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69-484: Following the desegregation of MLB in the late 1940s, and continuing through the establishment of the MLB draft in 1965, it was common for major-league teams to convert African-American pitchers into position players rather than allowing them to continue pitching. Through the 1950s, only two African-American pitchers were 20-game winners— Don Newcombe and Sam Jones . In 1965, they were joined by Bob Gibson and Mudcat Grant ;

138-417: A gentlemen's agreement , meaning a tacit understanding, as there was no written policy at the highest level of organized baseball, the major leagues. A high minor league's vote in 1887 against allowing new contracts with black players within its league sent a powerful signal that eventually led to the disappearance of blacks from the sport's other minor leagues later that century, including the low minors. After

207-597: A players' strike resulted in the cancellation of the Series. Through 2024, American League teams have won 68 of the 120 World Series played since 1903. The New York Yankees have won 27 World Series and 41 American League titles, the most in major league history. The Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland Athletics have won the second most AL titles with 15, followed by the Boston Red Sox with 14. For decades, Major League baseball clubs only played teams from their own league during

276-567: A 1907 book on early black players in baseball by black minor league player and later black semi-professional team manager Sol White , who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006. White claimed that, "Were it not for this same man Anson, there would have been a colored player in the National League in 1887." After the 1887 season, the International League retained just two black players for

345-420: A brief tryout at Fenway Park . The tryout, however, was a farce chiefly designed to assuage the desegregationist sensibilities of Boston City Councilman Isadore H. Y. Muchnick , who threatened to revoke the team's exemption from Sunday blue laws . Even with the stands limited to management, Robinson was subjected to racial epithets. Robinson left the tryout humiliated. Robinson would later call Yawkey "one of

414-600: A game again. In 1884, the Chicago club made a successful threat months in advance of another exhibition game at Toledo, to have Fleet Walker sit out. In 1887, Anson made a successful threat by telegram before an exhibition game against the Newark Little Giants of the International League that it must not play its two black players, Fleet Walker and pitcher George Stovey . The influence of players such as Anson and

483-550: A lower level. None of them, nor any integrated teams, were members of Organized Baseball, the system led by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis from 1921. Rather, until 1946 professional baseball in the United States was played in two racially segregated league systems, one on each side of the so-called color line. Much of that time there were two high-level "Negro major leagues" with a championship playoff or all-star game, as between

552-624: A mutiny during a road trip, refusing to play a game against the New York Cuban Giants , the first all-black professional baseball club, and citing both racial and practical reasons: that the players were banged up and wanted to rest so as to not lose their hold on first place. At the time, the St. Louis team was in Philadelphia, and a story that ran in the Philadelphia Times stated that "for

621-493: A reinforcer of it, including in the National League – and that he had no demonstrable influence on changing the course of events apart from his team's exhibition-game schedule." The year 1887 was also the high point of achievement of black players in the high minor leagues, and each National League team that year except for Chicago played exhibition games against teams with black players, including against Newark and other International League teams. Some of Anson's notoriety stems from

690-522: A second major league as a competitor to the older National League . This was prompted by the NL dropping four teams following the 1899 season after having absorbed its previous rival, the American Association , which disbanded in 1891 after ten seasons. In its early history of the late 1880s, the minor Western League struggled until 1894, when Ban Johnson became the president of the league. Johnson pushed

759-448: A single league, divided into two parts, also called leagues. This change in legal status had no effect on play, scheduling, and so forth. There were eight charter teams in 1901, the league's first year as a major league, and the next year the original Milwaukee Brewers (not to be confused with the current Milwaukee Brewers ) moved to St. Louis to become the St. Louis Browns , and the year after

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828-630: A week, a friend of Claxton revealed that he had both Negro and Indigenous Canadian ancestors, and Claxton was promptly fired. It would be nearly thirty more years before another black man, at least one known to be black, played organized white baseball. There possibly were attempts to have people of African descent be signed as Hispanics. One possible attempt may have occurred in 1911 when the Cincinnati Reds signed two light-skinned players from Cuba , Armando Marsans and Rafael Almeida . Both of them had played "Negro Baseball", barnstorming as members of

