1932 Nashville Elite Giants

1932 Nashville Elite Giants / Franchise: Baltimore Elite Giants / BR Team Page

Record: 24-23, Finished 4th in Negro Southern League (1932 NSL)

Managed by Joe Hewitt

Ballpark: Wilson Park, Sulphur Dell

History, Comments, Contributions

The 1932 Nashville Elite Giants nearly won a title despite being just over .500. As the Negro Southern League used a split schedule and they won one of the two halves, they got to go to the finals against the Chicago American Giants even though the Monroe Monarchs had a much better record. They fell to Chicago in the finals, though. Box scores have only been found for games in which they went 16-19 so the stats below are not indicative of the team's success.

Their team relied heavily on pitching, with a 106 ERA+, second in the league behind Monroe. Jim Willis (4-5, 2.54, 138 ERA+), Henry Wright (6-3, 2.62, 134 ERA+) and Frog Holsey (3-5, 3.28, 107 ERA+) were the big three hurlers while a young Sammy Bankhead was used mostly on the mound (1-3, 3.16, 111 ERA+), though it was his brother who would go down in history for the pitching while Sam became known for his bat (he went 6 for 16 with a double and a triple in that role).

The offense only had a 90 OPS+. They did have several solid contributors. 1B Henry Henderson hit .293/.310/.463 (139 OPS+), C Nish Williams .294/.345/.363 (121 OPS+), SS Hoss Walker .273/.328/.355 (112 OPS+), 3B Leonard Henderson .297/.325/.351 (110 OPS+) and 2B Black Bottom Buford .297/.313/.352 (107 OPS+) but the outfield was not as strong. 18-year-old RF Wild Bill Wright had a 92 OPS+ (.256/.310/.308), RF Felton Stratton 82 (.257/.264/.321) and CF Jack Ridley 36 (.167/.224/.213). The primary backups used were RF Roosevelt Tate (.340/.364/.453, 153 OPS+), OF Milt Laurent (.182/.250/.250, 56 OPS+) and 2B Bob Miller (.250/.265/.375, 98 OPS+).

All stats listed are per the Seamheads database 3/3/2021; other sources vary