On February 13, 1920; the first officially organized
African American professional baseball league was formed in Kansas City,
Missouri. The brainchild of black
baseball team owner/manager Andrew “Rube” Foster, the Negro National League
(NNL) was patterned after the two Major Leagues who at that time did not allow
African American players to participate.
Foster’s Chicago American Giants
along with the Kansas City Monarchs, Dayton Marcos, Indianapolis ABC’s, St.
Louis Giants, Detroit Stars, Cuban Stars, and Chicago Giants were the initial
teams in the league. The NNL dissolved
following the 1931 season due to team financial problems caused by the “Great Depression”
which rocked the country beginning in 1929 and the death of Rube Foster from mental
illness. However, the league was the
precursor for both the Negro National League (NNL) and Negro American League
(NAL) which were in operation during
Negro League baseball’s most prosperous time; late 1930’s to the mid 1940’s.
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