This list of minor Negro league baseball teams consists of teams that played in the various minor

Negro baseball 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 #Significant Neg ...

, as well as the independent teams, teams that played in proto-leagues and teams that played after integration. In Negro league baseball, organized major league play began in 1920, however informal " proto" leagues arose in the 1880s. Most teams up to about 1920 were able to survive, and even profit, by

barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in t ...

small towns and playing local semi-pro teams. After 1920, most teams found financial security by forming leagues, but it was common for teams each season to play as many games outside of the league's schedule. Generally, leagues in the

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

were major while leagues in the

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

were minor. With the integration of Organized Baseball beginning 1946, Negro leagues lost elite players to white leagues causing former major Negro leagues to slip to minor league status, and historians do not consider any Negro league "major" after 1950. By default, leagues established after integration are considered minor league, as is the one of two 1940s majors that continued after 1950. Also at this time, Negro leagues began to appear in the

west West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

. Below are some of the better-documented leagues: ;Proto-leagues *

Southern League of Colored Base Ballists The Southern League of Colored Base Ballists was the first organized Negro baseball league. The league's only year of operation was . Ten teams competed in the league which stretched from Jacksonville, Florida to Memphis, Tennessee with several ...

, 1886 * National Colored Baseball League, 1887 * International League of Independent Professional Base Ball Clubs, 1906. * National Association of Colored Baseball Clubs of the United States and Cuba, 1907–1909. ;Minor leagues * Texas Colored League/Texas–Oklahoma–Louisiana League/Texas–Louisiana Negro League, 1919–1931 * Negro Southern League (I), 1920–1936 – * Negro Southeastern League, 1921 * Interstate League, 1926 and 1940 (mixed-race league) * Tri State League, 1935 * Negro American Association, 1939 and 1948–1949 * Negro Major League, 1942 ;Post-integration * Negro Southern League (II), 1945–1951 *

United States League The United States League (USL), alternately called the United States Baseball League, was one of the several Negro baseball leagues created during the time organized baseball was segregated. The USL was organized as a minor league in 1945 by Br ...

, 1945–1946 *

West Coast Negro Baseball Association The West Coast Negro Baseball Association (WCNBA) was one of the several Negro baseball leagues created during the time organized baseball was segregated. The WCNBA was organized as a minor league in 1946 by Abe Saperstein and Jesse Owens as a m ...

, 1946 * East Texas Negro League, 1946 * Negro Texas League, 1949 *

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 ...

, 1951–1960 – * Arkansas–Louisiana–Texas League, 1951 * Eastern Negro League, 1954 * Negro National Baseball Association, 1954 Below is the list of minor Negro league teams. Teams in bold are considered to have been of major league caliber for at least one season of their existence. Other teams included in this list were either a semi-pro, barnstorming or traveling team and not necessarily a member of a league.

Alabama

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

New Jersey

New York

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Tennessee

Texas

Washington

Traveling teams

References

External links

Leagues & Teams
at the

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) is a privately funded museum dedicated to preserving the history of Negro league baseball in America. It was founded in 1990 in Kansas City, Missouri, in the historic 18th and Vine – Downtown East, Kans ...

The Negro League Teams
at the Negro League Baseball Players Association
Negro Leagues Database
at Seamheads.com
Negro League Team Encyclopedia
at Baseball-Reference.com {{Negro League teams, state=uncollapsed

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

*minor minor Negro league