The Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues

June 15, 2021: We have dramatically expanded our coverage of the Negro Leagues and historical Black major league players. Major Negro Leagues (from 1920-1948) are now listed with the National League and American League as major leagues.

We are not bestowing a new status on these players or their accomplishments. The Negro Leagues have always been major leagues. We are changing our site's presentation to properly recognize this fact.

In keeping with our mission and values at Sports Reference, when it comes to this endeavor, our intent is to celebrate the players, teams, and leagues we are adding to our site, as well as to educate our users about the history of these leagues. The Negro Leagues are not less than the National and American Leagues. They are different, and we recognize that our work must acknowledge those differences.

Spurred on by thoughtful commentary on this matter last summer, we have been working diligently to incorporate this long overdue and critical part of our sport's history into our site. In December 2020, Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. similarly announced a new MLB policy, recognizing the Negro Leagues as major leagues. We implemented changes in a manner consistent with the major league level these leagues played at, acting with the utmost respect for the players, their families, the researchers and the fans of these leagues.

Although our work is heavily stats driven, we recognize that the history and the legend and lore of many of these players exist beyond the numbers. To celebrate that legacy, we have commissioned numerous articles from Negro League experts and others to explain this part of baseball history. We also strongly urge you to visit The Negro League Baseball Museum in-person or make a donation.

This update would not be possible without the work of Gary Ashwill, Scott Simkus, Mike Lynch, Kevin Johnson and Larry Lester on the Seamheads Negro League Database, from whom we acquired the data. The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and its members have also been instrumental in researching and publishing the history of the Negro Leagues. Please consider joining SABR and making a donation to support this work. Retrosheet is also seeking help with collecting game accounts. You can make a donation to help fund this work.

The Negro Leagues data is not complete. While the quality of play in the Negro Leagues was on a major league level, the wages, travel, playing conditions, press coverage, and record-keeping were more varied, primarily due to systemic racism. Additionally, Negro League teams played a shorter regular season schedule, but with an extensive amount of exhibitions and barnstorming games that made for seasons that often approached 200 or more games in total. These contests were not part of their league schedule and are therefore not included in this database. This is why Josh Gibson's Hall of Fame plaque says that he hit "almost 800 home runs" while our data shows 166.

It's also important to remember that the history of Black Baseball does not start in 1920 or end in 1948 and even from 1920-1948 our presentation is incomplete. There were hundreds of teams and thousands of players that make up a more complete and richer history of Black Baseball than we are able to present here, and from 1920-1948 there were many star players and teams that found it more feasible to play only a barnstorming schedule (not just in the United States but also the Caribbean, Mexico, and Venezuela) rather than participate in leagues. These independent teams were often the equal of teams we are including as major league teams on the site now. Our complete register of baseball history contains a significant record of Independent and non-major Negro Leagues. For example, we have a page for the 1917 Chicago American Giants.

Rest assured that research is still ongoing, and we'll continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. As you return to the site in the future, you should expect significant changes and improvements in our coverage of the Negro Leagues as more research is done and more statistics are compiled.

Finally, we express our respect to the thousands of men and women who were involved in the Negro Leagues, with heartfelt acknowledgement to the very few who are still alive. Likewise, we express our respect to their descendants who keep the stories of their forebears alive — their struggles and also their accomplishments, not only on the field, but also off the field. We encourage our readers to seek out and support the likes of foundations and causes supported by the families of Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, and others.

Invited Articles

We have commissioned articles from prominent Negro League historians, family members of Black baseball players, and others to explain to our audience the context behind the rise of Black baseball, how it operated, who was involved and its part in the history of the game. The game and its players are not just their numbers, so we strongly urge you to read these pieces as you visit the new pages on our site.

