1931 St. Louis Stars

1931 St. Louis Stars / Franchise: St. Louis Stars / BR Team Page

Record: 37-10-1, Finished 1st in Negro National League (1931 NNL)

League Champs

Managed by John Reese

Ballpark: Stars Park

History, Comments, Contributions

The 1931 St. Louis Stars absolutely dominated the NNL, going 37-10-1; Cleveland was the only other team with a winning record at 23-22. Box scores have only been found for about half of the team's games so stats are limited.

St. Louis dominated with pitching, their 3.33 ERA being a 133 ERA+, easily best in the loop. Logan Hensley (4-2, 1.63, 272 ERA+), Ted Trent (4-3, Sv, 3.11, 143 ERA+), Joe Strong (4-3, 3.13, 141 ERA+) and Bert Hunter (5-2, 3.70, 120 ERA+) gave them four strong options, with Leroy Matlock (4-1, 4.97, 89 ERA+) not yet at his peak. They also fielded well, leading the league with a .967 fielding percentage.

Their 771 OPS also led the league but their 99 OPS+ was second, with Chicago getting a big park-factor boost. LF Mule Suttles had a typically stellar season (.298/.418/.628, 167 OPS+, 35 R, 36 RBI in 34 G) and led the league in RBI. SS Willie Wells (.320/.439/.541, 152 OPS+, 35 R in 34 G) led the NNL with 12 doubles and fielded .954, .022 above the league norm at short. CF Cool Papa Bell hit only fair (.288/.397/.394, 104 OPS+) but led with 16 steals and 46 runs in 33 games, showing off his famed footspeed, while only making one error.

Newt Allen started at second and batted .308/.385/.433 (110 OPS+), while RF Branch Russell hit .312/.409/.394 (107 OPS+) and made one error. 3B Dewey Creacy fielded .962, .039 above league average, and produced at a .303/.394/.378 clip for a 99 OPS+. 1B George Giles hit only .237/.329/.298 (62 OPS+) but scored 28 runs in 33 games. Tom Young (.268/.342/.352, 79 OPS+) and Quincy Trouppe (.196/.308/.375, 75 OPS+) split the catching. OF Wilson Redus batted .236/.345/.375 (85 OPS+) as their main backup.

After the season ended and the league folded, the team moved to Detroit and became the 1932 Detroit Wolves, again staying dominant, before the Depression finally killed off the team partway through the '32 season, with another title within reach.

All stats listed are per the Seamheads database 5/28/2021