The Portland Rosebuds , sometimes called the Portland Roses, were a baseball team owned by Jesse Owens . The Rosebuds were part of the West Coast Baseball Association , a Negro league headed by Abe Saperstein , the owner of the Harlem Globetrotters .
16-704: The Rosebuds played the Seattle Steelheads on their opening day, May 12, 1946, at Dudley Field in El Paso, Texas . They followed opening day with two more days of games in El Paso and one in nearby Ciudad Juárez . The league was disbanded after only two months. The Portland Rosebuds were a part of an all-black baseball league, the West Coast Baseball Association. Previously in 1936, Jesse Owens had made an attempt at promoting another negro league team, but
32-432: A major role in the promotion of these games and was said to have run against racehorses in between double headers. He also used these appearances to verbalize the importance of education being a ticket to a better life. The Portland Rosebuds played their home games at Vaughn Street Park , home stadium of the local Portland Beavers . Negro Southern League veteran Wesley Barrow was at the helm as manager. On June 4, 1946,
48-762: A month of play. Catcher and manager Paul Hardy joined the Steelheads while still under contract with the Chicago American Giants , causing the Negro American League to ban its teams from playing games in Seattle. Their primary home ballpark was Sick's Stadium . They also planned home games in Tacoma , Bremerton , Spokane , and Bellingham . The Seattle Mariners honored the Steelheads when they wore 1946 Steelheads uniforms on September 9, 1995 , at home against
64-689: A strong standing in the league, attendance and news coverage for games suffered. The West Coast Baseball Association, along with the Portland Rosebuds were disbanded in July 1946. In 2021, the Rosebuds were reborn as a collegiate wood bat baseball team that play in the Wild Wild West League . Seattle Steelheads The Seattle Steelheads were a Negro league baseball team from Seattle, Washington . Owned by Abe Saperstein, they were also known as
80-770: The Kansas City Royals . The Royals wore Kansas City Monarchs uniforms. The Mariners beat the Royals 6–4 in front of 39,157 fans at the Kingdome . The game was attended by former Steelhead player Sherwood Brewer. The Mariners wore a different variety of the Steelheads uniform on May 16, 2015, on "Turn Back the Clock Night" against the Boston Red Sox at Safeco Field , and lost to the Red Sox 4–2. On June 19th, 2021 and June 19th, 2022
96-620: The St. Louis Stars of the Negro American League in 1937. In St. Louis, Berry made a lone appearance in league play, giving up 2 runs in 0.1 innings of relief. Berry made a single recorded appearance in 1938 with the Atlanta Black Crackers , starting 1 game and giving up 8 runs in 3.1 innings. Berry received a brief trial on the Monarchs in 1934, pitching in an exhibition game against his former Thatcher's Colts team. In 1947, Berry reunited with
112-658: The West Coast Negro Baseball Association and rebranded as the Seattle Steelheads in 1946, Berry was on the roster. On June 20, Berry fanned 13 hitters in a 10–0 win over the Portland Rosebuds in Vancouver. Berry remained with the club when the league folded and the ballclub itself was merged into the Cincinnati Crescents later that fall. Berry had 4 stints in the majors, first appearing with
128-554: The West Coast Negro Baseball League , changing their name to the Seattle Steelheads . The Steelheads played in the West Coast Negro Baseball League and played their first game on June 1, 1946, against the San Diego Tigers , in front of 2,500 fans at Sick's Stadium. Its players included Cannonball Berry , Nap Gulley , Zell Miles , Rogers Pierre , Herb Simpson , and Fay Washington . The league folded after
144-897: The Harlem Globetrotters and Cincinnati Crescents, though occasionally the teams split and played each other. Abe Saperstein founded the Harlem Globetrotters baseball team in 1944 to complement his world-famous basketball team of the same name. Also owned by Saperstein , the Cincinnati Crescents were an All-Star barnstorming baseball team that played in the mid-1940s. The team was managed by Winfield Welch , and featured players such as Bill Blair , Sherwood Brewer , Luke Easter , Alvin Gipson , Bill Jefferson , Leaman Johnson , and Johnny Markham . The Globetrotters and Crescents combined operations and were charter members of
160-598: The Mariners again wore the 1946 uniforms as part of Juneteenth . They also wore them on June 17th, 2023 due to not having a game on Juneteenth. Cannonball Berry Timothy Mike "Cannonball" Berry (August 23, 1911 – May 2, 1992), also nicknamed " Showboat Mike ", was an American baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues . Timothy Mike Berry was born on August 23, 1911, in Kansas City, Kansas . Berry began his career with
176-573: The Monarchs, where he primarily pitched as a reliever. In Kansas City, Berry logged 36 innings and 15 appearances, posting a 5.50 ERA. Berry made a single appearance in right field for the Cleveland Buckeyes in 1948, going hitless in 3 at bats. Initially receiving the nickname "Cannonball" from newspaper writers for his high speed fastball, Berry was also described as a "curve ball artist." As he continued barnstorming and playing into his 40s, he
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#1732863111286192-568: The Portland Rosebuds played their first home game at Vaughn Street Park against the Los Angeles White Sox. There were 1,500 fans in attendance. By the end of June, the Rosebuds were in second place in the league. None of the players on the team would go on to play in Major League Baseball . It was previously announced that The West Coast Baseball Association would play a full 110-game schedule. However, despite having
208-543: The Thatcher's Colts, a Black semi pro team sponsored by a local Kansas City mortuary. A short time later, he joined the barnstorming Van Dyke's Colored House of David in 1935 as a pitcher, where he was often advertised as their "ace hurler". On August 12, 1937, Berry garnered attention in Vancouver, British Columbia when he struck out 20 batters and allowed 1 hit in a 3–0 victory over a local all star team. He remained with this club through 1939. During World War II, Berry worked at
224-878: The shipyards in the San Francisco/Oakland area and played on the A-26 Boilermakers, a club representing Black trade workers. Berry appeared for various other teams in California including the Oakland Pierce Giants, California Eagles, San Francisco Sea Lions, and Berkeley Tigers. In 1951 Berry joined several other Negro Leaguers on the Brandon Greys and Elmwood Giants of the Man-Dak League in Canada. When Abe Saperstein's Harlem Globetrotters baseball team joined
240-548: Was one of the last negro leagues to exist and the only one on the West Coast. Abe Saperstein, who famously founded the Harlem Globetrotters, served as the president of the league. Jesse Owens was named vice president of the league. The Portland Rosebuds made their debut in El Paso, Texas, on May 12, 1946, against the Seattle Steelheads. There were a total of three West Coast Baseball League games played in El Paso. Owens played
256-586: Was unsuccessful. When Owens helped start the West Coast Baseball League in 1946, his team, the Portland Rosebuds, was one of six teams in the league. Other teams in the league included the Oakland Larks , San Francisco Sea Lions , San Diego Tigers , and the Los Angeles White Sox . The West Coast Baseball League was created as result of black players being banned from organized leagues. It
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