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Friday, August 14, 2020

Dem Barnstormers: The Brooklyn Royal Giants

From the desk of: 100th ANNIVERSARY NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL

1917 TEAM PHOTO

THE BROOKLYN ROYAL GIANTS
Negro Leagues Baseball is presently in the midst of its 100th anniversary, having been founded in 1920 by Andrew "Rube" Foster.  Congratulations, on your centennial celebration!  The  enduring impact you have on baseball, and moreover American society, are indelible.  Advent of competitive negro baseball, like the game itself, occurs during the mid to late 19th century.  Thus, its history is long and storied as any baseball lore.  Entering the 20th century, independent and barnstorming clubs begin to effectively create a template for the new business model still to come.  One hundred years ago, Rube spearheads the founding of the first negro major professional baseball circuit: the Negro National League. After which, capitalism is ... as capitalism does.  Within three years, baseball magnate Nat Strong helps establish the Eastern Colored League. The rest, as they say, is Negro Leagues history.  The Brooklyn Royal Giants are at the center of it all.  Imagine being a baseball fan in Brooklyn during the summers of 1916 and 1920, when both the National League Robins and the Royal Giants, respectively, vie for pennants.  "Dem Bums" are one of the most written about teams in baseball history.  But they share Kings County with another less written about titan of our National Pastime.  This is my humble effort in celebration of them, even if there are some conflicts in research, I rather embrace them than dispute them.  So, without further ado, I bring you the Brooklyn Royal Giants.

A loose affiliation of Independent Clubs commences playing in 1887.  These teams are not in concert with the concurrent National Colored Baseball League, which is founded and quickly disbanded that same season. 

Through the turn of the century, some of the circuit's various independents include Trenton Cuban Giants; New York Gorhams; Cuban Giants; Frye's Nine; Chicago Unions; Page Fence Giants; and Chicago Columbia Giants. 

In 1904, the circuit of Independent Clubs was represented by five teams: Cuban X Giants; Chicago Union Giants; All Cubans; Philadelphia Giants; and first-year entrant, the Brooklyn Royal Giants - who are managed by William Parker, himself a former outfielder with the Cuban X Giants and Cuban Giants.  On the field, Brooklyn is winless in five games.

The Original 1904 Brooklyn Royal Giants Nine:
  • 1B - William Warrick
  • 2B - Rube Barns
  • 3B - Gus James
  • SS - George Wright
  • LF - Stewart,
  • CF - Edward Reeves
  • RF - Fred Delaney
  •  C - Big Bill Smith
  • SP - Ross Best 

Otherwise, yes, the Brooklyn Royal Giants are traditionally recognized as being established in 1905 by businessman John W. Connor. However, players George Wright, William Warrick, Fred Delancey, and Big Bill Smith, who manages the 1905 Royal Giants, are identified as holdovers from the 1904 season, according to SEAMHEADS, Negro League Data Base.  Author Jim Overmyer says on Tim Hanlon's podcast that John W. Connor owned a semi-pro club in 1904.  This may be where the confusion lies.
In 1905, the Center for Negro Leagues Baseball Research said the Philadelphia Giants claim their second "Colored World Championship" in a row by defeating the Brooklyn Royal Giants three straight games.

First and foremost, Brooklyn is a barnstorming club, traveling through regional states, taking on local clubs, both black and white; other barnstormers; minor league; semi-pro; amateur; even college teams.  Attempts to establish an organized circuit sputter on several occasions; the integrated International League of Independent Baseball endures a rocky season in 1906 before dissolving, according to History.com/Negro Leagues.

In 1906, bolstered by infielders Grant "Homerun" Johnson and Bill Monroe, Brooklyn defeats the Philadelphia Athletics in a pair of exhibitions, and in 1908 defeat the Cincinnati Reds in a November matchup, according to Baseball-Reference.

In 1907, the Brooklyn Royal Giants, Philadelphia Giants, Cuban Giants, and Cuban Stars of Havana joined together as charter members of the newly established National Association (National Association of Colored Professional Clubs of the United States and Cuba, also known as the International League).


