The Baltimore Lord Baltimores were a professional pre-

Negro league baseball 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 ...

team based in

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 1887. The Lord Baltimores played as charter members of the short–lived 1887

National Colored Base Ball League The National Colored Base Ball League (NCBL), the National Colored League, or the League of Colored Baseball Clubs was the subsequent attempt, after the Southern League of Colored Base Ballists, to have a league consisting of all-black teams. It p ...

, hosting home games at

Oriole Park Oriole Park was the name of multiple baseball parks in Baltimore, Maryland, all built within a few blocks of each other. Oriole Park I, 1883–1889 The first field called Oriole Park I was built on the southwest corner of Sixth Street and Hunt ...

History

The 1887 National Colored Base Ball League was an early organization of a professional Negro league, with Baltimore fielding a franchise. The league began play with six charter members: the Baltimore Lord Baltimores, Boston Resolutes, Louisville Fall City,

New York Gorhams The New York Gorhams were a Negro league baseball, Negro league baseball team that played from 1886 to 1892. During their short existence the Gorhams grew to be one of the most successful black professional clubs in the country and challenged the ...

, Philadelphia Pythians and Pittsburgh Keystones. The Washington Capital Citys and the Cincinnati Browns joined the league on March 15, 1887, although neither team would play a game. In late May 1887, the National Colored Base Ball League folded permanently. The team was managed by Joseph Callis and Hugh Cummings. Baltimore won its opening game on May 5, 1887, a 15–12 victory over the Philadelphia Pythians. The Lord Baltimores were soon affected by financial struggles that impacted all teams. After a game in Louisville, the Boston Resolutes franchise discovered that it could not pay for the team to travel to its next game in Pittsburgh, and its players were stranded in Louisville for their next scheduled two-game series against the Lord Baltimores. Boston forfeited both games, although the first forfeit was declined by Baltimore. When the league collapsed, the Pythians were in first place with a 4–3 record and the Lord Baltimores were in second place at 5–5. Baltimore was led by William Gray, who was hitting .417, and Joseph Stewart, who had a 2–1 record as a pitcher.

Ballpark

The Lord Baltimores secured the use of

on 25th Street as their home ballpark, which was possible because the

Orioles Oriole or Orioles may refer to: Animals * Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae * New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae Music * The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and early ...

began the 1887 season on the road.

Notable players

Mainly playing outfield, James W. Wilson of the Lord Baltimores was the first native African to play professional baseball. In the league games for which box scores exist, Wilson batted .296/.321/.444. Originally from

Cape Mount, Liberia Grand Cape Mount is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that constitute the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has five districts. Robertsport serves as the capital ...

, Wilson travelled to the United States and studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at Lincoln University. Wilson’s professional career predates that of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Gift Ngoepe Mpho' Gift Ngoepe (mm-POH, n-GO-pay; born 18 January 1990) is a South African former professional baseball shortstop and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays. In 2017, he becam ...

by more than a century and that of Alfredo Cabrera of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

by two decades.

Timeline

Schedule

References

{{reflist

External links

Baseball Reference
Negro league baseball teams in Maryland Baseball teams established in 1887 Baseball teams disestablished in 1887 Baseball teams in Baltimore African-American history in Baltimore 1880s in Baltimore