Homestead Grays

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Homestead Grays
(1900 – c.1950)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
HomesteadGrays CapLogo.svg
Cap insignia
League affiliation(s)
  • American Negro League (1929)
  • East-West League (1932)
  • Negro National League (1935–48)
Name(s)
  • Homestead Grays
  • Washington Homestead Grays
  • Washington Grays
Ballpark(s)
  • Forbes Field (1929–1950)
  • Greenlee Field (1932–1937)
  • Griffith Stadium (1940–1950)
Titles
League titles1931 • 1937 • 1938 • 1939
1940 • 1941 • 1942 • 1943
1944 • 1945 • 1948
Negro World Series titles1943 • 1944 • 1948

The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States.

The team was formed in 1912 by Cumberland Posey, and remained in continuous operation for 38 seasons. The team was originally based in Homestead, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Pittsburgh. By the 1920s, with increasing popularity in the Pittsburgh region, the team retained the name "Homestead" but crossed the Monongahela River to play all home games in Pittsburgh, at the Pittsburgh Pirates' home Forbes Field and the Pittsburgh Crawfords' home Greenlee Field.

From 1940 until 1942, the Grays played half of their home games in Washington, D.C., while remaining in Pittsburgh for all other home stands.[1] As attendance at their games in the nation's capital grew, by 1943, the Grays were playing more than two-thirds of their home games in Washington.[1]

Franchise history[]

The Grays grew out of an earlier industrial team. In 1900, a group of African-American players had joined together to form the Germantown Blue Ribbons, an industrial league team. For ten years, the Blue Ribbons fielded a team every season and played some of the best sandlot teams in the area. In 1910, the managers of the team retired. The players reorganized the team and named themselves the Murdock Grays. In 1912, they became the Homestead Grays, the name they retained for the remainder of the franchise's history.

1913 Homestead Grays. Cumberland Posey Jr is third from left middle row
1931 Homestead Grays. Cumberland Posey Jr is standing at far left

American Negro League[]

The Grays did join the American Negro League in 1929, but that league lasted only one season. The team operated independently again until 1932, when Posey organized the ill-fated East-West League; that league also collapsed before completing its first and only season.

Negro National League[]

Posey entered his Grays in the Negro National League in 1935. With the near-collapse of the Pittsburgh Crawfords, Josh Gibson returned to the Grays in 1937, combining with slugger Buck Leonard to power the Grays to nine consecutive (and a total of ten) Negro National League Championships and three Negro League World Series titles. Vic Harris managed the Grays during their years in league play, between 1935 and 1948, and piloted Homestead to eight pennants. He guided his team to six consecutive pennants from 1937 through 1942; in 1945 and 1948, and led the 1948 team to the Negro League World Series championship. The 1943 and 1944 NLWS titles came under Candy Jim Taylor.

Art Rooney[]

Pittsburgh Steelers founder and owner Art Rooney related in a 1981 interview that he "from time to time" had "helped financially support the Negro League team, the Homestead Grays, and . . . was a better baseball fan than football fan."[2]

Post-Negro league play[]

Following the collapse of the Negro National League after the 1948 season, the Grays struggled to continue as an independent club, and ultimately disbanded in May 1951.[3]

Home fields[]

From the late 1930s through the 1940s, the Grays played their home games at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, during this same period the club adopted the Washington, D.C. area as its "home away from home" and scheduled many of its "home" games at D.C.'s Griffith Stadium, the home park of the Washington Senators. During these games, they were alternatively known as the Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays.

Baseball Hall of Fame inductees[]

These Homestead Grays alumni have been inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Homestead Grays Hall of Famers
No. Inductee Position Tenure Inducted
4 Cool Papa Bell OF 1932, 1943–1946 1974
— Ray Brown P 1937–1945
1947–1948		 2006
— Oscar Charleston OF 1930–1931 1976
— Martín Dihigo P 1927–1928 1977
— Bill Foster P 1931 1996
20 Josh Gibson C 1930–1931
1937–1946		 1972
— Judy Johnson 3B 1930, 1937 1975
32 Buck Leonard 1B 1934–1950 1972
— Cum Posey Founder-Owner 1912–1946 2006
— Willie Wells SS 1932 1997
— Smokey Joe Williams P 1925–1932 1999
— Jud Wilson 3B 1929–1931
1941–1946		 2006

Legacy[]

On July 11, 2002, the Homestead High-Level Bridge which connects Pittsburgh to Homestead over the Monongahela River at Homestead was renamed the Homestead Grays Bridge in honor of the team.[4]

Washington Nationals[]