897-549: Is included as a Black Ace (Jenkins traces his ancestry on his mother's side to escaped U.S. slaves). In February 2007, during an event to honor Black History Month , President George W. Bush honored book author Grant and three of his fellow Black Aces (Jenkins, Mike Norris , and Dontrelle Willis ) at the White House . During the 2007 MLB season, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum had a traveling exhibit honoring

966-640: Is sometimes called the Junior Circuit because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season, 25 years after the formation of the National League (the "Senior Circuit"). Since 1903, the American League champion has played in the World Series against the National League champion with only two exceptions: 1904, when the NL champion New York Giants refused to play their AL counterpart, and 1994, when

1035-410: Is that Latino players, here infantilized as unruly children, must shed their style, embrace tradition, and grow up." While professional baseball was formally regarded as a strictly white-men-only affair, the racial color bar was directed against black players exclusively. Other races were allowed to play in professional white baseball. One prominent example was Charles Albert Bender , a star pitcher for

1104-684: The Baseball Hall of Fame on the merits of their play. Willard Brown played briefly in 1947 for the St. Louis Browns and was the first black player to hit a home run in the American League. He too was elected to the Hall of Fame based on his career in the Negro leagues. Prior to the integration of the major leagues, the Brooklyn Dodgers led the integration of the minor leagues. Jackie Robinson and Johnny Wright were assigned to Montreal, but also that season Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella became members of

1173-918: The Detroit Tigers were moved from the AL East to the AL Central, making room for the Devil Rays in the East. Even after expansion, the American League then continued with 14 teams. This situation changed again in 2013 when the Houston Astros moved from the National League Central division to the American League West. The Astros had been in the NL for 51 years since beginning as an expansion team in 1962. Since their move, both leagues now consist of 15 teams. For

1242-531: The Montreal Royals in the International League. While the color line primarily targeted Black players, Latino athletes have also faced significant racial and cultural challenges in Major League Baseball. Studies indicate that Latino players often encounter stereotypes and biases related to their playing styles and cultural expressions, leading to both subtle and overt forms of discrimination within

1311-689: The Nashua Dodgers in the class-B New England League . Nashua was the first minor-league team based in the United States to integrate its roster after 1898 . Subsequently, that season, the Pawtucket Slaters, the Boston Braves ' New England League franchise, also integrated its roster, as did Brooklyn's class-C franchise in Trois-Rivières, Quebec . With one exception, the rest of the minor leagues would slowly integrate as well, including those based in

1380-666: The New York Highlanders replaced the disbanded original Baltimore Orioles. Those eight franchises constituted the league for 52 seasons until the Browns moved to Baltimore and took up the Orioles name. The eight original teams and their counterparts in the "Classic Eight" were: Following the 1999 season, the American and National Leagues were merged with Major League Baseball, and the leagues ceased to exist as business entities. The position of

1449-504: The Philadelphia Athletics in 1910. Bender was the son of a Chippewa mother and a German father and had the inevitable nickname "Chief" from the white players. As a result of this exclusive treatment of black players, deceptive tactics were used by managers to sign such players. This included several attempts, with the player's acquiescence, to sign players who they knew full well were black as if they were American Indian, despite

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1518-539: The San Diego Padres . Coach Banks filled in as manager for the final two innings of the 3–2 Cubs win. Prior to the next season, the Official Baseball Guide published by The Sporting News stated, "he [Banks] became the major leagues' first black manager—but only for a day". The other two regular coaches on the team ( Pete Reiser and Larry Jansen ) were absent that day, opening this door for Banks for

1587-574: The pitcher in the batting order, compared to the old rule that made it mandatory for the pitcher to bat. In the last two decades, the season schedule has allowed occasional interleague play. In 1969, the AL (and NL) were divided into East and West divisions, with a postseason playoff series for the pennant and the right to play in the World Series. Until the late 1970s, league umpires working behind home plate wore large, balloon-style chest protectors worn outside

