The Pittsburgh Crawfords were one of the Negro League’s best and most exciting teams. At the heart of the line-up were five men who would go on to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Satchel Paige, one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history; Josh Gibson, a hitting catcher who rivaled Babe Ruth; Cool Papa Bell, one of the game’s fastest runners; Oscar Charleston, perhaps one of the all-around best players; and Judy Johnson, a skilled third baseman. This work takes a close look at the lives and careers of these men and others who played for the Crawfords, all of whom together built one of the greatest teams ever to play the game. Also included are comparisons between the Crawfords and the 1927 “Murderer’s Row” New York Yankees, the Negro National League standings (1933–1938), and statistics about the players and team records.

Freelance writer and researcher Jim Bankes lives in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Jim Bankes
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 176
Bibliographic Info: photos, appendices, tables, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2001
pISBN: 978-0-7864-0992-1
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8305-1
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

1. Darling Rube      3
2. Kings of the Hill      13
3. Big Red’s Dream      19
4. Master Satch      27
5. The Black Bomber      36
6. Cool Papa      43
7. Lion Eyes      53
8. Mr. Sunshine      61
9. Swing Time      70
10. The Black Mafia      76
11. A Brotherhood      83
12. The East-West Classic      93
13. Voodoo Moon      104
14. An Early Frost      112
15. The Pathfinder      119
16. The Memories      128

Epilogue      145
Appendix I. A Comparison of the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the 1927 Murderer’s Row New York Yankees      147
Appendix II. Negro National League Standings, 1933–1938      153
Appendix III. Pittsburgh Crawfords in the East-West Classic, 1933–1938      156
Appendix IV. Pittsburgh Crawfords Statistics      158
Interviews      160

Bibliography      161
Index      163

“stolidly traces the rise and fall of the squad that many consider to have been the finest outside of the major[s]”—Choice; “detailed…. Firsthand stories from interviews with Johnson, Paige, Bell, Buck Leonard and Effa Manley enhance the history”—Sports Collectors Digest.