The years 1908-1910 require a bit of clarification:
  • Version Two:  Brooklyn by 1909 is again listed as independent, and are the acknowledged eastern champions of 1909 and 1910, according to Negro Leagues Museum.
  • Version Three:  Seamheads lists Brooklyn as National Association champions in 1908 and International League champions in 1909.  The Royal Giants finish the 1910 Eastern Independent Clubs regular season tied for first place with the Cuban Stars of Havana but own an edge in winning percentage.  However, Havana plays nearly three times as many games as Brooklyn, who finishes with a 9-4 record.
  • Version Four:  The Royal Giants are eastern champions in 1910, defeating arch-rival Philadelphia, according to Covehurst.net/BrooklynBallparks.  Brooklyn is considered the best team in the East in 1909 and 1910, according to CNLBR.

Pair together seasons as you will, but let us agree the Brooklyn Royal Giants are back-to-back champions, with a strong case to be made for a third title.

The 1910 season also marks Brooklyn's new business manager, native New Yorker, and future owner, Nat Strong.  Within three years, he purchases the team from the original founder, John W. Connor.

At the end of the 1911 regular season, the New York Age newspaper calls for a playoff series between the New York Lincoln Giants, Brooklyn Royal Giants, New York Giants (Major League Baseball World Series Champions) the American League New York Yankees.  No response to the New York Age's challenge is ever received, also according to CNLBR.

The Royal Giants finish the 1913 season in second place, a mere four games behind their chief rival, New York Lincoln Giants.

Brooklyn wins two more eastern championships in 1914 and 1916, although the Center for Negro League Research provides a somewhat different account of the 1914 season.

The 1914 Royal Giants are led at the plate by right fielder/manager Charles Earle, who tops the team with a .317 average, center fielder Jules Thomas, who bats .303 with a team-high 27 runs batted in, and second baseman Bill Handy, who swats three home runs with 19 RBI and leads the team in slugging.  

On the bump, the Royal Giants feature notable ace and team captain, William "Dizzy" Dismukes, and Richard "Lefty" Harvey.  Other top notables include catcher Pearl Webster, left fielder Jimmie Lyons, and shortstop Morten Clark.



  • Apr. 23, 1914, Wilmington - Unable to hit timely and fielding poorly, the Wilmington Chicks lost to the Royal Giants of Brooklyn yesterday, score 3 to 2.
  • Apr. 28, 1914, Allentown -  The Brooklyn Royal Giants, advertised as the champion colored team of the world, defeated the Allentown Tri-State Club in an exhibition game here today by the score of 3 to 2.
  • May 3, 1914, Harlem - The Royal Giants will make their first appearance in Harlem this season by playing the Lincoln Giants in a double-header at Olympic Field, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Street, and Fifth Avenue.
  • May 9, 1914, Perth Amboy - Speedy Royal Giants vs. Pacers Saturday - The Brooklyn Royal Giants, one of the best-colored teams in the country, has been booked to play the Perth Amboy Pacers.
  • May 16, 1914, Brooklyn - The Royal Giants beat the Cuban Stars last Saturday by a score of 4 to 2.
  • June 13, 1914, Camden - Lefty Harvey Allows Only Five Hits - Brooklyn Royal Giants have easy picking against Camden ... Harvey, the crack southpaw, twirled a magnificent game at Camden yesterday.
  • Aug. 5, 1914, Atlantic City - Atlantic City Loses - The Brooklyn Royal Giants won out in the ninth inning from Atlantic City today, 7 to 5.  Shortstop Morten Clark had his glasses smashed by a ground ball and cut his eye.
  • Aug. 18, 1914, Asbury Park - Royal Giants Captured Two - The Royal Giants, after beating the Clifton Club at Clifton Heights, 2 to 1, defeated the Asbury Park Atlantic League team, here, 7 to 6.
  • Aug. 23, 1914, Philadelphia - Giants Show Them How - The Royal Giants big lead in the early innings was too much for Disston, who lost an uphill game, 17 to 8.
  • Aug. 23-25, 1914, Chicago - Chicago American Giants complete a sweep of Royal Giants.
  • Sept. 13, 1914, Indianapolis - Brooklyn Noses Out A.B.C.'s in Final Inning of Hot Battle - The Brooklyn, New York Royals made a ninth-inning finish at Northwestern Park Wednesday, defeating the A.B.C.'s, 3 to 2, in a fast game.