1656-637: The southern United States . The Carolina League , for example, integrated in 1951 when the Danville Leafs signed Percy Miller Jr. to their team. The exception was the Class AA Southern Association . Founded in 1901 and based in the Deep South, it allowed only one black player, Nat Peeples of the 1954 Atlanta Crackers , a brief appearance in the league. Peeples went hitless in two games played and four at bats on April 9–10, 1954,

1725-525: The "Impossible Dream" pennant but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in that year's World Series . Tom Yawkey died in 1976, and his widow Jean Yawkey eventually sold the team to Haywood Sullivan and Edward "Buddy" LeRoux . As chief executive, Haywood Sullivan found himself in another racism controversy that ended in a courtroom. The Elks Club of Winter Haven, Florida , the Red Sox spring training home, did not permit black members or guests. Yet

1794-519: The 1888 season, both of whom were under contracts signed before the 1887 vote, Frank Grant of the Buffalo Bisons and Moses Fleetwood Walker of the Syracuse franchise, with Walker staying in the league for most of 1889. In September 1887, eight members of the St. Louis Browns of the then-major American Association (who would ultimately change their nickname to the current St. Louis Cardinals ) staged

1863-642: The 1946 season. In 1947, both Robinson in the National League and Larry Doby with the American League 's Cleveland Indians appeared in games for their teams. Formal beginning of segregation followed the baseball season of 1867. On October 16, the Pennsylvania State Convention of Baseball in Harrisburg denied admission to the "colored" Pythian Baseball Club . Major League Baseball 's National League , founded in 1876, had no black players in

1932-470: The 19th century, except for a recently discovered one, William Edward White , who played in a single game in 1879 and who apparently passed as white . The National League and the other main major league of the day, the American Association , had no written rules against having black players. In 1884, the American Association had two black players, Moses Fleetwood Walker and, for a few months of

2001-409: The 2022 season, when the universal DH rule was implemented. In 2023, American League teams played 46 regular season interleague games against all 15 National League teams, 23 at home and 23 on the road. In 2000, the American League ended its status as a legally independent entity when the American and National Leagues were both merged into the legal entity Major League Baseball (MLB). This left MLB as

2070-404: The 20th century, a reputation most exemplified by the introduction of the designated hitter rule in 1973, which encouraged AL managers to largely abandon "smallball" tactics. However, with the advent of free agency in the 1970s allowing for more player movement between leagues, the introduction of regular season interleague play in 1997, umpires working games across MLB beginning in 1999, and

2139-562: The Black Aces. The Black Aces were celebrated at Oakland's McAfee Coliseum during that season. Two members of the Black Aces, Gibson and Jenkins, are members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame . Grant's book, published in 2007, listed 13 pitchers as Black Aces. Subsequently, two African-American pitchers have also won 20 or more games in a single MLB season. Thus, there are currently 15 pitchers considered Black Aces, as listed in

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2208-502: The Dodgers. Chandler mentioned that "If a Black boy can make it on Okinawa and Guadalcanal [in fighting World War II], hell, he can make it in baseball." After a year in the minor leagues with the Dodgers' top minor-league affiliate, the Montreal Royals of the International League , Robinson was called up to the Dodgers in 1947 . He endured epithets and death threats and got off to a slow start. However, his athleticism and skill earned him

2277-549: The International, Sally, and Texas leagues, which were all racially integrated. The Boston Red Sox were the last major league team to integrate, holding out until 1959, a few months after the Detroit Tigers. This was due to the steadfast resistance provided by team owner Tom Yawkey . In April 1945, the Red Sox refused to consider signing Jackie Robinson (and future Boston Braves outfielder Sam Jethroe ) after giving him

2346-579: The Major League. On May 28, 1916, Canadian-American Jimmy Claxton temporarily broke the professional baseball color barrier when he played two games for the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League . Claxton was introduced to the team owner by a part-American Indian friend as a fellow member of an Oklahoma tribe. The Zee-Nut candy company rushed out a baseball card for Claxton. However, within

