1932 Negro Southern League

The 1932 Negro Southern League was the only season that the Negro Southern League was considered a major league. That owed in large part to the collapse of the original Negro National League and the fact that the second NNL had not yet formed. With the Great Depression, the only other major black league was the East-West League, which did not last out the season. Several top teams that were usually NNL members (Chicago, Indianapolis, plus sometimes members Memphis, Louisville and Birmingham) thus participated in the NSL.

On the other hand, it is sometimes hard to tell exactly which teams played in the NSL as contemporary sources differ. The official compilation at Seamheads.com bases itself off the Chicago Defender listings. As with the 1933 NNL, there was dispute over who won the title, no surprise given the league's chaotic nature. Chicago and Monroe both claimed the first half; Chicago was awarded the title. Nashville won the second half and Chicago beat them 4 games to 3 in the playoffs for the title.

The league had the first major leaguer from the Bahamas, Ormond Sampson.

Standings

1. Chicago American Giants, 34-12 (Manager: Dave Malarcher)
2. Monroe Monarchs, 34-14 (Frank Johnson)
3. Birmingham Black Barons, 10-9 (Poindexter Williams)
4. Nashville Elite Giants, 24-23 (Joe Hewitt)
5. Montgomery Grey Sox, 23-25-1 (Henry Hannon)
6. Indianapolis ABCs, 18-21-4 (Candy Jim Taylor)
7. Memphis Red Sox, 23-27 (Goose Curry)
8. Columbus Turf Club, 3-5-2 (??)
9. Louisville Black Caps, 12-27-1 (Jimmie Lyons/Jim Brown)
10. Little Rock Grays, 5-12 (Ruben Jones)
11. Atlanta Black Crackers, 6-17 (??)

League leaders

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting

Statistic	Leader	Team	Number
Games Played	Leroy Morney Augustus Saunders Zollie Wright	Monroe Monarchs Monroe Monarchs Monroe Monarchs	51
At Bats	Leroy Morney	Monroe Monarchs	201
Runs Scored	Leroy Morney	Monroe Monarchs	49
Hits	Leroy Morney	Monroe Monarchs	76
Doubles	Leroy Morney Roy Parnell	Monroe Monarchs Monroe Monarchs	12
Triples	Roy Parnell	Monroe Monarchs	11
Home Runs	Steel Arm Davis Turkey Stearnes	Chicago American Giants Chicago American Giants	4
Runs Batted In	Roy Parnell	Monroe Monarchs	50
Stolen Bases	Goose Curry	Memphis Red Sox/Monroe Monarchs	13
Walks	Zollie Wright	Monroe Monarchs	22
Hit-by-Pitch	Mack Heller	Memphis Red Sox	2
Sacrifice Hits	Shorty Walker	Monroe Monarchs	12
Batting Average	Leroy Morney	Monroe Monarchs	.378
On-Base Percentage	Leroy Morney	Monroe Monarchs	.427
Slugging Percentage	Roy Parnell	Monroe Monarchs	.556
On-Base plus Slugging	Leroy Morney	Monroe Monarchs	949
On-Base plus Slugging Plus	Leroy Morney	Monroe Monarchs	205

Pitching

Statistic	Leader	Team	Number
Wins	Dick Matthews	Monroe Monarchs	11
Losses	Goose Curry	Memphis Red Sox/Monroe Monarchs	8
Win-Loss Percentage	Dick Matthews	Monroe Monarchs	.846
Appearances	Elbert Williams	Monroe Monarchs	22
Games Started	Dick Matthews	Monroe Monarchs	14
Complete Games	Willie Foster	Chicago American Giants	13
Shutouts	Melvin Powell	Chicago American Giants	4
Saves	Elbert Williams	Monroe Monarchs	2
Innings Pitched	Barney Morris	Monroe Monarchs	126 1/3
Hits Allowed	Harry Cunningham	Memphis Red Sox	137
Base-on-Balls Allowed	Barney Morris	Monroe Monarchs	43
Hit Batsmen	Melvin Powell	Chicago American Giants	6
Strikeouts	Barney Morris	Monroe Monarchs	81
Wild Pitches	Big Boy Davis Sam Thompson	Indianapolis ABCs Indianapolis ABCs	3
Runs Allowed	Harry Cunningham	Memphis Red Sox	63
Earned Runs Allowed	Harry Cunningham	Memphis Red Sox	48
Earned Run Average	Roy Parnell	Monroe Monarchs	0.83
WHIP	Elbert Williams	Monroe Monarchs	0.88

Sources: The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway, Gary Ashwill's write-up on the league at seamheads.com, Seamheads Database, accessed 2/18/2021