Negro Southern League (1920–1936)
Introduction The '''Negro Southern League''' (NSL) was one of the several Negro baseball leagues created during the time organized baseball was segregated. The NSL was organized as a minor league in 1920 and lasted until 1936.It was considered a major league for the 1932 season and it was also the only organized league to finish its full schedule that season (primarily due to the Great Depression). Prior to the season, several established teams joined the NSL, mainly from the collapsed Negro National League.
League history ===Founding===The Negro Southern League was a Negro baseball league organized by Tom Wilson in 1920 as a minor league. Leagues in the depression-era Southern United States were far less organized and lucrative than those in the north, owing to a smaller population base and a lower standard of living. The NSL operated on an irregular basis as each season's schedule was depended upon the availability of the more prominent team owners who were quick to seek more profitable avenues whenever possible.===Hiatuses===The NSL did not organize a schedule for the 1924, 1925 or 1928 seasons due to the Birmingham Black Barons and Memphis Red Sox participating in the Negro National League those years. The remaining NSL teams all played independent schedules those years. The 1929 season was poorly attended and teams struggled to complete their schedules; Birmingham and Memphis did not participate. For the 1930 season, the Nashville Elite Giants and Louisville Black Caps left for the NNL; this, and the continued absence of Birmingham and Memphis, led to the 1930 season being scrapped. The remaining NSL teams played independent schedules that year, while the New Orleans Caulfield Ads moved to the Texas–Louisiana League.===Level of play===For most of its existence, the NSL was considered a minor league, with some teams providing talent to more profitable Negro league teams. The most notable example is the Monroe Monarchs acting as a farm team for the Kansas City Monarchs.The Negro National League collapsed for good after the 1931 season and many players (and two teams) migrated to the NSL. The Great Depression had decimated the profits of most Negro league teams and only a few organized Negro leagues survived; the newly formed East-West League also folded in mid-1932.The NSL was considered the highest quality surviving league and it therefore became the ''de facto'' major league for the 1932 season. The NSL was the only organized league to complete their full schedule.With the creation of a new Negro National League in 1933, many players and some teams left the NSL and it slipped back into being regarded as having minor league status.===Legacy===When the NSL collapsed for the last time after the 1936 season, some of its member teams folded as well, but a handful of the teams continued on. The Nashville Elite Giants excelled in the new Negro National League for years, while the Memphis Red Sox and Birmingham Black Barons excelled in the Negro American League, which was newly organized in time for the 1937 season and absorbed some NSL teams when the league collapsed.On the eve of integration in 1945, a new minor Negro league was organized with teams in the South; it assumed the name of the old league and also called itself the Negro Southern League. This second NSL lasted until 1951.
Negro Southern League franchises Eight franchises competed in what many consider the first "minor league" season in 1920.They were the Montgomery Grey Sox, Atlanta Black Crackers, New Orleans Caulfield Ads, Knoxville Giants, Birmingham Black Barons, Nashville White Sox, Pensacola Giants and Jacksonville Stars. Below is a list of teams that competed in the Negro Southern League. '''Negro Southern League (1920–1923, 1926–1927, 1929, 1931–1936)''' Team  Years in league  Notes Knoxville Giants  1920–1922, 1931–1932  • Only played in 2nd half of 1932 season and just as an associate team Montgomery Grey Sox  1920–1922, 1926,1931–1933, 1935–36  • Also known as '''Gray Sox'''• Replaced Monroe Monarchs during 1st