Black Baseball Entrepreneurs, 1902-1931: The Negro National and Eastern Colored Leagues

3Striving for Professionalism

72 3 Striving for Professionalism H. Walter Schlichter sought to expand his influence in both black and white professional baseball. In 1908, Schlichter became the manager of the Philadelphia club in the newly created Union League. The Union League was a minor league that operated outside of Organized Baseball ’s structure and was classified as an “Outlaw League.” Club owners within the circuit attempted to sign several star players like Ty Cobb from the Major Leagues. Failure to sign them and the disbanding of its three clubs by early June led to the league’s collapse. Schlichter then turned his attention back to black baseball. He promoted the sport’s tremendous progress and along with Sol White organized a tournament among the leading eastern clubs to determine the colored champion. Simultaneously, the NACBC sent three of its member clubs to the Midwest to barnstorm the region for gate receipts. The tour culminated in a controversial series between the Philadelphia Giants and the Leland Giants for black baseball supremacy. Despite their significant progress, conflict emerged among the NACBC organizers. Centralizing power by gaining control of the decision-making process led to an internal conflict between Schlichter and White, resulting in the Giants’ manager leaving the team. White’s departure marked the start of the Quaker club’s fall from prominence. When the NACBC refused to book games with White’s new club, the Quaker Giants, he attempted to persuade Brooklyn Royal Giants’ magnate , John Connor, to withdraw from the NACBC and form a new association . By July 1909, the NACBC was split into two factions. The rift among the NACBC club owners continued to plague the organization during the 1910 season. The NACBC’s top-heavy Striving for Professionalism ◆ 73 administrative approach marginalized managers like White and Grant “Home Run” Johnson who were instrumental in their teams’ success. The scheduling system Nat Strong created began to break down as Cuban Giants’ club owner J. M. Bright began booking his own games. A breach occurred between Brooklyn Royal Giants’ magnate John Connor and his manager, Grant Johnson, which resulted in several players leaving the team. Connor also pondered leaving the organization. As the 1910 season drew to a close, the NACBC was in a state of chaos. The Leland Giants Baseball and Amusement Association continued its significant progress, although like the NACBC, it would experience a split among its officials as a result of its success. The Giants became members of newly formed Chicago City League and finished their excellent 1908 season with a six-game series against the American Association ’s Minneapolis Millers. At the same time, LGBBA organizers expanded their recreation enterprise to include a movie theater, dance hall, and a second restaurant. In 1909, the Lelands continued their success on the diamond. They embarked upon a barnstorming tour of the South, competed in the Chicago City League championship, and played a three-game series with the National League’s Chicago Cubs. Their accomplishments were promoted as a symbol of race pride and racial solidarity through self-help. The LGBBA’s progress led to a rift between Frank Leland, Beauregard Moseley, and Rube Foster. In a hostile takeover, Moseley aligned with Foster to force Leland out of the organization. In response, Leland, along with former association members Robert Jackson and Alvin Garrett , formed the Chicago Giants to compete against his old club for players and gate receipts and contend for the Chicago City League championship. Leland confronted several obstacles to transforming his Giants into an elite touring team, one of which was that the LGBBA took him to court to prohibit him from using the name Leland Giants, and another was the City League’s ban on scheduling games with NACBC clubs. These obstacles did not prevent Leland from obtaining his goal. The Giants’ spring training tour of the South, and its participation in the California Winter League, allowed Frank Leland to reemerge as one of black baseball’s leading entrepreneurs. 74 ◆ Independent Ball, 1902–1920 The breakup in leadership did not hinder Beauregard Moseley’s aspirations for the LGBBA. It purchased a ballpark located within a close proximity of the growing Black Belt and continued to make its imprint upon black community development. To stimulate fan interest, Moseley issued a challenge to determine the “best baseball team in the world.” The Leland Giants embarked upon an eastern barnstorming tour and made...