A Team Grows in Harlem: The New York Lincoln Giants

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF DEM BARNSTORMERS

NEW YORK LINCOLN GIANTS

HARLEM   1911 ~ 1930   BRONX

WHEN HARLEM IS THE MEASURE OF BASEBALL IN NEW YORK CITY

In far off Brooklyn, Washington Park is still home to the inconsequential Trolley Dodgers, who, in their last 21 seasons, have failed to secure a pennant.  Meanwhile, the upper Manhattan nines play to extremes.  At Hilltop Park, the New York Highlanders of the junior circuit lose 102 games.  Down below Coogan's Bluff, the Polo Grounds, on April 14, 1911, sustains massive damage caused by fire.  Undeterred, the Giants win 99 games to earn their fourth-ever National League pennant.  Three miles from Hilltop Park and just a mile and a half south from the Polo Grounds, thousands of local fans pack the grandstand and bleachers at Olympic Field in Harlem to revel in the exploits of their own talent-laden nine.  Theirs was a team warranting instant acclaim, which today goes largely under spoken.  Back then, however, John McGraw, Walter Johnson, Jacob Ruppert, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, to name a few, knew what was going on.  They all knew exactly what their neighbors were up to and appreciated what they saw.  That is until Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis slapped the blinders on them.  Happy 100th Anniversary of the Negro Leagues - BTB

"New York's baseball fans are a peculiar lot.  When the Giants played the Yankees not so long ago it took a holiday to bring out a crowd of 10,000.  Yesterday afternoon the Giants played a negro team, the Lincoln Giants, at Olympic Field, in Harlem, and more than 9,000 showed up for the game.  If there had been room, at least 2,000 more would have jammed into the lot.  It was the biggest crowd that has yet seen a contest at a semi-pro ball yard in this city. " - scrapbook/1914 news clip, Hall of Fame collection

• By comparison, the 1914 New York Giants averaged 2,365 per game.  The Highlanders averaged a fraction less with 2,334 per game.  Out in Brooklyn, the hapless Dodgers welcomed a mere 769 fans per game at two-year-old Ebbets Field. 

*         *         *

A baseball team is born in Harlem, a squad for locals to root for and call their own.  In 1911, the New York Lincoln Giants were founded by Edward and Jess McMahon.  The brothers are no strangers to the local scene.  Born in New York City, both attend Manhattan College and, by this time, are well-established sports promoters and maintain a strong business presence in the area.  

In 1905, they opened the gates to the newly constructed Olympic Field, located at 136th Street and 5th Avenue, as a home field for their semi-pro Olympic Athletic Club.  They also book games for the Empire and St. Nichols clubs in Harlem.  This puts them in direct competition against the notoriously well connected and increasingly powerful booking agent Nat Strong, who among his holdings owns the semi-pro Murray Hills, Bay Parkways, and Ridgewood.  

In 1906, the McMahons also established the Philadelphia Quaker Giants, which also puts them in local area competition against John Connor's Brooklyn Royal Giants based out of Washington Park.  However, the Quaker Giants only last one season in the Eastern Independent circuit despite a successful second-place finish.

INAUGURAL SEASON AND INSTANT GLORY

Sol White, famously known for his playing days with the Cuban X Giants and as player/manager for the Philadelphia Giants, leads the Brooklyn Royal Giants in 1910 to a first-place finish.  He is recruited by the McMahons to assemble a roster and manage the Lincoln Giants inaugural season.  

Upon his shift to Harlem, White pries away outfielder Phil Bradley and veteran pitcher and old friend Harry Buckner from Connor's Royal Giants.  Outfielders Judy Gans and Wallace Gordon arrive from the Cuban Giants.  In July, White sets his sights on his former team, teetering between major and minor league status since he ended his relationship with Walter Schlichter.  Southpaw Danny McClellan, third baseman Bill Francis, left fielder Stottswood Poles, young catcher (HOF) Louis Santop, and 21-year old Dick Redding are all imported from the Philadelphia Giants (effectively causing that club to fold after a wildly successful decade of operation).  Rounding out the roster, first baseman Pete Booker and acclaimed shortstop John Henry Lloyd are extracted from the Chicago Leland Giants managed by Rube Foster.  

White, the respected baseball sage who is winding down a Hall of Fame career which began back in 1887, quits his post midway through the season.  After this, John Henry Lloyd is named the new manager of the Lincoln Giants. 