half of 1933 Atlanta Black Crackers  1920–21, 1926–27,1929, 1932, 1935–36  • Alternately called '''Cubs''' 1st half of 1926• Called '''Grey Sox''' 1929 Birmingham Black Barons  1920–21, 1923, 1926,1931–32, 1934–1936  • Only played in 1st half of 1932 season New Orleans Caulfield Ads  1920–1922, 1926,1929, 1935  • Also called '''Black Pelicans''' 1st half of 1926• Only played 1st half of 1922 season Jacksonville Stars  1920   Pensacola Giants  1920   Nashville Elite Giants  1921–1923, 1926–27,1929, 1931–32   Nashville White Sox  1920  • Possibly same franchise as or related to Elite Giants Chattanooga Tigers  1921–22   Chattanooga  1920  • Associate team only• Possibly same franchise as or related to Tigers  Louisville  1920  • Associate team only Memphis Red Sox  1920–1923, 1926, 1931–1936  • Associate team 1920 Bessemer (AL) Stars  1921  • Only played in 1st half of season Gadsden (AL) Giants  1921  • Only played in 1st half of season Mobile Braves  1921  • Only played in 1st half of season New Orleans Crescent Stars  1922–23, 1933–34  • Replaced Caulfield Ads for 2nd half of 1922 season Louisville Stars  1922  • Also called '''White Sox''' Albany (GA) Giants  1926   Chattanooga Black Lookouts  1926–27, 1929,1931, 1935–36  • Called '''White Sox''' for 1st half of 1926 season• Called '''Black Cats''' for 1929 season Evansville Reichert Giants  1927, 1929  • Called '''Evansville Louis Reichert Giants''' 1927 Bessemer (AL) Grey Sox  1927   Hopkinsville (KY) Athletics  1927, 1936  • The 1927 and 1936 teams are possibly separate teams• Only played 1st half of 1936 season Jackson (TN) Cubs  1927   Louisville Black Caps  1929, 1932  • Also called '''Black Cats''' 1929• Disbanded mid-season 1932 Atlanta Panthers  1931  • Only played in 2nd half of season Columbus Turfs  1932  • Replaced Louisville Black Caps for 2nd half of season Cole's American Giants  1932   Monroe Monarchs  1932–1934  • Only played 1st half of 1933 season Little Rock Grays  1932   Little Rock Black Travelers  1931  • Dropped out before end of 1931 season Indianapolis ABCs  1932   Cleveland Cubs  1932   Lexington (KY) Hard Hitters  1932  • Replaced Birmingham Black Barons during 1st half of season Kansas City Monarchs  1932  • Associate team only Alcoa Aluminum Sluggers  1932  • Only played in 2nd half of season and just as an associate team Shreveport Cubs  1933   Algiers (LA) Giants  1933   Little Rock Stars  1933   Jackson (TN) Senators  1933  • Also called '''Bear Cats'''• Only played 1st half of season Alexandria (LA) Lincoln Giants  1933   Pine Bluff (AR) Boosters  1933  • Replaced Jackson Senators for 2nd half of season Cincinnati Tigers  1934, 1936   Atlanta Athletics  1934   Claybrook (AR) Tigers  1935   Louisville Caps  1934  • Also called '''Black Sox''' Nashville Black Vols  1936  • Also called '''Elite Giants'''*Note: An "associate team" is one who is not a member of the league, but games played against them by league teams count in the league standings.===1932: Major league status===Eight franchises competed in the league in 1932, the sole season the Negro Southern League was considered a major Negro league:* Atlanta Black Crackers* Cole's American Giants* Indianapolis ABCs* Louisville Black Caps; moved to Columbus and became the Columbus Turfs during the 1932 season* Memphis Red Sox* Monroe Monarchs* Montgomery Grey Sox* Nashville Elite Giants===Member timeline===Below is a timeline of teams that played more than one season in the NSL:DateFormat = yyyyImageSize = width:800 height:400PlotArea = left:20 right:50 bottom:20 top:20Colors = id:majorGridColor value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:lineColor   value:gray(0.6) id:nl1         value:gray(0.9) id:inactive    value:gray(0.5) id:gold        value:rgb(0.99,0.72,0.15) id:brown       value:rgb(0.36,0.20,0.10) id:vegasgold   value:rgb(0.80,0.72,0.49) id:green       value:rgb(0,   0.51,0.28) id:darkgreen   value:rgb(0,   0.20,0) id:orange      value:rgb(1   ,0.39,0) id:redorange      value:rgb(1   ,0.20,0) id:red         value:rgb(0.80,0.01,0.07) id:red2        