• Welcome to the Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues by Sean Forman, President of Sports Reference, LLC: Opening remarks at the press conference for The Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues.
• Negro Leagues By The Numbers by Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, with Joe Posnanski: A look at what the statistics of the Negro Leagues mean.
• Negro Leagues = Major Leagues by Todd Peterson: An analysis of the quality of play of the Negro Leagues and the White major leagues.
• A Love Story by Adam Jones, 14-year MLB veteran: What the Negro Leagues mean to a modern Black star.
• The Black Boys of Summer: A statistical observation by Larry Lester: A look at how the Negro League stats were compiled and the effect on the record books.
• Gibson Family Reflections on the Publication of Baseball Reference’s Negro Leagues Statistics by Sean Gibson, great-grandson of Josh Gibson: What it means to family members of Negro League stars to see this update.
• Women in the Negro Leagues by Leslie Heaphy: A discussion of the women who were executives and players the Negro Leagues.
• A Black Baseball Legacy by Michael E. Lomax: The evolution of Black Baseball from the 19th through the 20th century.
• Turkey Stearnes and the Inclusive Grand Slam by Vanessa Ivy Rose, granddaughter of Turkey Stearnes: A reflection on the legacy of Hall of Famer Turkey Stearnes.
• Building the Seamheads Negro Leagues Database by Gary Ashwill: A look at how the data that you see on the site today was collected.
• Historiography of Black Baseball & Negro Baseball Leagues by Gary Gillette: A timeline of important Black Baseball and Negro League histories and reference works.
• Still Standing: Where to See Extant Negro League Ballparks by Gary Gillette: A look at which Negro League ballparks are still standing.
• The Long Road to Jackie Robinson: Nineteenth Century Pioneers in Black Ball by Ryan Swanson: From Charles Douglass (son of Frederick) to Octavius Catto, all the way to Jackie Robinson.
• Latinos in the Negro Leagues by Adrian Burgos, Jr.: The history of Latin stars in the Negro Leagues from Alex Pompez to Luis Tiant.
• The Major Negro Leagues by Adam Darowski: A look at the seven major Negro Leagues.

The Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues Podcast

We have also launched a podcast called “The Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues” hosted by sports historian Curtis Harris. The limited series podcast will feature weekly guests over the summer, including Adrian Burgos and Sean Gibson, furthering the conversation around topics such as the preservation of Negro Leagues history, women playing pivotal roles in the success of Black baseball, and how the Negro Leagues changed baseball culture. Listeners can find this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and other podcatchers.

Additional Reading

• The Baseball-Reference Bullpen contains information about a wide variety of topics related to the Negro Leagues, from the formation of the Negro National League by Rube Foster in 1920 to integration in the late 1940s and 1950s. It also features bios of Negro League players (such as Josh Gibson, Martín Dihigo, Mule Suttles, and Hilton Smith) and managers (such as Sol White, Candy Jim Taylor, and Buck O'Neil) as well as early Black baseball pioneers (such as Bud Fowler, Frank Grant, Moses Fleetwood Walker, and George Stovey).
• The Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues Press Release
• Negro Leagues Data: Frequently Asked Questions: A deep dive into the Negro Leagues data on Baseball Reference.
• The Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues: A Resource for Educators: This resource will help educators share the incredible story of the Negro Leagues—from the pioneers of Black Baseball in the late 19th century through the formation of the Negro Major Leagues and into the impact of integration on the American and National Leagues.

Thank you to the many researchers and historians who helped us by reviewing this update ahead of the launch, including Mark Armour, Mike Bates, Scott Bush, Jay Byland, Eric Chalek, Gary Joseph Cieradkowski, Philippe Cousineau, Chris Creamer, Nick Diunte, Raymond Doswell, Mischa Gelman, Gary Gillette, Tim Hagerty, Leslie Heaphy, Jay Jaffe, Adam Jones, Ted Knorr, Ben Lindbergh, Larry Lester, Andrew McCutchen, Rob Neyer, Alex Painter, Jim Passon, Todd Peterson, Jacob Pomrenke, Patrick Rock, Ryan Swanson, Tom Thress, Steve Treder, and Phil Williams. Please share with us any issues, comments or questions you have about this update.

Below is a summary of the Leagues, Players, Teams, and Managers involved in this update along with the impact this new data has on our Leaderboards and Stathead searches.

Henry Aaron and Ernie Banks played in the Negro Leagues after 1948. Rube Foster, Frank Grant, Cumberland Posey, and Sol White played in the Negro Leagues before 1920 (Posey and White were inducted in the Pioneer/Executive category). Effa Manley, Alex Pompez, and J.L. Wilkinson were also inducted in the Pioneer/Executive category due to their work in the Negro Leagues.

Thank you to Chris Creamer and SportsLogos.net for the research and work to provide these Negro League logos.