While we know a negro baseball league was formed in 1932, 1931 may provide evidence as to why:
- The Florida Stars lay claim to the 1930 state championship and with a 16 – 12 record claim to be playing for the state championship against the Jacksonville Black Tars who claimed the Jacksonville city championship over the Red Caps the Tars are 54 – 14 heading into this series.
- The Tampa Cuban Stars are playing the Bartow Giants in a three-game series for the West Coast championship (where are the Florida Stars?)
- In November, the West Palm Beach club is claimants to the Florida title which is disputed by the Miami Giants organization
There does however appear to be a major delineation between the top-tier clubs and the lower-tier clubs. Many top tier clubs will form a league together in 1932.
Teams appearing across Florida in ’31 include:
Bartow Giants (Hounds) kind of a tweener this season, but has played as a strong team
prior to the ‘20’s
Boca Raton Service (maybe Red Sox also) lower tier
Fort Lauderdale Giants – hybrid between the two tiers
Fort Lauderdale All-Stars – lower tier
Jacksonville Black Tars – upper tier
Jacksonville Red Caps – upper tier
Key West – lower tier perhaps because of travel
Lakeland Giants (Athletics) – upper tier
Miami Giants – upper tier
Miami All-Stars – lower tier
Florida All-Stars (Miami) – lower tier young team
Miami Bearcats – lower tier
Mulberry Bears – lower tier
Orlando White Sox – lack of information – typically upper tier
Pensacola Beachcombers – upper tier plays panhandle teams and Al.
Pensacola Elks – upper tier plays panhandle teams and Al.
Pensacola Hornets – lower tier
(St. Petersburg) Florida Stars/Sunshine Babies – upper tier
Sarasota Black Tigers – lower tier
Sarasota Stars – lower tier
Tampa Cuban Stars – upper tier
Tampa Black Smokers – lower tier
Tampa recreation organized a senior league to play on Sundays in an attempt to reduce crime
Winter Park All-Stars – lower tier
West Palm Beach – likely lower tier
Edward Waters College – played upper tier teams during spring, Buck O’Neil would have been a team member prior to moving to the Miami Giants in the summer.
Upper tier teams and their players:
Bartow Giants:
P “Stepping” Chester
Fort Lauderdale Giants: West Side Municipal Park
Mgr. F. B. Weaver
P Joe Lannier C Willie Lee
P Reggie Williams C Purcell Grim
P Wickers Chappel
Jacksonville Black Tars:
P Lefty “Dark Cloud” Grove C/1B Nat? Trammell
P Cox C/SS Mitchell
P/OF Glover P Steeple
SS/3B Otto 2B Benson
RF Brown 1B Mobley
LF Jones CF Harris
LF Leo
Jacksonville Red Caps:
P “Lefty” Cox (Greatest lefthander in his class)
P Brown OF Ezell
P Arnette Mitchell C Flute Mitchell
Davis Nat? Trammell
- One of the Mitchell’s, Davis and Trammell said to be Negro major leaguers
Lakeland Giants (Athletics:
P “Speed Ball” Hammer
P Galloway
Miami Giants (also played as Red Sox): City (Negro) Ball Park , N.W, 17th St. & 1st Ave.
Mgr Duke Slater ( also Negro fight promoter)
P Jim Johnson C Tom Wilson
P/OF Gary Williams C “Sport” Michael Ketching
P Al Gibson (FAMU) C/3B Georgia Johnson
P Arthur Johnson C Walter Williams
P “Big Wheel” Woods C Blackwell
P/1B Earnest Gibson C Dozier
P Ralph Jackson Util Garfield
P/OF Renfroe SS “Tampa Slim”
P “Long Tom” 2B Dugan
P Sims CF Cardosa
P Kenner LF Chalino
P Dinnute 2B Morrison (Morris?)
1B “Lefty” Bowleg 1B/3B “Little” Johnnie Richardson
SS John “Buck” O’Niel 3B J. Chester
OF Warren “Bubber” Cromartie LF Perez
SS Buck Johnson 3B Graham
OF Doug Adams 2B Williams
LF Jefferson 3B Morris
RF Wolford LF Sands
RF Chrotle
- Box scores exist of games vs, Jacksonville, St. Pete & Tampa
Pensacola Beachcombers: Frisco Diamond
Bus. Mgr. Will Gunnison Pres. Will Coleman
Scty Herman Hafer Treas. Tom Hawey
Mgr/3B N. A. Brown P Mitchell
Capt/ E. Lotts C Jones
IF Williams IF Carter
E. W. Smith (from Buffalo Giants)
Pensacola Elks: Legion Field
W. H. House & F. A. Jenkins – booking agents Treas. C. F. Benbee
P Eldridge “Mammy” Turner – 51 k’s in 1st 4 games
P Grace Hicks
C Pinkerton Williams
DeSoto
Florida (St. Petersburg) Stars/Sunshine Babies: Campbell Park
3B/1B Howard Williams (hit longest HR ever at Campbell, 425’ +)
P/IF “Copper Knee” Thompson 2B Milton
P Pap Houston CF Harris
C Goldie “Pepper” Thompson SS S. (B?) Thompson
P Leo “Preacher” Henry RF Grant
P/OF “Lefty” Hector C Gillens
P Julius “Jake” Hooks C Smith
3B G. Johnson RF Williams
CF Aezell (Ezell?) C Thad Christopher
- Preacher Henry would play in Negro major leagues
- Goldie Thompson would umpire league games after his playing career, he hosted a
- Christian radio program and booked acts for the Manhatton Casino, part of the “Chitlin” Circuit in St. Pete. Hosting every big name in Negro music. The musicians would be booked for a show at the all-white Colosseum for the first show, then would do a show at the Manhatten, which whites could and did attend and finally they would jam the rest of the night somewhere. Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and others performed.
Tampa Cuban Stars: Plant Field
Mgr Dewey Richardson P Williams
P Charlie CF Joseph
CF Morris LF Nero
2B Diago 1B J. P’mon
3B Willie B. SS “Blue”
C Parsilles Rf J. Chester
P Lefty