When the Montreal Expos moved to Washington, "Grays" was one of the three finalists (along with "Senators" and the eventual winner "Nationals") for the relocated team's new name, reflecting Washington's baseball history.[5]

The Nationals′ home field, Nationals Park, includes numerous references to the Grays:

  • The "Ring of Honor" on the facade behind home plate lists the names of Cool Papa Bell, Ray Brown, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Cum Posey, Jud Wilson, and players from the Nationals, Expos, original Washington Senators of 1901–1960, and expansion Washington Senators of 1961–1971. The Ring honors players who are members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and had played "significant years" for at least one of the teams or "anyone who has made a significant contribution to the game of baseball in Washington, D.C." All six Grays players were among the original 18 inductees to the Ring of Honor when it was unveiled on August 10, 2010.
  • The multi-sport Washington Hall of Stars display in the outfield features Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard.
  • A statue of Josh Gibson (along with ones of original Senator Walter Johnson and second-run Senator Frank Howard) stands near the center field gate.

MLB throwback jerseys[]

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals have worn Homestead Grays throwback uniforms in official Major League Baseball games several different times:

Pirates
  • May 20, 2006, in Cleveland, the Pirates and Cleveland Indians wore the uniforms of the Grays and the Cleveland Buckeyes.
  • August 11, 2006, in Pittsburgh, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates wore uniforms of the St. Louis Stars and Grays.
  • June 26, 2009, in Pittsburgh, the Pirates and the Kansas City Royals wore uniforms of the Homestead Grays and the Kansas City Monarchs.
  • July 23, 2011, in Pittsburgh, the Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals wore uniforms of the Homestead Grays and the St. Louis Stars.
  • June 9, 2012, in Pittsburgh, the Pirates and the Kansas City Royals wore uniforms of the Homestead Grays and the Kansas City Monarchs.
  • September 9, 2016, in Pittsburgh, the Pirates wore the Grays uniform against the Cincinnati Reds
  • June 16, 2017, in Pittsburgh, the Pirates wore the Grays uniform against the Chicago Cubs
Nationals
  • June 2, 2006, in Milwaukee, the Washington Nationals and the Milwaukee Brewers wore uniforms of the Grays and Milwaukee Bears, during the first annual Negro Leagues Tribute Night in Milwaukee.[6]
  • August 11, 2006, in Washington, the New York Mets and Nationals wore uniforms of the New York Cubans and the Grays.[7]
  • August 3, 2007, The Nationals and Cardinals wore uniforms of the Grays and Stars.
  • July 28, 2012, in Milwaukee, the Nationals and the Milwaukee Brewers wore uniforms of the Grays and the Milwaukee Bears.[8]
  • August 24, 2013, in Kansas City, the Nationals and the Kansas City Royals wore uniforms of the Grays and the Kansas City Monarchs.
  • June 25, 2016, in Milwaukee, the Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers wore the uniforms of the Grays and Milwaukee Bears.
Both
  • May 3, 2008, in Washington, the Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates both wore the uniform of the Grays. (The PA announcer referred to the teams as the Grays.)
  • June 1, 2013, both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Nationals wore Grays uniforms. In Pittsburgh, the Pirates played the Cincinnati Reds, who wore uniforms of the Cincinnati Tigers; and in Atlanta, the Nationals played the Atlanta Braves, who wore uniforms of the Atlanta Black Crackers.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Snyder, Brad (2003). Beyond the Shadow of the Senators: The Untold Story of the Homestead Grays and the Integration of Baseball, p. 155. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-007-1431-97-2.
  2. ^ Donovan, Dan (August 28, 1988). "Works of Art". Pittsburgh Press. p. D3.
  3. ^ "Grays out of baseball". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. INS. May 23, 1951. p. 29.
  4. ^ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Homestead Span Honors Baseball Team", July 12, 2002
  5. ^ USA Today, "In Washington, it'll be 'Let's go Nats'", November 22, 2004. Accessed April 17, 2008.
  6. ^ MLB.com, "Brewers Honor Negro Leagues", June 2, 2006
  7. ^ MLB.com, "Nats, Mets Recognize Negro Leagues", August 11, 2006
  8. ^ Washington Post, Nationals vs. Brewers: Jordan Zimmermann throws a gem in his first MLB game in home state.

External links[]

  • Beyond the Shadow of the Senators — the website is a companion to the book of the same name, a comprehensive history of the Grays, written by Brad Snyder. The site contains information on the individuals featured in the book and the first chapter of the book.
  • GraysFan.org — Latest attempt to name the Washington Major League Baseball Team after the Grays
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