1932 Negro Southern League

From BR Bullpen

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[edit]

  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[edit]

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting[edit]

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[edit]

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