1915 in the Negro Leagues

1915 in baseball
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<< 1914 1916 >>

The number of prominent black teams continued to expand in 1915, with 13 teams being considered top-flight teams. The most prominent were the Indianapolis ABCs (36-20), Chicago American Giants (16-21), New York Lincoln Giants (10-9), Cuban Stars (33-47) and the new All-Nations. The top players in the midwest were Cuban OF Manuel Villa (.422, the top average), Ben taylor, the Indianapolis 1B (.356, 19 2B), ABCs rookie outfielder Oscar Charleston (.203 but second in doubles, first in triples and tied for third in steals) and Dizzy Dismukes (17-8, 2.59). New York's Bill Kindle and Bill Pierce each hit .380 to top the East.

There were at least two no-hitters between bona fide Negro teams. Dizzy Dismukes of the Indianapolis ABCs no-hit the Chicago Giants on May 9, while Dick Whitworth of the Chicago American Giants also no-hit the Chicago Giants on September 19. Bernardo Baro of the Cuban Stars is reported to have thrown a no-htter on October 25, but his alleged gem has not been confirmed.

In exhibitions, Smokey Joe Williams lost 4-2 to the New York Giants, beat the Buffalo Buffeds 3-0 and split two games with the Philadelphia Phillies. The New York Lincoln Stars lost a game 9-2 to the NY Giants. Several other competitions featured several minor leaguers plus a big league star or two.

Source: The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway