1934 Negro National League

From BR Bullpen

The 1934 Negro National League was the second season of the second edition of the Negro National League. After a rocky first year marked by only three teams completing the season, the second year was more stable. Last year's champion Pittsburgh Crawfords were competitive (with a 184 OPS+ from Josh Gibson and 262 ERA+ from Satchel Paige), but did not win either half despite peak seasons from two legends. The Chicago American Giants won the first half and the new entry Philadelphia Stars the second half, with Philly winning an exciting postseason series behind Slim Jones.

Standings[edit]

Rank Team G W L T WPCT GB
1 Pittsburgh Crawfords 77 47 27 3 .635 --
2 Philadelphia Stars 64 36 18 10 .667 1.0
3 Chicago American Giants 51 28 20 3 .583 6.0
4 Newark Dodgers 32 17 14 1 .548 8.5
5 Baltimore Black Sox 13 3 8 2 .273 12.5
6 Nashville Elite Giants 47 18 28 1 .391 15.0
7 Philadelphia Bacharach Giants 25 5 20 0 .200 17.5
8 Cleveland Red Sox 25 3 22 0 .120 19.5
Both the Philadelphia Bacharach Giants and Baltimore Black Sox joined the league in the second half.
  • Postseason: Philadelphia defeated Chicago, 4 games to 3, with 1 tie

League leaders[edit]

(based off games for which box scores could be found)

Bold indicates league record, Italics indicate all-time record

Batting[edit]

Statistic Leader Team Number
Games Played Pete Washington Philadelphia Stars 70
At Bats Cool Papa Bell Pittsburgh Crawfords 272
Runs Scored Josh Gibson Pittsburgh Crawfords 56
Hits Cool Papa Bell Pittsburgh Crawfords 89
Doubles Josh Gibson Pittsburgh Crawfords 19
Triples Jake Dunn
Turkey Stearnes
Philadelphia Stars
Chicago American Giants
7
Home Runs Josh Gibson Pittsburgh Crawfords 15
Runs Batted In Josh Gibson Pittsburgh Crawfords 59
Stolen Bases Cool Papa Bell Pittsburgh Crawfords 14
Walks Cool Papa Bell Pittsburgh Crawfords 34
Hit-by-Pitch Oscar Charleston
Vic Harris
Pittsburgh Crawfords
Pittsburgh Crawfords
3
Sacrifice Hits Chester Williams Pittsburgh Crawfords 15
Batting Average Buddy Burbage Newark Dodgers .438
On-Base Percentage Buddy Burbage Newark Dodgers .512
Slugging Percentage Josh Gibson Pittsburgh Crawfords .616
On-Base plus Slugging Buddy Burbage Newark Dodgers 1119
On-Base plus Slugging Plus Josh Gibson Pittsburgh Crawfords 184

Pitching[edit]

Statistic Leader Team Number
Wins Slim Jones Philadelphia Stars 20
Losses Bill Byrd Cleveland Red Sox 8
Win-Loss Percentage Slim Jones Philadelphia Stars 0.833
Appearances Slim Jones Philadelphia Stars 30
Games Started Slim Jones Philadelphia Stars 22
Complete Games Slim Jones Philadelphia Stars 20
Shutouts Slim Jones Philadelphia Stars 6
Saves Slim Jones Philadelphia Stars 2
Innings Pitched Slim Jones Philadelphia Stars 203
Batters Faced Slim Jones Philadelphia Stars 789
Hits Allowed Slim Jones
William Bell
Philadelphia Stars
Pittsburgh Crawfords
134
Home Runs Allowed Slim Jones
Webster McDonald
Philadelphia Stars
Philadelphia Stars
6
Base-on-Balls Allowed Slim Jones Philadelphia Stars 47
Hit Batsmen Webster McDonald Philadelphia Stars 4
Strikeouts Slim Jones Philadelphia Stars 164
Wild Pitches Paul Carter Philadelphia Stars 3
Runs Allowed Bob Evans Newark Dodgers 67
Earned Runs Allowed Bob Evans Newark Dodgers 59
Earned Run Average Slim Jones Philadelphia Stars 1.24
WHIP Satchel Paige Pittsburgh Crawfords 0.87

All-Star Game[edit]

The 1934 East-West Game was a classic, with Paige getting the win for the East in a 1-0 pitching duel, Jud Wilson driving in Cool Papa Bell with the only run.

Sources: The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway, Seamheads database (accessed 1/5/2021), Agate Type blog, Black Baseball's National Showcase by Larry Lester

Further Reading[edit]

  • Frederick C. Bush and Bill Nowlin, eds.: The Stars Shone on Philadelphia: The 1934 Negro National League Champions, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2023. ISBN 978-1-960819-05-5