Rookie Dick Redding is considered the top pitcher in the East.  He throws a 1-0 shutout over Central Islip's semi-pros in his first appearance for the Lincoln Giants.  Cannonball reportedly runs off 17 straight victories against all competition.  Against top competitors, he posts a 15-3 record with 17 complete games and four shutouts.  Four of those victories came against the Chicago American Giants.  The Lincoln Giants gain nationwide acclaim as a result.

At the plate, John Henry Lloyd leads the team in runs scored, runs batted in, hits, average (.417), slugging, and OPS.  George Wright is next in with a .414 batting average.  Spottswood Poles hit .330 with 41 stolen bases.  Louis Santop, Pete Booker, and Phil Bradley all hit above the .320 mark.

• BOXSCORE: Brooklyn Royal Giants defeat Dick Redding and Lincoln Giants, 12 to 3.

Quite naturally, the New York Lincoln Giants and Brooklyn Royal Giants become instant rivals.  However, in this instance, the old adage, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" applies.  The McMahons and Roger Connor circumvent Nat Strong by scheduling a non-sanctioned playoff.  National African-American newspapers credit the New York Lincoln Giants with registering a 108-12 season record and laying claim to the title of Colored Champions of the East.

• BOXSCORE: Oct. 15, 1911 - Walter Johnson and Honus Wagner lead a team of major and minor leaguers to victory over the Lincoln Giants, 5 to 3, before a large crowd at Olympic Field.  Johnson strikes out fourteen.  But they say the real highlight was Wagner and John Henry Lloyd - the two best shortstops of their era playing on the same field.

YEAR TWO AND ARRIVAL OF THE CYCLONE

New York resumes their dominance in 1912, outpacing the field to earn a second straight Eastern championship.  

The Lincolns and Brooklyn Royal Giants face-off six times at Hilltop Park, home to the American League Highlanders.  The Lincolns also play games this season at the Polo Grounds.

Led by Louis Santop and his .422 mark, the team posts a .359 average.  In fact, only one position regular bats below .300 for the season.  Spottswood Poles are second on the team with a lofty .398 average.  Pop Lloyd bats .376 and leads the team in hits and runs batted in.  Redding and newcomer Joe Williams also wield productive sticks.  Redding bats .367 in 68 at-bats and Williams achieves a .320 mark in 50 at-bats.

Dick "Cannonball" Redding in 1912 reportedly achieves a 43-12 record against all levels of competition.  He strikes out 19 batters in a 1-0 perfect game performance against Jersey City at Olympic Field, and in another game strikes out twenty-four minor league all-stars.  In early August, he pitches yet another perfect game against the Cherokee Indians barnstorming team at Olympic Field.  On  Wednesday, Aug. 28, 1912, he tosses a 1-0 no-hitter against Jose Mendez and the Cuban Stars of Havana at Inlet Park, Atlantic City.  It's the first-ever documented no-hitter between two "high level" African-American teams.  Against top competitors, Redding owns a 9-3 record (four shutouts) and a 1.62 ERA, with ten walks and 128 strikeouts through 111 innings pitched.  Newspaper accounts credit "Cannonball" Dick Redding with seven no-hitters in 1912 against all competition (and more than thirty in his career).

"Cyclone" Joe Williams is secured from the Chicago Giants and (HOF) Ben Taylor from the West Baden Sprudels.  For the next three seasons, Williams and Dick Redding form one of the best one-two pitching punches ever seen in America. 

After the 1912 regular season, the Lincoln Giants win two straight games against Major League all-stars.  The first game ends 4 to 3, the second game is a whitewash, 2 to 0.

In late October, Joe Williams throws three shutouts against Major League hitters.  He twice whitewashes a team comprised of players from the New York Giants and New York Highlanders by identical scores, 6 to 0.  One team is captained by New York Giants second baseman Larry Doyle, the other by New York Highlanders Hal Chase.

• BOXSCORE: On Oct. 27, 1912, Williams defeats Louis Drucke of the National League Giants, 6 to 0, while allowing just four singles.  More than 6,000 persons, the largest crowd that ever jams Olympic Field, watch the game.

Joe Williams tosses a 2-0 shutout in the third match against New York Giants pitcher George "Hooks" Wiltse.

JOE WILLIAMS (Cyclone, Smokey) HOF Class 1999 

Joe Williams remains true to the New York Lincoln Giants through the 1923 season.  He compiles a career 89-55 record with a 1.26 ERA in 1,268.2 innings pitched, and 111 complete games in 141 career starts, according to the Hall of Fame.

In 26 post-season matches spanning 1913-1932 against the best MLB clubs, Williams amasses a 19-6-1 record.  He earns victories against Rube Marquard, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Walter Johnson, Waite Hoyt, Chief Bender, et al.

