largest collection of black baseball letters. There are ninety-four letters (94) in the collection. Second, most of the letters relate to the 1914 and 1915 seasons. These letters provide a detailed profile of the Henry Greys entire seasons for 1914 and 1915. This collection was obtained by the Center for Negro League Baseball Research from the famed Barry Halper Sports Memorabilia Collection.

The Henry Greys that are chronicled in this collection of letters were from Henry, Illinois and played just after the turn of the century. Henry, Illinois is located approximately one hundred and twenty miles south west of Chicago on the Illinois River. The club was run by J.V. Brasfield (Club President) and Walter B. Duke (Manager). They were an independent team that generally played close to home. It appears that they didn’t travel out of the Great Lakes region. From the correspondence in this collection, they had a very loyal fan base. There is mention in several of the letters of the fans taking riverboat trips to attend games. 

Most of the letters detail the Henry Greys’ 1914 and 1915 baseball seasons. The letters are booking and confirming game, dates, locations and other game details.

All the letters are on the team’s letterhead and signed by team officials. This collection of letters emphasizes the scope and range of teams that black independent ball clubs played during this time period. The Henry Greys played some of the biggest powerhouses in black baseball during their day and at the same time played many small local ball clubs. Examples of some of the teams that the Henry Greys played are:

Top teams like:                    Cuban Stars

                                               Chicago Union Giants

                                               All Cubans

                                               Spring Valley Regulars (Louis Murphy)

and local teams like:                     Southside Athletic Club (Chicago)     

                                               Kankakee Browns

                                               Hoosier Creamery

                                               Streater Browns

                                               Come Across Baseball Club

                                               West End B.B.C.

                                               Nebraska Indian Baseball Club

There are also several letters related to booking games from Nate Strong Baseball Enterprises. Nate Strong was the best known and biggest booking agent in black sports during this period of time. Strong ran his sports business from the World Building (which he owned) in New York City. Besides booking teams, he was also involved in running two major Negro League clubs. He served as an officer for the Brooklyn Royal Giants and New York Black Yankees. Strong was also part owner of the Cuban Stars, Brooklyn Bushwicks and Bay Parkways baseball teams.