2415-420: The NL's adoption of the designated hitter rule in 2022, the difference in play between the two major leagues has diminished considerably. Though both leagues agreed to be jointly governed by a commissioner in 1920, they remained separate business entities with their own presidents and management. This was the case until after the 1999 season, when the American League legally merged with the National League under

2484-662: The Philadelphia Phillies with the as yet unannounced intention of breaking that color line." The Phillies ended up being the last National League team, and third-last team in the majors, to integrate, with John Kennedy debuting for the Phillies in 1957, 15 years after Veeck's attempted purchase. In 1945, Branch Rickey , general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers , was anticipating the integration of black players into Major League Baseball. Rickey, along with Gus Greenlee who

2553-434: The Phillies, Veeck also stated that he wanted to hire black players for the simple reason that in his opinion the best black athletes "can run faster and jump higher" than the best white athletes. The authors of an article in the 1998 issue of SABR's The National Pastime argued that Veeck invented the story of buying the Phillies, claiming Philadelphia's black press made no mention of a prospective sale to Veeck. The article

2622-525: The Red Sox allowed the Elks into their clubhouse to distribute dinner invitations to the team's white players, coaches, and business management. When Tommy Harper , a popular black former player and coach for Boston, then working as a minor league instructor, protested the policy and a story appeared in The Boston Globe , he was promptly fired. Harper sued the Red Sox for racial discrimination and his complaint

2691-588: The Red Sox. Thus, the Red Sox were forced to integrate, becoming the last pre-expansion major-league team to do so when Harris promoted Pumpsie Green from Boston's AAA farm club . On July 21, Green debuted for the team as a pinch runner , and would be joined later that season by Earl Wilson , the second black player to play for the Red Sox. In the early to mid 1960s, the team added other players of color to their roster including Joe Foy , José Tartabull , George Scott , George Smith , John Wyatt , Elston Howard and Reggie Smith . The 1967 Red Sox went on to win

2760-465: The auspices of Major League Baseball, which now operates much like other North American professional sports leagues, albeit with two "leagues" instead of "conferences". Originally a minor league known as the Western League , which existed from 1885 to 1899 with teams in mostly Great Lakes states, the league changed its name to the American League for the 1900 season and the next year developed into

2829-522: The ban. In 1901, John McGraw , manager of the Baltimore Orioles , tried to add Charlie Grant to the roster as his second baseman. He tried to get around the Gentleman's Agreement by trying to pass him as a Cherokee named Charlie Tokohama. Grant went along with the charade. However, his tryout in Chicago was attended by his black friends, giving him away, and he never got an opportunity to play ball in

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2898-399: The first 96 years, American League teams faced their National League counterparts only in exhibition games or in the World Series. Beginning in 1997, interleague games have been played during the regular season and count in the standings. As part of the agreement instituting interleague play, the designated-hitter rule was used only in games where the American League team is the home team, until

2967-514: The first ever Rookie of the Year award, which is now named in his honor. In 1947, Larry Doby signed with Bill Veeck's Cleveland Indians to become the American League 's first black player. Doby, a more low-key figure than Robinson, suffered many of the same indignities that Robinson did, albeit with less press coverage. As baseball historian Daniel Okrent wrote, "Robinson had a two year drum roll, Doby just showed up." Both men were ultimately elected to

3036-456: The first time in the history of base ball the color line has been drawn." Black players were gone from the high minors after 1889 and a trickle of them were left in the minor leagues within a decade. Besides White's single game in 1879, the only black players in major league baseball for around 75 years were Fleet Walker and his brother Weldy, both in 1884 with Toledo. A big change would take place starting in 1946, when Jackie Robinson played for

3105-409: The following table. Baseball color line The color line , also known as the color barrier , in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Major League Baseball and its affiliated Minor Leagues until 1947 (with a few notable exceptions in the 19th century before the line was firmly established). Racial segregation in professional baseball was sometimes called