On Aug. 3, 1930, at 54-years of age, Cyclone Joe faces the Kansas City Monarchs in one of the first night games ever played in Negro ball.  He throws a 1-0 shutout, allowing just one hit and striking out 27 batters in twelve innings.  

No pitcher throws more innings while donning a Lincoln Giants uniform.  Sportswriter Bozeman Bulger rates Williams on par with Christy Mathewson, with whom the scribe is close friends. 

 "Everyone wanted to be Joe Williams on the sandlot ... we argued about who could [be] Smokey Joe!" - Negro Leagues catcher Josh Johnson

THIRD STRAIGHT EASTERN TITLE AND SHOWDOWN VERSUS THE WEST

Dick Redding, in 1913 sees limited action.  Joe Williams is tasked with carrying the load.  In fourteen circuit appearances, he posts a 9-2 record with a 1.87 ERA.

The lineup now features another defector from the Brooklyn Royal Giants, noted veteran Grant "Home Run" Johnson, who leads the team with a .452 batting average.  Louis Santop bats .382 while leading the team in runs batted in.  John Henry Lloyd finishes with a .377 average.  The Lincoln Giants in 1913 again outpace the Royal Giants, who are now owned by Nat Strong.  They roll to another sensational 111-11 season record against all competition to claim a third straight Eastern championship.

The Lincoln Giants face-off against Rube Foster's famed Chicago American Giants for the title of Colored Champions of the World.  Fifteen games are scheduled, but they only play twelve.  Cyclone pitches eleven games in twenty days, posting a 7-2 record, and at one point, pitches six games in five days.

Chicago comes East for the first five games, and right away, there is drama.  Upon his arrival, Rube Foster signs Brooklyn Royal Giants pitcher Frank Wickware to pitch game one against the Lincoln Giants.  When Wickware appears at Olympic Field in a Chicago uniform, the Lincoln Giants protest, as the pitcher had already accepted $100 from them just days before.  Foster and John Henry Lloyd argue for over an hour, and the game is ultimately called off.  When play resumes, Joe Williams wins two games; the teams battle to an 11-11 tie; in the fourth tilt, Chicago rallies in the ninth for a 6-5 victory.  The teams reschedule the fifth game.  However, Rube Foster leaves a second large crowd hanging when Chicago exits the field in protest over another member of the Brooklyn Royal Giants subbing for injured Lincoln Giants pitcher Judy Gans.

The series shifts to Chicago, but not before the Lincoln Giants stop at Indianapolis for a game against the strong ABC's club, who also claim to be among the best, if not the best club in the East.  Dick Redding earns the victory and helps his own cause with two home runs and four runs scored.

Once in Chicago, the Lincoln Giants defeat the American Giants six out of ten games.  Williams wins the series clincher on Aug. 13 by a score of 4 to 1.  The victory gives the Lincoln Giants seven victories in twelve games.

AUGUST 21, 1913 - "The Lincoln Giants of New York won the negro baseball championship of the United States by defeating the Chicago American Giants, 4 to 1." - Estancia News-Herald, NM

New York closes out an immensely successful three year run with a series against the National League Philadelphia Phillies.  In the feature match-up, Smokey Joe Williams defeats Grover Cleveland Alexander, 9 to 2.  Spottswood Poles goes 10 for 15 (.667), including three straight hits off Alexander.

NEW YORK LINCOLN GIANTS CHANGE HANDS

Since entering the circuit, Ed and Jess McMahon actively sought to circumvent and compromise Nat Strong's grip on New York City baseball.  The McMahon's booking terms and promotional fees are more reasonable and more alluring out of town and Midwestern clubs.  They also pay good salaries to their players.  In fact, manager John Henry Lloyd guaranteed payment on the 1st and 15th of every month.  

However, in late August 1913, reports suddenly begin circulating that several Lincoln Giants hadn't been paid their full salaries in weeks because of financial reverses the McMahons had incurred from their boxing promotions.  One account insists Ed (and/or Jess) was an alcoholic and once got too drunk and didn't (or couldn't afford to) pay the players.  This prompts Louis Santop and Doc Sykes to leave the team.  Pop Lloyd also departs over what is said to be blatant financial double-dealing by the McMahon brothers.  According to pitcher Doc Sykes, owner Jess McMahon drank up the gate receipts, and that Lloyd was so mad, he left the team and went back to play for his old boss, Rube Foster.

The brothers wind up losing the lease on Olympic Field and ownership of the Lincoln Giants to sports promoter James Keenan and New York hustler Charley Harvey.  