value:rgb(0.90,0.01,0.07) id:darkred     value:rgb(0.50,0   ,0) id:iceblue     value:rgb(0.20,0.60,0.80) id:lgray        value:gray(0.1) id:gray        value:gray(0.3) id:gray2       value:gray(0.5) id:sand        value:rgb(0.94,0.89,0.77) id:navy        value:rgb(0   ,0   ,0.30) id:teal        value:rgb(0   ,0.65,0.65) id:teal2       value:rgb(0   ,0.45,0.45)Period = from:1920 till:1937TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyyScaleMajor = start:1920 increment:1 gridcolor:majorGridColorBarData = bar:KNX   # Knoxville Giants bar:MTG   # Montgomery Grey Sox bar:ATL   # Atlanta Black Crackers bar:BRM   # Birmingham Black Barons bar:NOA   # New Orleans Caulfield Ads bar:NSH   # Nashville Elite Giants bar:CHT   # Chattanooga Tigers bar:MEM   # Memphis Red Sox bar:NOC   # New Orleans Crescent Stars bar:CBL   # Chattanooga Black Lookouts bar:EVN   # Evansville Reichert Giants bar:LOU   # Louisville Black Caps bar:MNR   # Monroe MonarchsDefine $Up = shift:(,1)Define $Left = anchor:from align:right shift:(-1,)Define $Right = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,)Define $Right2 = anchor:till align:right shift:(-25,)Define $Down = shift:(,-10)Define $UpLeft = anchor:from align:right shift:(-1,1)Define $UpLeft2 = anchor:from align:left shift:(-1,1)Define $UpRight2 = anchor:till align:right shift:(-1,1)Define $UpRight = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,1)Define $DownRight = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,-10)Define $DownLeft = anchor:from align:left shift:(2,-10)Define $UpUpRight = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,10)PlotData =  color:inactive textcolor:black width:20 fontsize:S mark:(line,black) anchor:middle # other options are anchor:from anchor:till align:center  # other options are align:left  align:right shift:(0,-5)# Note on dates: A team's bar begins with the season that team played its first game, and ends with the season after that team played its last game. For example, the Cleveland Tate Stars played their first game in 1922 and played their last game in 1923.Therefore, their bar goes from 1922 to 1924.bar:KNX  from:1920 till:1923 color:orange       text:"                "                           $Right bar:KNX  from:1931 till:1933 color:orange       text:"Knoxville Giants"                                   $Right2 bar:MTG  from:1920 till:1923 color:oceanblue    text:"                "                           $Right bar:MTG  from:1926 till:1927 color:oceanblue    text:"                "                           $Right bar:MTG  from:1931 till:1934 color:oceanblue    text:"                "                           $Right bar:MTG  from:1935 till:1937 color:oceanblue    text:"Montgomery Grey Sox"                        $Right2 bar:ATL  from:1920 till:1922 color:yellow        text:"                "                           $Right bar:ATL  from:1926 till:1928 color:yellow        text:"                "                           $Right bar:ATL  from:1929 till:1930 color:yellow        text:"                "                           $Right bar:ATL  from:1932 till:1933 color:yellow        text:"                "                           $Right bar:ATL  from:1935 till:1937 color:yellow        text:"Atlanta Black Crackers"                   $Right2 bar:BRM  from:1920 till:1922 color:gold       text:"      "                                            $Right bar:BRM  from:1923 till:1924 color:gold       text:"      "                                            $Right bar:BRM  from:1926 till:1927 color:gold       text:"      "                                            $Right bar:BRM  from:1931 till:1933 color:gold       text:"      "                                            $Right bar:BRM  from:1934 till:1937 color:gold       text:"Birmingham Black Barons"                                      $Right2 bar:NOA  from:1920 till:1923 color:iceblue      text:"      "                                            $Right bar:NOA  from:1926 till:1927 color:iceblue      text:"      "                                            $Right bar:NOA  from:1929 