1933 Nashville Elite Giants

1933 Nashville Elite Giants / Franchise: Elite Giants / BR Team Page

Record: 19-22-1, Finished 5th in Negro National League (1933 NNL)

Managed by Felton Stratton

Ballpark: Wilson Park, Sulphur Dell

History, Comments, Contributions

The 1933 Nashville Elite Giants were a mediocre team in the 1933 NNL, finishing right around .500 and in the middle of the pack. They did better in the second half, tying the Pittsburgh Crawfords for the title but losing 2 games to 1 in the playoffs.

Their top hitter was All-Star backstop Tommy Dukes, who batted .320/.387/.500 for a 141 OPS+. 2B Sammy T. Hughes (.333/.400/.400, 120 OPS+) and RF Wild Bill Wright (.321/.340/.445, 113 OPS+) were their only other regulars with an OPS+ over 100. Other starters were 1B Jim West (.224/.281/.272, 52 OPS+), 3B Felton Snow (.258/.317/.344, 81 OPS+), SS Hoss Walker (.169/.224/.183, 13 OPS+), player-manager Felton Stratton in LF (.177/.210/.208, 15 OPS+) and CF Sam Bankhead (.294/.353/.357, 95 OPS+, 26 R in 37 G). Their main backups were UT Nish Williams (.268/.333/.352, 88 OPS+) and OF Goose Curry (.237/.375/.288, 84 OPS+). Their team OPS+ was only 73.

The pitching staff was the bright spot, with a 130 ERA+, second-best in the league. Jim Willis (2-1, 2.69, 161 ERA+) and Percy Miller (6-2, 2.82, 153 ERA+) were the aces but Henry Wright (5-3, 3.62, 119 ERA+) was also good. Willie Gisentaner was at 2-5, 4.35 (99 ERA+) while Andy Porter went 1-3 with a 5.14 ERA (84 ERA+).

All stats listed are per the Seamheads database 12/24/2020; playoff information is from the The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Sammy Bankhead, Tommy Dukes and Jim Willis