The New York Black Yankees were a professional

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

team based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

;

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

. Beginning as the independent Harlem Stars, the team was renamed the New York Black Yankees in 1932 and joined the Negro National League in 1936, and remained in the league through 1948. The Black Yankees played at Paterson, New Jersey' s

Hinchliffe Stadium Hinchliffe Stadium () is a 10,000-seat stadium located in Paterson, New Jersey. The venue was completed in 1932 and sits on a dramatic escarpment above Paterson's National Historic Landmark Great Falls, surrounded by the city's national landmark ...

from 1933 to 1938. They had no primary home ballpark in 1939 and 1940. From 1940 to 1947, they primarily played home games at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

. In 1948, they played the majority of their home games at Red Wing Stadium in Rochester.

Founding

The team was founded in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

as the Harlem Stars in 1931 by financier James "Soldier Boy" Semler and dancer

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the f ...

. By 1932, the club was renamed the New York Black Yankees. The team's left fielder Fats Jenkins was chosen by fans to play in the East team for the first

East-West All-Star Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salma ...

in 1933. A succession of other players were sent to the big game in 1937–1942, 1947 and 1948.

Barnstorming years

The team's schedule could be punishing. In the 1930s they played two doubleheaders apart on successive days. They left

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

after the first two games at about 10:00 PM to cross the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

for

South Orange, New Jersey South Orange, officially the Township of South Orange Village, is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village's population was 16,198, reflecting a decline of 766 (4.5%) fro ...

. One of the two cars broke down so nine of the 16 players crowded into the other car to ensure that play would start on time. They arrived just twenty minutes behind the scheduled start time. They were given five minutes to warm up. The other seven players arrived a few minutes later so they were able to lunch and sleep before taking two of their exhausted team mates to play the second game. Despite their fatigue, the team won both games. In September 1933, the New York Black Yankees played the Philadelphia Stars for the Colored Championship of the Nation at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey. They lost the championship, but not their momentum, opening the following season with an eight-game winning streak at Hinchliffe Stadium. The streak-ending ninth game with the

Pittsburgh Crawfords The Pittsburgh Crawfords, popularly known as the Craws, were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team, previously known as the Crawford Colored Giants, was named after the Crawford Bath House, a recr ...

came on July 28, 1934, a face-off that saw Hall-of-Famers Josh Gibson,

Judy Johnson William Julius "Judy" Johnson (October 26, 1899 – June 15, 1989) was an American professional third baseman and manager whose career in Negro league baseball spanned 17 seasons, from 1921 to 1937. Slight of build, Johnson never developed as ...

, James "Cool Papa" Bell, and

Oscar Charleston Oscar McKinley Charleston (October 14, 1896 – October 5, 1954) was an American center fielder and manager in Negro league baseball. Over his 43-year baseball career, Charleston played or managed with more than a dozen teams, including the Home ...

all play in regular-season tilt. Rain ended the game after innings, but not before Crawfords' star Gibson and Yankee

Bob Clark Benjamin Robert Clark (August 5, 1939 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for his work in the Canadian film industry throughout the 1970s and 1980s, where he was responsible ...

had both hit powerful home runs, Gibson's contributing to his League championship home run record for that year. On July 13, 1935,

Elmer McDuffy Elmer is a name of Germanic British origin. The given name originated as a surname, a medieval variant of the given name Aylmer, derived from Old English ''æþel'' (noble) and ''mær'' (famous). It was adopted as a given name in the United Stat ...

pitched an 8-0 no-hitter at Hinchliffe Stadium against the House of David. According to the Paterson Evening News, it was "the first time such a feat had ever been turned in by the Negro club in this territory."

League play

The team played its last season, 1948, in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

using Red Wing Stadium, home of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field, located in downt ...

, as their home park. After an opening day doubleheader sweep of the

Newark Eagles The Newark Eagles were a professional Negro league baseball team which played in the Negro National League from 1936 to 1948. They were owned by Abe and Effa Manley. History Formation The Newark Eagles were formed in 1936 when the Newark Dodg ...

on May 25, 1948, the team did not fare well and finished the last Negro National League season with a record of 8-32.

Notable players

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

* Fats Jenkins *

Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe Theodore Roosevelt "Double Duty" Radcliffe (July 7, 1902 – August 11, 2005) was a professional baseball player in the Negro leagues. An accomplished two-way player, he played as a pitcher and a catcher, became a manager, and in his old age ...

* George "Mule" Suttles *

Willie Wells Willie James Wells (August 10, 1906 – January 22, 1989), nicknamed "The Devil," was an American baseball player. He was a shortstop who played from 1924 to 1948 for various teams in the Negro leagues and in Latin America. Wells was a fast ...

* George Crowe *

Carlos Ascanio Carlos Ascanio (April 4, 1918 – February 27, 1998) was a baseball player for the New York Black Yankees of the Negro leagues. He played first base and was nicknamed "The Earthquake" due to his powerful swing. Ascanio was the only Venezuelan to ...

Notes

References

'New York Black Yankees', ''Negro League Baseball Players Association''
Retrieved July 24, 2005. *Peterson, Robert W. ''Only The Ball Was White'', (New York: Prentice-Hall Englewood-Cliffs, 1970) *''Baseball, an Illustrated History'' by David Quentin Voigt *Pitoniak, Scott
'Gem of Local Baseball History Found, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
February 26, 2006. {{Authority control Negro league baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in New York (state) Defunct baseball teams in New York City Defunct baseball teams in New Jersey Baseball teams disestablished in 1948 Baseball teams established in 1931