The culmination of Brooklyn's 1914 season, metaphorically speaking, begins back in 1902, when a 22-year old pitcher named Andrew "Rube" Foster initially helps the Cuban Union Giants of Western Independent Clubs to a first-place finish.  Next season, he leads the Cuban X Giants to a pennant in the Eastern Independent circuit over the Philadelphia Giants.  In turn, Foster elevates the Philadelphia Giants to back-to-back first-place finishes in the Eastern Independent standings.  During the 1907-1908 seasons, he guides the Chicago Leland Giants of the Western Independent Clubs to consecutive first-place finishes and another in 1910 before the team folds.  By 1911, Rube Foster establishes the fabled Chicago American Giants, who capture Western Independent Club titles in 1912 and 1914.  The last pennant prompts the 34-year old Rube Foster to issue Brooklyn a challenge to play a "colored world series" to determine the best negro team.  Brooklyn accepts and is swept in five games.  However, the loss does little to tarnish the Royal Giants' reputation as one of the premier eastern clubs.

On the significance of the 1914 season:  The pride of Brooklyn's African-American baseball community had played solid, at times dominant, ball all season long, establishing themselves as one of the finest all-black hardball aggregations in the East.  Dr. Leslie Heaphy, Kent State University professor, Negro League expert, and author, says the Royal Giants were a crucial ingredient of the heady brew of 1910's blackball.  Their heyday was definitely the 1910's. - an excerpt from, Remembering the Royals: Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The Royal Giants of 1916 win another pennant for manager/outfielder Charles Earle, along with familiar names Pearl Webster, Bill Handy, third baseman Bill Kindle and right fielder Johnny Pugh who hits above .300 for the season.  Future Hall of Fame catcher Louis Santop bats .436 through 10 games and 35 at-bats.  On the mound, Brooklyn is sustained by Lefty Harvey and John "String Bean" Williams.

Brooklyn in 1920 again tops the Eastern Independent standings.  Similar to the 1910 season, the Royal Giants finish the season tied with the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, but hold an advantage in winning percentage and thus claim the pennant.  They are managed by the thirty-six-year-old shortstop and future Hall of Famer John Henry "Pop" Loyd, who also leads the team with a .305 average and .374 OBP.  In late September, the Royal Giants play the Cuban Stars for the self-proclaimed title of the "Colored World's Champions."  The three-game series is played at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.  Brooklyn wins two of three to claim the championship title.

In 1920, after a decade-plus of contemplation, Andrew "Rube" Foster finally established the first official Negro National League consisting of eight members: the Chicago American Giants, Chicago Giants, Dayton Marcos, Cuban Stars, Indianapolis ABC's, Detroit Starts, St. Louis Giants and Kansas City Monarchs.

Negro Leagues Centennial
1920 ~ 2020

On December 16, 1922, Nat Strong helped establish the Eastern Colored League, which kicks off the 1923 season with six members: the Brooklyn Royal Giants, Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, New York Cuban Stars, Baltimore Black Sox, New York Lincoln Giants, and Hilldale Club.  Brooklyn finished third in 1923, but over the next four seasons, never places better than fifth.

The short-lived Eastern Colored League folds after the 1927 season.  Brooklyn reverts again to the Eastern Independents.  But in truth, the heyday of Royal Giants baseball is by now long gone.  There are no records of the Royal Giants for the 1934 or 1935 seasons.  Nat Strong passes away in November of 1935.  They picked up again in 1936, but they have devolved to minor league and semi-pro status by this time.  After a 38-year run, the Brooklyn Royal Giants folded operations in 1942.



BASEBALL HALL OF FAME

The eleven-year career of infielder Frank Grant ends in 1907 upon completion of his lone season with Brooklyn.  A rookie in 1887, Grant retires with a career .338 average and .403 OBP.

A 26-year old Pete Hill plays sixteen games in left field for the 1908 Royal Giants, batting .298, with three triples and five stolen bases.  He retires a .329 hitter in over 2,500 negro leagues at-bats.  Hill additionally hits .327 in 31 games and 104 at-bats during exhibitions versus major leaguers.

Catcher Louis Santop spends four seasons (1916-1919) with the Royal Giants, slashing .386/.443/.554, with 22 extra-base hits and 44 RBI over 48 career games.  Also recognized for his outstanding play with the New York Lincoln Giants and Hilldale Club, Louis retires a .338 hitter, with 320 RBI through 455 negro league games.