The McMahons immediately mount a comeback in 1914 by forming the Lincoln Stars out of Lenox Oval.  With two teams now competing for the Harlem fanbase, James Keenan and Nat Strong form a business alliance.  Strong is in control of three of the best negro teams in the East.  He owns the Brooklyn Royal Giants and controls booking for the Philadelphia Giants II and Cuban Giants.  Together with Keenan, they do not book games against the Lincoln Stars (in three seasons, the two teams in Harlem never play each other).  Ed and Jess McMahon succumb to the conditions and after the 1916 season drop out of the loop.  In the meantime, Keenan gains dominance of Harlem and, together with Strong, collude to keep all teams outside their sphere of control, particularly negro teams and Midwestern clubs, from playing within New York City.

The product on the field in 1914 and 1915 remains strong, but matters with the Lincoln Stars impact the Lincoln Giants roster.  Other notable departures include Dick Redding, Spots Poles, and John Henry Lloyd.  

In 1914, Dick Wallace came over from the St. Louis Giants to serve as manager for the next two seasons.  Joe Williams posts a 41-3 record against all competition and throws a no-hitter in an exhibition against the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League.  

New York continues to bill itself as the Colored World Champions (as the Lincoln Stars play too few games). 

JULY 25, 1914 - "The Lincoln Giants of New York, the real baseball players, the ones that gave Mr. Foster such a great rub last year, will be in the city in the month of August.  Every one is waiting breathless to see this team.  Order your seats now.  Boxes are at a premium unless you order now." - The Indianapolis Freeman  

The Lincoln Giants defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in an exhibition, 10 to 4. 

On  Oct. 18, 1914, Smokey Joe fans twelve New York Giants while Rube Marquard strikes out fourteen Lincoln Giants in a 1-1 tie game halted due to darkness.  

BOXSCORE: The following week, Marquard out-duels Williams, throwing a 3-0 shutout. Joe Williams fans ten batters, and Rube strikes out 15 batters.

The Giants won by 3-0, thanks to some mighty fine hurling by our old pal Monsieur Rube Marquard.  He held the negroes at his mercy at all stages and fanned fifteen of them." - scrapbook, accompanying news clip, Hall of Fame collection

However, it's the Brooklyn Royal Giants who ultimately trek West to play the eventual Colored World Champion Chicago American Giants.  Rube Foster's club takes the championship series in five.

Knucks James, in 1915, serves his only season as manager of the Lincoln Giants.  Dick Redding signs with the rival Lincoln Stars.  

Exhibition games: Smokey Joe Williams loses against the New York Giants, 4 to 2, as Jeff Tesreau strikes out 17 Lincoln Giants.  He whitewashes Buffalo of the Federal League, 3 to 0.  The Lincolns then split two games with the Philadelphia Phillies.  Williams wins 1-0 on a three-hitter and loses, 4 to 2.

July 11, 1915 - "The Lincoln Giants added another victory to their long string yesterday by defeating the Havana Reds in a double bill at Olympic Field by scores of 8 to 3, and 7 to 6.  The second contest was a hummer.  The Lincoln Giants won in the ninth frame when Forbes singled sending home James.  Cyclone Joe Williams pitched an excellent game in the curtain raiser.  He allowed the Cubans only two hits." - Indianapolis Freeman

The Lincoln Giants again finish first among Eastern clubs.  However, Ed and Jess McMahon and the New York Lincoln Stars, under manager John Henry Lloyd, have their fleeting day in the sun by defeating the Chicago American Giants for the title of Colored World Champions.

1916

April 30, 1916 - "Now that the winter is beginning to lose its wintry bite and the cold flurries of wind are becoming a less frequent visitor...  The gates of Olympic Field, the old home of Colored America's best known baseball nine: the Lincoln Giants, have been thrown open..." - Indianapolis Freeman 

Nat Strong expands his empire, becoming half owner of the Brooklyn Bushwicks.  In Atlantic City, the Bacharach Giants are formed.  

Smokey Joe Williams takes over as manager of the Lincoln Giants and is reunited with Dick Redding.  Spottswood Poles is also back in the fold, and the Lincolns again finish in first.

July 29, 1916 - "Continuing with their uninterrupted victories since the beginning of this season's baseball, the Lincoln Giants trotted home last Sunday with two more games marked to their credit.  While in the ordinary sense, the baseball nines of New York and New Jersey states are plenty strong enough to oppose the ordinary everyday teams with which they are booked to play.  The Lincolns have proven time after time this season that they are as far in front of these other nines as far as class is concerned, as the Yankees of the American League show against Connie Mack's Athletics.  For this reason it would certainly prove to be one of the best matches financially speaking that ever bumped into the Rube (Foster), if he will only consent to bring his American Giants to this city for a month or so." - The Indianapolis Freeman

As a member of the Tri-County League, the Lincoln Giants capture the circuit championship with a 12-5 (.750) record.  