3174-450: The game in Newark alluded to above, with Stovey and the apparently injured Walker sitting out. Anson biographer Howard W. Rosenberg, concluded that, "A fairer argument is that rather than being an architect [of segregation in professional baseball, as the late baseball racism historian Jules Tygiel termed Anson in his 1983 Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy ], that he was

3243-421: The general racism in society led to segregation efforts in professional baseball. On July 14, 1887, the high-minor International League voted to ban the signing of new contracts with black players. By a 6-to-4 vote, the league's entirely white teams voted in favor and those with at least one black player voted in the negative. The Binghamton (New York) team, which had just released its two black players, voted with

3312-486: The group organized to promote their successes and encourage the development of future black players. In 2007, The Black Aces: Baseball's Only African-American Twenty-Game Winners was published, authored by Grant. Some black pitchers from Latin America , notably Cuban-born Luis Tiant (a 20-win pitcher four times in his career), have expressed disappointment that they were not included. Meanwhile, Canadian-born Ferguson Jenkins

3381-632: The integrated All Cubans . When questions arose about them playing the white man's game, the Cincinnati managers assured the public that "they were as pure white as Castile soap". Regarding the signing of the Cubans, the black newspaper New York Age said, "Now that the first shock is over, it will not be surprising to see a Cuban a few shades darker breaking into the professional ranks. It would then be easier for colored players who are citizens of this country to get into fast company." The Negro National League

3450-502: The last full-time MLB umpire to use the outside protector in 1985. In 1994, the league, along with the National League, reorganized again, this time into three divisions (East, West, and Central ) and added a third round to the playoffs in the form of the American League Division Series , with the best second-place team advancing to the playoffs as a wild-card team, in addition to the three divisional champions. In 1998,

3519-431: The latter being the first African-American 20-game winner in American League history. Two other African-American pitchers, Ferguson Jenkins and Earl Wilson , also accomplished the feat during the 1960s. Since then, there have been several additions to the list of such pitchers—referred to as Black Aces—three in the 1970s, three in then 1980s, one in the 2000s, and two in the 2010s. In the mid-2000s, surviving members of

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3588-540: The league to rise to major league status, after the name change to the American League was decided in a league meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , at the former Republican Hotel. A historical marker is at the intersection of North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and West Kilbourn Avenue where the hotel once stood. In March 1904, Johnson moved the league's headquarters from Chicago to New York. Babe Ruth , noted as one of

3657-481: The line was in virtually full effect in the early 20th century, many black baseball clubs were established, especially during the 1920s to 1940s when there were several Negro leagues . During this period, American Indians and native Hawaiians , including Prince Oana , were able to play in the Major Leagues. The color line was broken for good when Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for

3726-399: The majority. Right after the vote, the sports weekly Sporting Life stated, "Several representatives declared that many of the best players in the league are anxious to leave on account of the colored element, and the board finally directed Secretary [C.D.] White to approve of no more contracts with colored men." On the afternoon of the International League vote, Anson's Chicago team played

3795-502: The most bigoted guys in baseball". On April 7, 1959, during spring training, Yawkey and general manager Bucky Harris were named in a lawsuit charging them with discrimination and the deliberate barring of black players from the Red Sox. The NAACP issued charges of "following an anti-Negro policy", and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination announced a public hearing on racial bias against

3864-538: The most prolific hitters in Major League Baseball history, spent the majority of his career in the American League with the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees . From 1973 to 2022 The American League had one notable difference versus the rival National League , as it had the designated hitter rule. Under the rule, a team may use a batter in its lineup who is not in the field defensively, replacing

3933-544: The newly franchised Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined the league, and the Arizona Diamondbacks joined the National League: i.e., each league added a fifteenth team. An odd number of teams per league meant that at least one team in each league would have to be idle on any given day, or alternatively, that odd team out would have had to play an interleague game against its counterpart in the other league. The initial plan

4002-566: The one occasion, but Banks never became a manager on a permanent basis. American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs , known simply as the American League ( AL ), is the younger of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada . It developed from the Western League , a minor league based in the Great Lakes states , which eventually aspired to major league status. It