Renowned negro league shortstop and manager John Henry "Pop" Loyd spends three seasons (1918-1920) with Brooklyn.  He posts a first-place finish in 1920 and a 26-25-2 overall record as manager.  At the plate, Lloyd wields a .314 batting average with thirteen extra-base hits and 28 runs batted in through 194 at-bats.  After a remarkable 27-year career, he retires with a lifetime .338 average in over 2,600 career at-bats and recognition for being one of baseball's best-ever shortstops with bat and glove.

In 1924, at 38-years of age, the great Smokey Joe Williams, in his only season with Brooklyn, posts a 3.74 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 96.1 innings pitched.  Smokey owns a lifetime 156-94 (.624) record and 2.45 ERA in 26 seasons and 311 career appearances.  On March 30, 1924, the semi-pro Brooklyn Bushwicks hosted the Royal Giants at Dexter Park.  Joe Williams enters the game in the first inning in relief of starter Lefty Flournoy and strikes out eleven of the first twelve batters he faces.  The game remains tied at two through the ninth.  The Royal Giants finally take a 3-2 lead in the top of the twelfth.  But the Bushwicks size up Williams for two runs in the bottom half of the frame for a 4-3 victory.  Despite the loss, Smokey Joe Williams - also known as "Cyclone" - strikes out 25 batters in the game.

First baseman Buck Leonard is famously known for his fifteen-year career with the Homestead Grays.  However, in 1933, a 25-year old Leonard plays his first-ever negro league game, donning a uniform of the Brooklyn Royal Giants.  Playing right field, Leonard goes 1 for 4 with a run scored.  It turns out to be his only game as a Royal Giant.  He debuts with Homestead the following season.  In an average 162-game season, Buck Leonard would slash .343/.447/.580, with 37 doubles, 26 home runs, 148 runs batted in, and 143 runs scored, according to Seamheads.

A member of the Cuban Hall of Fame, 27-year old Luis Bustamante in 1907, plays twelve games at second base for Brooklyn, going 16 for 44 (.364), with a .417 OBP and seven runs scored.

Another member of the Cuban Hall of Fame, 36-year old Rafael Figarola in 1918, appears in six games at first base for the Royal Giants, going 9 for 25 (.360), with four runs batted in and three runs scored.



BROOKLYN ROYALTY

Ponderous to me is that Charles "Chino" Smith is not enshrined in the Hall of Fame.  His career indeed is brief; seven years, five with Brooklyn.  However, his prowess at the plate is undeniable.  He owns a career .374 average in 404 at-bats with Brooklyn.  In 1927, he batted a career-high .457 in 127 at-bats.  In 1929, he batted .451 in a career-high 246 at-bats while with the New York Lincoln Giants.  The following season, he bats .417 in 175 at-bats.  Chino wields 376 total hits in 945 career at-bats for a .398 lifetime average.  Thirty-eight percent of his career hits go for extra bases, reflected in his .659 career slugging average.  Society for American Baseball Research has a somewhat different take on his statistics, but they are no less wondrous.  While in Cuba, Charlie "Chino" Smith becomes ill and passes away suddenly in 1931, at the young age of twenty-nine.

Another glaring omission from baseball's Hall of Fame, southpaw John Donaldson begins his career in 1913 with the multi-racial All Nations ball club based in Des Moines, Iowa, where he averages almost 20 strikeouts per game.  Two examples of his dominance: in 1913, he strikes out 27 batters in a one-hit, twelve inning effort against a semi-pro club at Marshall, Iowa; and in 1915, John strikes out 35 batters during an eighteen inning, 1-0 loss against Sioux Falls.  In 1919, he pitched against John McGraw's New York Giants, losing a hard-fought 1-0 encounter.  He is also said to have tossed three consecutive no-hitters - all this according to Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.  I yield to Wikipedia for the following: Newspaper coverage of Donaldson's games reveals a 413-161 career record, with 5,081 strikeouts, a 1.37 ERA, and 86 shutouts against all levels of competition.  He completes 92% of 322 career starts.  He is also credited with one perfect game and fourteen career no-hitters.  Twice did John strikeout 30 batters in a game; he achieves 25 strikeouts eleven times; fans twenty batters or more thirty times and strikes out at least fifteen batters 109 times throughout his career.  Donaldson also wields a .334 average with a bat in his hands in over 1,800 at-bats.  In 1918, a 27-year old Donaldson spent his lone season with the Brooklyn Royal Giants, posting four victories in ten appearances, with 1.99 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 77.0 innings pitched.  At the plate, he bats .318, with ten runs batted in, through 77 at-bats.  READ - MLB.com - The Untold Story of One of Baseball's Greatest Pitchers, and VISIT: The John Donaldson Network.