till:1930 color:iceblue      text:"      "                                            $Right bar:NOA  from:1935 till:1936 color:iceblue      text:"New Orleans Caulfield Ads"                                         $Right2 bar:NSH  from:1921 till:1924 color:green        text:"      "                                            $Right bar:NSH  from:1926 till:1928 color:green        text:"      "                                            $Right bar:NSH  from:1929 till:1930 color:green        text:"      "                                            $Right bar:NSH  from:1931 till:1933 color:green        text:"Nashville Elite Giants"                                      $Right2 bar:CHT  from:1921 till:1923 color:red            text:"Chattanooga Tigers"                              $Right2 bar:MEM  from:1921 till:1924 color:vegasgold      text:"      "                                            $Right bar:MEM  from:1926 till:1927 color:vegasgold      text:"      "                                            $Right bar:MEM  from:1931 till:1937 color:vegasgold      text:"Memphis Red Sox"                                         $Right2 bar:NOC  from:1922 till:1924 color:redorange    text:"      "                                            $Right bar:NOC  from:1933 till:1935 color:redorange    text:"New Orleans Crescent Stars"                                       $Right2 bar:CBL  from:1926 till:1928 color:skyblue      text:"      "                                            $Right bar:CBL  from:1929 till:1930 color:skyblue      text:"      "                                            $Right bar:CBL  from:1931 till:1932 color:skyblue      text:"      "                                            $Right bar:CBL  from:1935 till:1937 color:skyblue      text:"Chattanooga Black Lookouts"                                    $Right2 bar:EVN  from:1927 till:1928 color:kelleygreen  text:"      "                                            $Right bar:EVN  from:1929 till:1930 color:kelleygreen  text:"Evansville Reichert Giants"                                      $Right2 bar:LOU  from:1929 till:1930 color:teal         text:"      "                                            $Right bar:LOU  from:1932 till:1933 color:teal         text:"Louisville Black Caps"                                        $Right2 bar:MNR  from:1932 till:1935 color:yelloworange    text:"Monroe Monarchs"                                    $Right2LineData =  layer:front                                              at:1924                       color:black  at:1926                       color:black  at:1928                       color:black  at:1929                       color:black  at:1930                       color:black  at:1931                       color:black*'''1920''' – Formation of NSL consisting of 8 teams: Montgomery Grey Sox, Atlanta Black Crackers, New Orleans Caulfield Ads, Knoxville Giants, Birmingham Black Barons, Nashville White Sox, Pensacola Giants and Jacksonville Stars. *'''1921''' – Dropped: Nashville White Sox, Pensacola Giants and Jacksonville Stars; Added: Nashville Elite Giants, Memphis Red Sox and Chattanooga Tigers. *'''1922''' – Dropped: Atlanta Black Crackers, Birmingham Black Barons and New Orleans Caulfield Ads (mid-June); Added: Louisville Stars and New Orleans Crescent Stars (mid-June). *'''1923''' – Dropped: Knoxville Giants, Louisville Stars, Montgomery Grey Sox and Chattanooga Tigers; Added: Birmingham Black Barons. *'''(1924)''' – ''no schedule played''*'''(1925)''' – ''no schedule played''*'''1926''' – Dropped: New Orleans Crescent Stars; Added: New Orleans Caulfield Ads, Albany Giants, Montgomery Grey Sox, Atlanta Black Crackers and Chattanooga Black Lookouts. *'''1927''' – Dropped: Birmingham Black Barons, Memphis Red Sox, Albany Giants, Montgomery Grey Sox and New Orleans Caulfield Ads; Added: Evansville Louis Reichert Giants, Bessemer Grey Sox, Hopkinsville Athletics and Jackson Cubs. *'''(1928)''' – ''no schedule played''*'''1929''' – Dropped: Bessemer Grey Sox, Hopkinsville Athletics and Jackson Cubs; Added: Louisville Black Caps