African Americans in South Texas History

The Houston Eagles andthe End of the Negro Leagues

The Houston Eagles and the End of the Negro leagues rOB FINK AFrICAN AMErICAN BAsEBAll IN TExAs HAD a brief but vibrant history.From the unaffiliated semiprofessional teams that existed around the state to theTexas-Oklahoma-louisiana league,baseball remained a constant aspect of African American life in Texas.In 1949,black professional baseball came toTexas in the form of the Houston Eagles of the Negro American league (NAl).The Eagles ’ arrival came as part of a last-ditch effort by owners of black teams to compete with the then-integrating Major league clubs. Given the state’s role in the creation of the first black league by rube Foster, and the rise of prominent players including Willie Wells and “smokey” Joe Williams,it is perhaps fitting thatTexas played a role in the end of African American baseball. Indeed in many ways the story of the Houston Eagles offers closure for both a league and an era. In the years afterWorldWar II,baseball experienced wide-spread popularity around the country.Major league players likeTedWilliams and Joe DiMaggio returned from combat, and their return to baseball rekindled America’s love of the game.Black baseball too saw a brief resurgence after the war. Players such as Max Manning of the Newark Eagles returned from the armed forces,while others,likeWillieWells,returned from latin America. In Texas, black baseball got caught up in the same postwar excitement . Owing to an absence of players and fans, many of Texas’ black semiprofessional teams had folded during the war, but African American baseball never completely died and the postwar years witnessed a revival. In 1945,the Negro National league and Negro American league held a North-south All-star Game in Houston featuring such stars as Josh Gibson ,“Cool Papa”Bell,and roy Campanella.1 242฀ Houston฀Eagles฀ 243฀ so popular was the All-star Game that fans in Texas began calling for the return of black professional baseball to the state. One sports writer for the Houston Informer declared that because Houston had“the largest black population in the south according to ratio,” it stood to reason that black baseball would succeed in the city if someone of ability and experience would step forward to assume a role of leadership.2 According to the reporter, the once-prominent Houston Black Buffaloes had failed because the team’s owners had lacked experience (they were unable to manage the team’s finances and were inept at generating public interest).3 Thus by extension, if an experienced, competent person organized a black team in Houston, it would almost certainly be successful. Two years later, baseball changed forever when Branch rickey and the Brooklyn Dodgers took the first major step toward desegregating Major league Baseball. On April 15, 1947, a former All-American athlete at the university of California, los Angeles, named Jackie robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers in a game against the Boston Braves.As an African American, robinson gained off-field notoriety for his role in integrating the major leagues, but his on-field heroics were equally striking. He helped lead Brooklyn to numerous National league pennants and one World series Championship. He won the rookie of theyear award in 1947, as well as the MostValuable Player award in 1951. When robinson broke the color barrier he paved the way for other black players to follow. larry Doby of the Newark Eagles joined the Cleveland Indians later in the 1947 season.The next year, more African Americans entered the major leagues as owners scrambled to tap into the vast reservoir of Negro league talent. like robinson, many of these players excelled in the majors. Don Newcombe and satchel Paige both won rookie of the year awards. roy Campanella, a former student of Biz Mackey, won two National league MostValuable Player awards for the Dodgers.Their success drew a wealth of support as African American fans turned out by the thousands to watch their heroes compete. While integration proved profitable for Major league Baseball, the 244 rOB FINK Negro leagues suffered irreparable damage. Fans now preferred to attend the games of the integrated professional teams as opposed to those of the all-black leagues.When the Brooklyn Dodgers played a spring training series with the FortWorth Cats (a member of the whiteTexas league), over eleven thousand fans, half of them black, came from all over the state to watch the games.4...