Aug. 13, 1916 - "The famous Cuban Stars from Havana will play the Lincoln Giants, world's colored champions, in a double header.  The crack players from Cuba have been making a great record on the road and are now at the top of their form and expect to break the great winning streak of the colored champions." - New York Tribune

In 1916, James Keenan said Smokey Joe Williams and Walter Johnson stage the greatest pitching duel he ever saw.  Johnson defeats Williams, 1 to 0, at the Catholic Protectory Oval in the Bronx.

Rivalry Between the New York Lincoln Giants vs. Brooklyn Royal Giants

From 1912 through 1919, the two teams clash in a doubleheader about every other Sunday and almost always on Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day.  At stake is the Eastern crown earned by the Lincolns in 1912, 1913, 1914, and 1917.  The Royal Giants finally breakthrough and take the title in 1916, while in 1918, each squad wins nine games apiece but fail to hold a decisive match before season's end.

Meanwhile, the one-two punch of Cannonball Redding and Smokey Williams proves devastating to Brooklyn fortunes.  From 1911 through 1916, Redding posts a 17-7-1 record against the Royal Giants.  Between 1912 and 1920, Williams wins 24 of 35 decisions against Brooklyn, with six shutouts.  As an opposing pitcher in 1918, Redding defeats Williams in their first three head-to-head match-ups.  On  Sunday, May 4, 1919, "Smokey" Joe Williams exacts a measure of revenge, striking out twelve batters and no-hitting Dick Redding and the Royal Giants, 1-0, in the first game of a doubleheader before the "biggest gathering" in Olympic Field history. 

Sept. 4, 1916 - "The Royal Giants and the Lincoln Giants will meet at Olympic Field, next Sunday, in the final double header in their series for the colored championship.  There is so much feeling between these players that in the last series played, three players were injured and compelled to retire from the game.  The series is now a tie." - New York Tribune 

In 1916, there is no clear colored champion of the East.  The Eastern Independents finish the season in a three-way tie: New York Lincoln Giants; Jersey City Cubans; Brooklyn Royal Giants.  Newspaper accounts promote the Lincoln Giants and Royal Giants as the top two teams.  The two clubs stage a ten-game series for the "Championship of Greater New York."  Each team wins four games, and two games end in a tie.

The Lincoln Giants in 1917 top the Eastern Independents for the fifth time in seven seasons and the third season in a row.  If there were ever a negro baseball most valuable player, Joe Williams was that.  He leads the East with 10 circuit wins and 70 strikeouts and is second with a 1.69 ERA.  At the plate, he leads the East with a .403 average (.474 against top Eastern teams) and is second in slugging with a .629 mark.

Sept. 2, 1917 - "..the Lincoln Giants and Royal Giants are evenly matched and are having a nip and tuck struggle for the colored baseball title.  They are particularly anxious over the outcome as the famous Cuban Stars of Havana have agreed to play the winner for the international title." - The Evening World, N.Y.

Sept. 30, 1917 - "The Lincoln Giants and Royal Giants will continue their series for the colored championship of the East at Olympic Field.  The Royals have won five games, lost four and one resulted in a 4-4 tie.  The rivalry between these teams is keen and the wagering on the outcome is exceptionally heavy.  The teams are evenly matched and should furnish the fans with plenty of excitement.  Both have many backers and a considerable sum will change hands on the series results." - The Sun, N.Y. 

Most of the aforementioned games between the Royals and Lincolns are staged at Olympic Field in Harlem.  Brooklyn's  Andrew "String Bean" Williams versus Cyclone Joe Williams is the feature match-up.  String Bean throws a 6-0 shutout in game one. However, no known records exist for the final doubleheader.  No winner is declared. 

In 1918, Dick "Cannonball" Redding, Louis Santop, and John Henry "Pop" Lloyd all joined the rival Royal Giants.  Brooklyn is considered one of the elite teams of the East.  On June 6, Cannonball pitches both games of a doubleheader, and each time is victorious over the Lincoln Giants before 15,000 fans at Olympic Field.  Redding leaves to serve in WWI immediately thereafter.  Nat Strong, after lengthy negotiation, signs pitcher John Donaldson.  Upon signing, he becomes the highest-paid player ever to wear a Brooklyn Royal Giants uniform. 

Again, Joe Williams leads the East with 10 wins and 93 strikeouts and is second with a 1.07 ERA. 