4071-400: The regular season and playoffs, with only the two pennant winners meeting in the World Series. The AL and NL also employed and trained their own umpires , who only worked regular season games in their own league. These differences resulted in the leagues developing slightly different strategies and styles of play. The American League was usually regarded as the less "traditional" league during

4140-483: The season, his brother Weldy Walker , both of whom played for the Toledo Blue Stockings . The year before, in 1883, prominent National League player Cap Anson had threatened to have his Chicago team sit out an exhibition game at then-minor league Toledo if Toledo's Fleetwood Walker played. Anson backed down, but not before uttering the word nigger on the field and vowing that his team would not play in such

4209-527: The shirt or coat, while their colleagues in the National League wore chest protectors inside the shirt or coat. In 1977, new umpires (including Steve Palermo ) had to wear the inside chest protector, although those on staff wearing the outside protector could continue to do so. Most umpires made the switch to the inside protector, led by Don Denkinger in 1975 and Jim Evans the next year, although several did not, including Bill Haller , Russ Goetz , George Maloney , Bill Kunkel and Jerry Neudecker , who became

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4278-445: The sport. According to Mitchel and Cohen's 2023 study, Latino players have frequently been subjected to stereotypes and criticism for their distinct styles of play, often described as more expressive compared to traditional norms within the league. This cultural clash has led to both subtle and overt forms of discrimination, ranging from negative media portrayals to uneven enforcement of league rules. "The message embedded in this discourse

4347-523: The white major leagues. The only serious attempt to break the color line during Landis's tenure came in 1942 , when Bill Veeck tried to buy the then-moribund Philadelphia Phillies and stock them with Negro league stars. However, when Landis got wind of his plans, he and National League president Ford Frick scuttled it in favor of another bid by William D. Cox . In his 1962 autobiography, Veeck, as in Wreck , in which he discussed his abortive attempt to buy

4416-580: Was demoted one classification to the Jacksonville Braves of the Sally League , and the SA reverted to white-only status. As a result, its major-league parent clubs were forced to field all-white teams during the 1950s. By the end of the 1950s, the SA also was boycotted by civil rights leaders . The Association finally ceased operation after the 1961 season, still a bastion of segregation. Its member teams joined

4485-492: Was founded in 1920 by Rube Foster , independent of the National Baseball Commission (1903–1920). The NNL survived through 1931, primarily in the midwest, accompanied by the major Eastern Colored League for several seasons to 1928. "National" and "American" Negro leagues were established in 1933 and 1937 which persisted until integration. The Negro Southern League operated consecutively from 1920, usually at

4554-484: Was strongly challenged by the historian Jules Tygiel, who refuted it point-by-point in an article in the 2006 issue of SABR's The Baseball Research Journal , and in an appendix, entitled "Did Bill Veeck Lie About His Plan to Purchase the '43 Phillies?", published in Paul Dickson's 2012 biography, Bill Veeck: Baseball's Greatest Maverick . Joseph Thomas Moore wrote in his 1988 biography of Doby, "Bill Veeck planned to buy

4623-451: Was the owner of the original Pittsburgh Crawfords , created the United States League (USL) as a method to scout black players specifically to break the color line. It is unclear if the league actually played the 1945 season or if it was only used as a pretense for integration. The color line was breached when Rickey, with the support of new commissioner Happy Chandler , signed Jackie Robinson in October 1945 , intending him to play for

4692-401: Was to have three five-team divisions per league with inter-league play year-round—possibly as many as 30 interleague games per team each year. For various reasons, it soon seemed more practical to have an even number of teams in both leagues. The Milwaukee Brewers agreed to change leagues to become the National League's 16th team, moving from the AL Central to the NL Central. At the same time,

4761-406: Was upheld on July 1, 1986. Listed chronologically † The Sporting News contemporaneously reported it as "the first all-Negro starting lineup"; later sources state Black and Latino or "all-minority". ‡ A case has been made for Ernie Banks as the de facto first black manager in the major leagues. On May 8, 1973, Chicago Cubs manager Whitey Lockman was ejected from a 12-inning game against

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