and New Orleans Caulfield Ads. *'''(1930)''' – ''no schedule played''*'''1931''' – Dropped: Evansville Louis Reichert Giants, Atlanta Black Crackers, Louisville Black Caps and New Orleans Caulfield Ads; Added: Birmingham Black Barons, Memphis Red Sox, Knoxville Giants and Montgomery Grey Sox. *'''1932''' – Dropped: Chattanooga Black Lookouts and Knoxville Giants; Added: Cole's American Giants, Monroe Monarchs, Little Rock Grays, Louisville Black Caps, Indianapolis ABC's, Atlanta Black Crackers and Cleveland Cubs. *'''1933''' – Dropped: Cole's American Giants, Nashville Elite Giants, Little Rock Grays, Louisville Black Caps, Indianapolis ABC's, Birmingham Black Barons, Atlanta Black Crackers and Cleveland Cubs; Added: Little Rock Stars, New Orleans Crescent Stars, Shreveport Cubs, Algiers Giants, Jackson Senators and Alexandria Lincoln Giants. *'''1934''' – Dropped: Little Rock Stars, Shreveport Cubs, Algiers Giants, Jackson Senators and Alexandria Lincoln Giants; Added: Cincinnati Tigers, Birmingham Black Barons and Louisville Caps. *'''1935''' – Dropped: Monroe Monarchs, Louisville Caps, Cincinnati Tigers and New Orleans Crescent Stars; Added: Claybrook Tigers, New Orleans Caulfield Ads, Atlanta Black Crackers, Chattanooga Black Lookouts and Montgomery Grey Sox. *'''1936''' – Dropped: Claybrook Tigers and New Orleans Caulfield Ads; Added: Cincinnati Tigers, Nashville Black Vols and Hopkinsville Athletics. League fell apart before second-half ended.
League champions Most seasons were split in halves, with the winner of the first half of the season playing the winner of the second half of the season in a formal league play-off that decided the Pennant winner. For some years it is unclear if a split season was played and if the second half schedule was completed. In the below list, the first half winner is noted with a raised "1" and the second half winner is noted with a raised "2".===Pennant winners===* 1920: Montgomery Grey Sox* 1921: Nashville Elite Giants* 1922: Nashville Elite Giants* 1923: Birmingham Black Barons* (1924): ''no schedule played''* (1925): ''no schedule played''* 1926: Birmingham Black Barons* 1927: Chattanooga Black Lookouts* (1928): ''no schedule played''* 1929: Nashville Elite Giants* (1930): ''no schedule played''* 1931: Nashville Elite Giants* 1932: Cole's American Giants* 1933: Memphis Red Sox(1st half) /New Orleans Crescent Stars(2nd half)* 1934: Undetermined* 1935: Claybrook Tigers* 1936: Birmingham Black Barons===League playoffs===* 1921: Nashville Elite Giants defeated Montgomery Grey Sox, 4g-1g* 1926: Birmingham Black Barons1 defeated Memphis Red Sox2, 5g-2g (3 ties)* 1932: Cole's American Giants1 defeated Nashville Elite Giants2, 5g-3g* 1935: Claybrook Tigers2 defeated Memphis Red Sox1, 4g-3g;Notes:===Negro Dixie Series===The Negro Dixie Series was an informal "championship" series between a top NSL team and the champion of one of the various Texas-based Negro leagues. Oddly, the NSL participant was usually not the league champion. * 1927: Nashville Elite Giants (NSL) defeated Dallas Black Giants (of the Negro Texas League), 4g-1g* 1931: Monroe Monarchs (of the Texas–Louisiana Negro League) defeated Nashville Elite Giants (NSL), no details* 1932: Monroe Monarchs (NSL) defeated Austin (of the Texas–Louisiana Negro League), 4g-2g* 1933: New Orleans Crescent Stars (NSL) ''tied'' Nashville Elite Giants (of the NNL2), 4g-4g** 1933 (first round): New Orleans Crescent Stars defeated Houston Black Buffaloes (of the Negro Texas League), 4g-0gAfter the completion of the 1933 Negro Dixie Series, the Chicago American Giants challenged the Crescent Stars to a "self-proclaimed" Negro World Series. The American Giants had their claim to the NNL first-half title dismissed by the league president, who also happened to be the owner of the team who did claim the first-half title (Pittsburgh Crawfords). In response, Chicago held their own championship series, and defeated the Crescent Stars, 5 games to 1.
References
External links *  Negro Southern League Museum*  Negro Southern League Museum Research Center