August 11, 1918 - "The Royal Giants, who after winning four straight games were downed twice in successive weeks by the Lincoln Giants, will clash with that team in a double header at Olympic Field next Sunday.  Cyclone Williams, who checked the winning streak of the Royals, despite the fact they had their star hurler (John) Donaldson, the western phenom on the firing line, will oppose Donaldson again on Sunday." - The Sun, N.Y.

On Sept. 14, 1918, Smokey Williams whitewashed Rube Marquard's integrated All Nationals, 8 to 0.  The Lincolns total of sixteen hits. 

October 12, 1918 - "The Lincoln Giants will go from Harlem this afternoon to Dexter Park to play a double header with the Royal Giants.  Williams and Donaldson are likely to meet in the second game." - The Sun, N.Y.

For the third year in a row, the New York Lincoln Giants and the Brooklyn Royal Giants play a twelve game series for the "Colored Championship of Greater New York," and the series ends inconclusively for the third time.  Brooklyn wins five of the first six games.  New York's one victory comes courtesy Joe Williams' 1-0 shutout over John Donaldson.  The Lincoln Giants rally to tie the series at six apiece.  And once again, that's when everything stops.  Apparently, a decisive game is never played.

On Sunday, May 4, 1919, "Smokey" Joe Williams throws a no-hitter against Redding and the Brooklyn Royal Giants at Olympic Field.

May 5, 1919 - "Although only a mile away from the Polo Grounds where the Giants and Phillies clashed yesterday, the Lincoln Giants and Brooklyn Royal Giants clearly indicated yesterday at Olympic Field that there is plenty of room in Manhattan for strong semi-pro clubs in addition to the major league teams, by playing before the biggest gathering that ever packed the Harlem park.  Not only was every seat in the spacious grandstand and bleacher section taken, but even standing room was at a premium.  Williams pitched a no-hit, no run game in the opener against Redding, the Lincolns winning, 1-0.  The second was won by the Royals, 8-7." - The Sun, N.Y.

October 19, 1919 - "Although Rube Marquard of the Brooklyns and Walter Smallwood of the Yankees were on the mound, the Lincoln Giants twice humbled the All-Leaguers at Olympic Field, each time by a score of 5 to 0." - The Sun, N.Y.

ATLANTIC CITY BACHARACHS INVADE HARLEM; LINCOLN GIANTS FORCED TO BRONX

Just as they filibuster Ed McMahon's Lincoln Stars, Keenan and Nat Strong do not book their teams against the Bacharachs.  From 1914 through 1918, no out of town negro teams play in New York City.  However, the reappearance of John Connor and the emergence of his Atlantic City club change that.  He initially skirts Nat Strong by scheduling games with Ed Bolden's Hilldale Club from Pennsylvania.  Connor, in 1919, then takes his first steps back into Nat Strong's territory.  He secures a lease on Dykman Oval and immediately begins pressing James Keenan and Strong for Harlem's control.  Connor also begins raiding rosters of both the Royal Giants and Lincoln Giants and negotiates to have his team play several home games at Ebbets Field.  The New York Age begins relentlessly promoting the black-owned team as Harlem's own, at the expense of the white-owned Lincoln Giants.  James Keenan's operation is further tilted when after the 1919 season, he loses the lease on Olympic Field.  Developers chose to convert the land into a parking lot.  The Lincoln Giants are thus forced into moving their operation to the Bronx, where from 1920 through 1930, they play the rest of their home games at the Catholic Protectory Oval.

PREVIOUSLY: 

THE NEGRO LEAGUES, EBBETS FIELD & THE GREAT CLASH OF 1920

I previously covered the 1919 and 1920 seasons from an Atlantic City Bacharachs point of view.  The bitter rivalry between the Lincoln Giants and Bacharach, and the alliances formed between John Connor and Barron Wilkins versus James Keenan and Nat Strong, comes to a head on July 11, 1920, when the teams historically clash in front of 16,000 fans at Ebbets Field.  It marks the first time two premiere negro clubs face-off in a Major League stadium in the East.

NEW YORK LINCOLN GIANTS RELOCATE TO BRONX

In 1920 the Lincoln Giants settled into their new home.  For the next ten years, they will play at the Catholic Protectory Oval in the Bronx (an orphanage for boys and girls), five miles east of Yankee Stadium.  James Keenan has the bleachers from Olympic Field transferred over to the new location.

