How they played the game:<\/p>\n
In the 1920\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, the two Negro Leagues had both Batting Averages and Slugging Averages slightly lower than Major League Baseball.<\/p>\n On the other hand, in 1928 the two Negro Leagues averaged a half run per game more than MLB.<\/p>\n Part of the run difference could be explained by the over a half an error per game more committed in Negro League games.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 If we estimate an increase of .7 runs per error, that would explain around 0.35 of runs scoring difference.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Given the batting differences, there would still be at least .3 runs per game to explain which could be due to better base running in the Negro Leagues, or more timely hitting.<\/p>\n The Market<\/span><\/p>\n Where they played the game:<\/p>\n Eastern Colored League Teams<\/p>\n Hilldale (Philadelphia) Teams ordered roughly by their league success, except for Homestead, which never joined the ECL, but remained independent, playing mostly semi-pro teams while barnstorming through Pennsylvania.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 However, Homestead did also play against most of the ECL teams and some NNL teams, and was definitely a top caliber major eastern team.<\/p>\n The Cuban Stars were a traveling team, with no home city in the U.S.\u00c2\u00a0 The Brooklyn Royal Giants were effectively a traveling team also, as owner Nat Strong\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s white semi-pro Bushwicks team received most of the home dates at Brooklyn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Dexter Park.<\/p>\n The ECL had seven strong, stable franchises.\u00c2\u00a0 Eight tended to be the ideal number for scheduling purposes, and Homestead would have made a fantastic eighth team, but the profits from barnstorming were good for Homestead, and they continually declined invitations to join.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Washington\/Wilmington (two years) and Newark (less than one year) were the only weak links.<\/p>\n Negro National League Teams<\/p>\n Chicago American Giants Teams also ordered roughly by level of success.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 The NNL had several teams that were \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcone and done\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 such as Milwaukee, Dayton, Louisville, Nashville, Cincinnati and Columbus, which are not listed.<\/p>\n Chicago and Kansas City basically won everything except for occasional success by St. Louis.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 After Detroit, there was a great drop-off in franchise stability and success.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Indianapolis had been a great 1910\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s franchise, but the death of owner\/manager C. I. Taylor in 1922 coupled with player raids from the ECL significantly weakened the team.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Birmingham and Memphis were successful Negro Southern League teams who struggled with the move up to the tougher NNL competition.\u00c2\u00a0 The western Cuban Stars never had a winning season.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Finally, Cleveland was a mess, with owners changing every year, wholesale\u00c2\u00a0 player changes sometimes even within a season, and a stranglehold on eighth place.<\/p>\n One major difference between the two leagues was the distance required to travel for league games.\u00c2\u00a0 The western teams were much more spread out than the eastern\u00c2\u00a0 teams, resulting in a huge cost advantage for the ECL.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 The western teams tried to mitigate the difference by sometimes setting up a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcquad\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 travel plan, with Detroit-Cleveland-Chicago-Indianapolis being one continuous northern road trip, and St. Louis-Kansas City-Memphis-Birmingham being the southern road trip for teams.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 However, travel expenses for NNL teams have been estimated to have been on average almost three times greater than the average for ECL teams.<\/p>\n The east had a second advantage, which was more high level semi-pro white teams in their nearby areas, providing better revenue opportunities.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 With more revenue and lower expenses, the ECL was able to offer higher salaries to the top black ball players.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/mlbnegro.png\" "\\"mlbnegro\\"")
<\/a>(Negro Leagues Data from National Baseball Hall of Fame)<\/p>\n<\/a>(Negro Leagues Data courtesy of Gary Ashwill)<\/p>\n<\/a>(Negro Leagues Data courtesy of Gary Ashwill)<\/p>\n
\nHarrisburg Giants
\nBacharach Giants (Atlantic City)
\nBaltimore Black Sox
\nNew York Lincoln Giants
\nCuban Stars
\nBrooklyn Royal Giants
\nWashington Potomacs (also Wilmington)
\nNewark Stars
\nHomestead Grays (Pittsburgh)<\/p>\n
\nKansas City Monarchs
\nSt. Louis Stars
\nDetroit Stars
\nIndianapolis ABCs
\nBirmingham Black Barons
\nMemphis Red Sox
\nCuban Stars
\nCleveland<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n