The Baltimore Elite Giants were a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team that played in the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

from to . The team was established by Thomas T. Wilson, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

as the semi-pro Nashville Standard Giants on March 26, 1920. The team was renamed the Elite Giants in , and moved to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

in , where the team remained for the duration of their existence. The team and its fans pronounced the word "Elite" as "ee-light".

Barnstorming years

The Nashville Standard Giants were formed as a semi-professional all-Negro team in

, on March 26, 1920. The club was chartered by Thomas T. Wilson, T. Clay Moore, J. B. Boyd, Marshall Garrett, Walter Phillips, W. H. Pettis, J. L. Overton, and R. H. Tabor. The team's origins lie in that of two of Nashville's local negro amateur baseball teams: the Nashville Maroons (formed in 1909) and the Elites (formed in 1913). Their home games were played at

Sulphur Dell Sulphur Dell, formerly known as Sulphur Spring Park and Athletic Park, was a baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was located just north of the Tennessee State Capitol building in the block bounded by modern-day Jackson Street ...

and Greenwood Park, the African American community's local park. The Standard Giants welcomed any and all competition, including white-only teams, but played independently of any organized leagues until the mid-1920s. The team was renamed the Nashville Elite Giants (pronounced ''EE-light'') in 1921. That same year, they swept the

Montgomery Grey Sox The Montgomery Grey Sox were a Negro Southern League (NSL) baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major gene ...

(of the minor league Negro Southern League) in a four-game championship series to win the right to declare themselves the Southern Colored Champions. They continued to play independently until joining the Negro Southern League in 1926. Nashville completed its first season in the league with a 15–15 (.500) record. In 1929, Nashville was granted an associate membership in the Negro National League. The team finished in eighth (last) place with a 10–20 (.333) record. That same year, Wilson built a new ballpark for his team, Tom Wilson Park, which also served as a spring training site for other Negro league teams, as well as white-only minor league teams, such as the

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

Nashville Vols The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. Known as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they became the Nashville Volunteers (regularly shortened to Vols) ...

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig ( ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941), also known as Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig, was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was ...

, and

Roy Campanella Roy Campanella (November 19, 1921 – June 26, 1993), nicknamed "Campy", was an American professional baseball player, primarily as a catcher. The Philadelphia native played in the Negro leagues and Mexican League for nine years before entering ...

are known to have played at the park. The 8,000 (or 4,000) seat facility featured a single-decked, covered grandstand. The ballpark was centrally located in Nashville's largest black community, known as Trimble Bottom, near the convergence of Second and Forth Avenues, just north of the fairgrounds.

Negro league years

National League

In , the team gained admission into their first organized league, the Negro National League. The Elite Giants finished in seventh place with a 39–47 record.

Southern League

The Elite Giants joined the Negro Southern League, where they played in 1931 and 1932.

Second National League

A second incarnation of the Negro National League was formed in , where the Elite Giants played for the following two seasons. Nashville finished the 1933 season in fifth place with a 29–22 record and tied as winners of the second half of the season 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 recre ...

. Nashville lost a three-game playoff with Pittsburgh for a spot in the league championship game. In , the Elite Giants finished in fourth place with a 20–28 record. In , the team moved to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

and became the Columbus Elite Giants. They played only one season in Columbus, 1935, finishing in fourth place with a 16–17 record. In the team moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and became the Washington Elite Giants. In their first season, they finished in fifth place with a 21–24 record. In , the Elites finished in third place with a 27–17 record. The team moved again in to Baltimore, Maryland and became the Baltimore Elite Giants. In , the Elites won the Negro National Title, defeating the

Homestead Grays The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 in sports, 1912 by Cum ...

. In , they won the first half, but lost the championship to second half winners, the Homestead Grays.

American League

In , the Negro National League ceased operations, and the Elite Giants joined the

Negro American League The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season. Negro American League franchises :''An ...

. In their first season with the new league, Baltimore captured the Eastern and Western Division titles, earning them a second Negro National Title. In thirteen seasons in Baltimore, of the eleven which have available standings, the Elite Giants finished in the top three during nine of those seasons. In dire financial straits, the club played one final season in before dissolving.

Baseball Hall of Fame inductees

These Baltimore Elite Giants alumni have been inducted to the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

. A number of future major leaguers wore the uniform of the Elite Giants, including Hall of Famers

and

Leon Day Leon Day (October 30, 1916 – March 13, 1995) was an American professional baseball pitcher who spent the majority of his career in the Negro leagues. Recognized as one of the most versatile athletes in the league during his prime, Day could ...

(who played in with the team in the non-major league years of 1949-50). Also a member of the Elite Giants were two future National League Rookie of the Years in Junior Gilliam (1953) and

Joe Black Joseph Black (February 8, 1924 – May 17, 2002) was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro league and Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Redlegs, and Washington Senators who became the first black pitcher to win a W ...

(1952), each who played with Campanella for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Elite Giants also added the first known professional baseball player of Cape Verdean descent, Joe Campini, to their roster in 1948.

Championships

References

*Nipper, Skip. ''Baseball in Nashville''. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2007.
"Baltimore Elite Giants."
''Negro League Baseball Players Association''. 2007. 28 December 2007.

External links

Franchise history at Seamheads.com
{{Authority control African-American history in Baltimore Negro league baseball teams in Ohio Negro league baseball teams in Tennessee

Washington Elite Giants Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A m ...

Negro league baseball teams in Maryland Sports clubs and teams in Columbus, Ohio Baseball teams in Baltimore Baseball teams established in 1920 Baseball teams disestablished in 1950 1920 establishments in Tennessee 1950 disestablishments in Maryland Defunct baseball teams in Maryland