Rube Foster, in 1920 forms the Negro National League.  In 1922, Bacharachs owners John Connor and Barron Wilkins retired from baseball.  The following season Nat Strong, Ed Bolden, and the new owners of Atlantic City lead the formation of the Eastern Colored League.  Hilldale and the Bacharachs sever their association with the NNL and join the new circuit, ironically bringing Ed Bolden, Nat Strong, and James Keenan into mutual association (or so it appears).  The rest of the league membership includes the Cuban Stars (East), Brooklyn Royal Giants, Baltimore Black Sox, and Lincoln Giants.  Hilldale dominates the first three years of the league.  The Bacharach Giants likewise outpace the field during the 1926 and 1927 seasons.

The Lincoln Giants first season in the ECL is Joe Williams' last season as manager.  On the mound,  Williams sees his ERA climb to a 4.80 mark.  After twelve seasons, Smokey Joe's career with the New York Lincoln Giants comes to an end.  In August, the Lincolns acquire infielder George Scales, who bats .412 through nine games.  Otherwise, second baseman Orville Singer leads the team with a .400 average and eight stolen bases.  Ninth year Lincoln Giants outfielder Jules Thomas leads the team in runs batted in.  The Lincolns finish the 1923 season in fifth place.

George Scales is released in 1925 over a personal difference with James Keenan but returns in July of next season.  Two months later, on Sept. 19, 1926, Scales hits three home runs in a 5-4 victory over the Cuban Stars.  James Keenan, midway through the 1927 season, removes the Lincoln Giants from the ECL and finishes out the season as independent barnstormers.  Scales goes on to hit .419 for the 1927 Lincoln Giants.  His grand slam on May 15 carries the team to a 6-2 victory over the rival Brooklyn Royal Giants, and on Aug. 13, he makes a clean steal of home against the Homestead Grays.  On Sept. 16, 1928, he hit the longest home run ever hit at the Catholic Protectory Oval.  The Lincoln Giants all-time RBI king, George Scales, is traded in August 1929 to the Homestead Grays in exchange for slugger Joe Beckwith.  

At the end of the 1925 season, Lou Gehrig plays for the Bronx Giants against the Lincoln Giants at the Protectory Oval.  Teammate Oscar Charleston goes 4 for 6, with a double and home run.  Gehrig previously plays at the Oval while attending the High School of Commerce. 

"A man should be judged on how good he is, and not on where his parents were born, or the color of his skin, don't you think?" - Lou Gehrig (article by Ford Frick, New York Evening Journal; 1927)

On Aug. 3, 1927, Lou Gehrig and friend Paul Robeson are in attendance when the Lincoln Giants host the Cuban Stars.

"The Lincoln Giants were playing the Cuban Giants at the Oval.  Paul (Robeson) has a lot of friends on both teams, and he's heading off to Europe in a few weeks.  He knew I had played against some of them, so we made a date a couple of weeks ago.  'Let's go see some real baseball,' he told me." - Lou Gehrig  

JOHN HENRY LLOYD (Pop) HOF Class 1977 

"Lloyd is to be given complete control of the team for at least two years." - New York Age

At 42-years of age, John Henry "Pop" Lloyd in 1926 returns to manage the Lincoln Giants for the organization's final five seasons.  The former shortstop now plays second base and spends his last two seasons at first.

"Pop Lloyd was the greatest player, the greatest manager, the greatest teacher.  He had ability and knowledge and, above all, patience.  I did not know what baseball was until I played under him on the Lincoln Giants.  I was just a kid.  He's the one that taught me to play shortstop" -  (ss) Bill Yancy

In 1928, Lloyd led what is left of the Eastern Colored League with a .564 average and eleven home runs, according to NLBmuseum.

"Have you ever seen John Henry Lloyd play?  I swear to god, he's better than any other infielder in our game, save maybe for (Tony) Lazzeri.  And the Cubans have this kid, Martin Dihigo, who's still a little rough but is really gonna be something." - Lou Gehrig

Lloyd's 285 games and 1,193 at-bats with the Lincolns are his most with any one team.  With the Lincolns, he slashes .358/.407/.477, with 205 runs batted in.  Pop Lloyd retires with a lifetime  .368 career batting average. 

"Lloyd is the greatest baseball player of all time." - Babe Ruth 

Hall of Fame first baseman Jud Wilson in 1927 spends his only season with the Lincoln Giants.

LINCOLN GIANTS SWAN SONG

With Ed Bolden's operation falling into dire straits, the Eastern Colored League folds midway through the 1928 season.  Teams try completing their schedules with varying success.  New York finishes with the season's best overall record, but the Bacharachs win a tight race in circuit play to claim the pennant.