They Dick Redding "Cannonball" because he is considered one of the fastest throwers in the game.  He first joins the Royal Giants in 1918 as a 28-year old right-hander posting a perfect 4-0 through 18.2 scoreless innings pitched in four appearances.  The following season, he goes 7-4 with a 1.31 ERA in twelve appearances, and 96.1 innings pitched.  After spending a few years away with the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants, New York Bacharach Giants, and Habana of the Cuban League, Cannonball returned to Brooklyn in 1923.  He serves as player/manager from 1927 through 1933, compiling a 20-46 (.303) managerial record.  On the mound, Redding owns a 4.03 ERA in 48 career games, and 315 innings pitched for the Royal Giants.

Reputed dead-ball era slugger of eighteen seasons, Grant "Homerun" Johnson spends five with the Royal Giants, winning back to back championships and batting .298 with 61 runs batted in through 396 at-bats.  His 1906 season is arguably his best (.362/.459/.606, three home runs, 22 RBI through 24 games and 94 at-bats).  In 1895, he and Bud Fowler established the Page Fence Giants, for whom Johnson plays shortstop and manages.

Infielder Bill "Money" Monroe is renowned for his glovework and speed but is just as famous for being an on-field entertainer and one of the most outspoken athletes of his generation.  Monroe says of himself, "I never miss, hit it to me, and you are out," according to Baseball-Reference.  The main component of Brooklyn's 1908-1910 championship run, Monroe, hits an even .300 in 310 career at-bats spanning six seasons with the Royal Giants.

After making his 1917 debut in the Florida Hotel League, Irvin Brooks spends the next fifteen seasons patrolling center field for the Royal Giants.  He retires with a .306 lifetime average in 247 career games with Brooklyn.  His 1925 season is undoubtedly his best (.345/.405/.513, with a team-high six home runs and 36 runs batted in).

Brooklyn native Elbert "Cool" Turner is a veteran shortstop of seven seasons with Brooklyn.  He leads the 1923 Royal Giants with a .353 average and is second on the team with 41 hits, five doubles, and 21 RBI through 116 at-bats.

A member of the 1906-1907 Royal Giants, lead-off hitter and left fielder Andrew Payne hits .338 in 33 career games and 139 at-bats for Brooklyn,

Southpaw Billy Holland makes his debut in 1895 with the Page Fence Giants.  His career is brief, only six years, two of which (1906-1907) Holland spends in Brooklyn, where he compiles a 9-6 record with a 2.01 ERA through fifteen starts (thirteen complete games) and 125.1 innings pitched.

First baseman Eddie Douglass spends his entire eight-year career in Brooklyn.  He debuted in 1918, and by 1921 takes over as field manager until calling it quits after the 1925 season.  In 1923, Douglass batted .321, through 30 games and 134 at-bats, with five home runs and 23 runs batted in.


Add the names Dizzy Dean; Cool Papa Bell; Carl Hubbell; Dazzy Vance; Joe Medwick;
and a host of other significant stars black and white who've played at Dexter Park.

ROYAL GROUNDS

I - Washington Park (1906-1907)
  • Home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

 II - Meyerrose Park (1908-1911)
  • Ridgewood, Brooklyn/Queens border, at Covert Avenue and Woodbine Street.
  • The biggest crowds at Meyerrose Park were usually for double-headers.  Typically, two popular Negro League teams such as the Royal Giants and Philadelphia Giants would play, with Ridgewood to take on the winner. - excerpt from Covehurst.net/Brooklyn Ballparks

 III - Ridgewood Grounds (1912-1917)
  • Bounded by Wyckoff Avenue, Weirfield Street, Irving Avenue, Covert Street.
  • Also known as Wallace Grounds.  On Sept. 17, 1917, a fire burned down the grandstand and damaged the bleachers.

 IV - Dexter Park (1918-1937)
  • Home of the independent semi-pro Brooklyn Bushwicks.
  • One source says the Royal Giants were featured here prominently from 1905 through 1913.
  • In 1922, Royal Giants owner Nat Strong and Bushwicks owner Max Rosner purchase and renovate Dexter Park. 


GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY
1874  NAT STRONG  1935
Business Manager: 1910 ~ 1912
Royal Giants Owner: 1913 ~ 1933


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