Barons Cap, 1948
This date in 1924 celebrates the Birmingham Black Barons baseball organization. They were one of many Negro League Baseball teams of the 20th century.
More than 30 Midwest, Northeast, and South communities were home to these franchises organized into six different leagues. Coming up from Birmingham's active industrial leagues in 1920, the club became a charter franchise in the Negro South League. Through its long history, the club was associated with the Negro Southern League, Negro National League, and Negro American League.
The team's prime time came in the 1940s when, as members of the Negro American League, the Black Barons fielded exceptionally strong teams featuring such stars as Piper Davis, Lester Lockett, Artie Wilson, and Ed Steele. These strong squads captured the league title in 1943, 1944, and 1947. None of these pennants, however, led to a Negro World Championship crown as the club lost to the powerful Homestead Grays in each series.
The Black Barons formed a cornerstone of professional Negro baseball in the American South for over 30 years. They ended the operation in 1950.
The Negro Baseball Leagues: A Photographic History
By Phil Dixon with Patrick J. Hannigan
Copyright 1992, Jed Clauss and Joanna Paulsen
Ameron House Publishing
ISBN 0-88488-0425-2