The American Negro League, formed in 1929, takes the place of the ECL with members: Cuban Giants (East); Hilldale Club; Baltimore Black Sox; Atlantic City Bacharach Giants; Homestead Grays; and Lincoln Giants.  New York arguably enjoys its best season under Pop Lloyd with a 45-28 record.  However, the Baltimore Black Sox capture the first and second half flags to sweep the pennant.  After one season, the league folds. 

In 1930, the Lincolns again revert to an Independent schedule and field their strongest team since Lloyd managed the 1913 squad.  At 46-years of age and now playing first base, Pop Lloyd has one of his best seasons with a .381 average.  Former Brooklyn Royal Giants right fielder Charlie Smith turns in two of the best seasons of his career while donning a Lincoln Giants uniform.  He easily leads the team in all offensive categories.  In 1929, he batted .451 with a rich 1.421 OPS, 22 home runs, 81 RBI, and 16 stolen bases through 66 games.  In 1930, he batted .417 with a 1.260 OPS, eight home runs, and 53 RBI in 51 games.  Hall of Famer Turkey Stearns comes East to play 19 games with the Lincoln Giants.  One of the game's premier center fielders slashes .425/.506/.904, with six home runs and 33 runs batted in through 73 at-bats.  Fats Jenkins would also spend his only season with the Lincolns, hitting .403 over 32 games.  John Beckwith is the fourth member of the lineup to post a .400 season, hitting .486 with a robust 1.442 OPS, with six home runs through 30 games.  Right-hander Bill Holland hurls his finest season since 1921, achieving a 14-2 record with 15 complete games and 99 strikeouts through 18 starts.

On July 5, 1930, upwards of 20,000 fans witnessed the Lincoln Giants host a doubleheader against the Baltimore Black Sox in the first-ever match-up between prominent negro league teams played at Yankee Stadium.  Yankees owner Colonel Jacob Ruppert makes the stadium available to benefit the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the nation's first successful black union.  The Giants win the first game, 13 to 4, and drop the second game,  5 to 3.  Pop Lloyd goes 4 for 8, with a stolen base, and plays flawlessly in the field.  Lloyd's plaque at the Baseball Hall of Fame acknowledges he was "instrumental in opening Yankee Stadium to Negro baseball in 1930."

The Homestead Grays top the Eastern Independent circuit with a 45-15 record, a mere 1.5 games ahead of the Lincoln Giants.  Homestead features former Lincoln Giants pitching great Joe Williams and slugger George Scales.  Behind the plate is 18-year old Josh Gibson.  Guiding him are veterans Oscar Charleston, Judy Johnson, Buck Ewing, Vic Harris, and former A.C. Bacharachs standout Chaney White. 

With old Smokey Joe Williams facing his former team, the Homestead Grays defeat the Lincoln Giants, six games to four, at Yankee Stadium, to win Champions of the East's title.  Pop Lloyd hits .375 in the series.

"No colored teams had ever played to the gross gate receipts as had been taken in at Yankee Stadium." -  Cumberland Posey

The seventh game played on Sept. 27, 1930, is when a soon to be 19-year old Josh Gibson is said to have allegedly hit his legendary home run that completely leaves Yankee Stadium.  The Amsterdam News reports the ball landing in the left field bleachers but also reports the blast outdistances any other hit at Yankee Stadium "by any player, white or black, all season."  Regarding the home run, the Pittsburgh Courier also says the ball lands in the left field bleachers.  Author John Holway later interviews two players from the Lincoln Giants - Bill Holland and Larry Brown - who agree on the ball lands inside the park.  In 1938, Gibson himself says, "I hit the ball on a line into the bullpen in deep left field."  However, Grays teammate and third baseman William "Judy" Johnson claims the ball indeed leaves the park. 

George Scales and Grays catcher Josh Gibson .. "were easily the stars of the series." - New York Age

This is the coda to twenty years of Lincoln Giants baseball.  John Henry "Pop" Lloyd is informed he will not be the manager in 1931 and is resentful of the accusation that the team had not played its best.  It turns out to be a moot point.  In the Spring of 1931, James Keenan retires from baseball, and the New York Lincoln Giants cease to be, thus ending an epic chapter in Harlem and Bronx based Negro League baseball. 

• New York Lincoln Giants All-Time Team

The team is taken over by Vaudeville and boxing manager Marty Forkins.  Backed by New York Yankees business manager Ed Barrow, Forkins reforms the team into the New York All-Stars; the Harlem Stars; then ultimately the New York Black Yankees, originally part-owned by entertainer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson - a business associate and friend of Marty Forkins.

Soon after, Major League teams announce in mid-season that their ballparks would no longer be available for Negro League baseball.

But everyone knows they'll be back ...