Pittsburgh Crawfords

Owned by Gus Greenlee, the Pittsburgh Crawfords played in the Negro National League in the 1930s. They captured the league crown in 1935 with a team that included Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, Judy Johnson, and Satchel Paige. The Crawfords played their home games at Greenlee Field. In 1939 they became the Toledo Crawfords, appearing in both the NNL and the Negro American League, and in 1940 they were the Toledo/Indianapolis Crawfords.

Further Reading

• Frederick C. Bush and Bill Nowlin, eds.: Pride of Smoketown: the 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2020. ISBN 978-1-970159-25-7
• Mark Whitaker: Smoketown: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance, Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, 2018. ISBN 9781501122392

Related Sites

• BR Franchise page