MLB used to Ban Black Baseball Pros. Who Were the Pittsburgh Crawfords & Homestead Grays?

Foreword The Pittsburgh Pirates started the season hot but unfortunately are now on a 3 game losing streak and return home this evening for a 3 game home stand against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Pirates won the world series (once in the 60's w/ the memorable Bill Mazeroski homer + twice in the 1970s, Clemente, Stargell, Sanguillen, Oliver, Doc Ellis, Tekulve, Candelaria, Parker, Stennet, etc)

None of this would be possible without the legacy of black Pittsburgh baseball stars. The Pittsburgh Crawfords were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro Leagues from the 1930s to the early 1940s.

The Crawfords were one of the most successful teams in the Negro Leagues, and featured some of the greatest players of the era, including Hall of Famers Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Cool Papa Bell. The team won two Negro National League championships, in 1935 and 1936, and also won the first Negro League World Series in 1937.

The Crawfords rose to prominence after Gus Greenlee bought the team in 1931 with profits from his popular night club & winnings from running the “numbers game.” Greenlee stocked his team with some of the best African American talent in baseball, enticing players such as Gibson and Oscar Charleston to leave the Homestead Grays to come play for the Crawfords. With a stacked roster, the Crawfords developed into one of the best teams in baseball, peaking with a Negro National League championship in 1935.

In addition to their on-field success, the Crawfords were known for their stylish uniforms and their high level of play. The team helped to raise the profile of the Negro Leagues and played a key role in the integration of baseball, as many of their players went on to break the color barrier in the major leagues after Jackie Robinson's debut in 1947.

Homestead Grays As home to two of the Negro League’s most dominant teams – the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords – Pittsburgh was once the center of Negro League baseball.

From 1937 to 1945, with the help of future Hall of Famers like Josh Gibson, “Cool Papa” Bell, Judy Johnson, and Buck Leonard, the Homestead Grays won an unprecedented nine consecutive league pennants and three Negro League World Series titles.

The legacy of Pittsburgh’s Negro League teams is evident inside the walls of Cooperstown, as 15 players from the Grays and Crawfords are enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.