The Baltimore Black Sox

Providing a comprehensive history of the Baltimore Black Sox from before the team’s founding in 1913 through its demise in 1936, this history examines the social and cultural forces that gave birth to the club and informed its development. The author describes aspects of Baltimore’s history in the first decades of the 20th century, details the team’s year-by-year performance, explores front-office and management dynamics and traces the shaping of the Negro Leagues. The history of the Black Sox’s home ballparks and of the people who worked for the team both on and off the field are included.

Bernard McKenna is an English professor at the University of Delaware.

Bernard McKenna
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 212
Bibliographic Info: 55 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2020
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7771-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4019-8
Imprint: McFarland

Preface 1
1. Baltimore, Baseball and Race in the Athletic Revival 9
2. The Foundations: 1905–12 32
3. The Baltimore Black Sox: 1913–17 45
4. “Brains and Money”: 1917–20 56
5. “We have kept our promise to you”: 1921–22 77
6. “On the map for colored baseball”: 1923–26 96
7. Building a Champion: 1927–31 122
8. The Now Extinct Baltimore Black Sox: 1932–36 144
9. “Called on account of darkness” 158
Appendix: Black Sox Team Records, 1913–36 167
Chapter Notes 169
Bibliography 195
Index 199

• “McKenna’s magnum opus is yet another jewel in a long line of McFarland’s outstanding Negro League team chronicles.”—SABR Deadball Era Committee Newsletter

• “Explore the travels of Crab City’s Black Sox, one of the original entries into the Eastern Colored League, and why their infield was valued at a million dollars.”—Larry Lester, chairman of SABR’s Negro Leagues Research Committee