The Newark Eagles were a professional Negro league baseball team which played in the Negro National League from 1936 to 1948. They were owned by Abe and Effa Manley.[4]
| Newark Eagles | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| League |
|
| Location | Newark, New Jersey |
| Ballpark |
|
| Established | 1933 (est. 1936 through merger) |
| Disbanded | 1950 |
| Nickname(s) |
|
| League titles | 1946 |
| Negro World Series championships | 1946 |
History
editFormation
editThe Newark Eagles were formed in 1936 when the Newark Dodgers, established in 1933, merged with the Brooklyn Eagles, established in 1935. Abe Manley and his wife Effa Manley, owners and founders of the Brooklyn Eagles, purchased the Newark Dodgers franchise and combined the teams' assets and player rosters.[5] Charles Tyler, the previous owner of the Dodgers, signed the team over in exchange for cancellation of an approximately $500 debt that Tyler owed Abe Manley.[6]
Team management was left to Effa, making the Eagles the third professional baseball team owned and operated by a woman. The first such team was the St. Louis Cardinals, which was owned by Helene Hathaway Britton from 1911 to 1917, and the second such team was the Indianapolis ABCs who were owned by Olivia Taylor from 1922 to 1926.[7] The Eagles shared Ruppert Stadium with the minor league Newark Bears.
The Eagles were to (black) Newark what the Dodgers were to Brooklyn.
— Eagles star Max Manning
Decline and demise
editAfter the close of the 1948 season, in the aftermath of Jackie Robinson's successful integration of Major League Baseball a year earlier, the Negro National League contracted and merged into the Negro American League. The Eagles were sold and moved to Houston, Texas for the 1949 season,[5] where they became known as the Houston Eagles, part of the NAL's western division. Two years later they again relocated, this time to New Orleans. The New Orleans Eagles lasted one year before folding after the 1951 season.[8]: 5
Negro World Series champions
editUnder Effa Manley's guidance, the 1946 team won the Negro World Series, upsetting the Kansas City Monarchs in a 7-game series.[5]
Players
editBaseball Hall of Famers
edit| Newark Eagles Hall of Famers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Inductee | Position | Tenure | Inducted |
| Ray Dandridge | 3B | 1934–1938 1942, 1944 |
1987 |
| Leon Day | P | 1937–1939 1941–1943, 1946 |
1995 |
| Larry Doby | CF | 1942–1944 1945–1947 |
1998 |
| Monte Irvin | LF | 1938–1942 1945–1948 |
1973 |
| Biz Mackey | C | 1939–1942 1945–1947 |
2006 |
| Mule Suttles | 1B | 1936–1940 1942–1944) |
2006 |
| Willie Wells | SS | 1937–1939 | 1997 |
| Effa Manley | Owner | 1935–1948 | 2006 |
Notable alumni
edit- Don Newcombe (1944–1945) 4 x MLB All Star; 1949 Rookie of the year; 1956 Cy Young Award; 1956 NL Most Valuable Player
References
edit- ^ "1934 Newark Dodgers". Negro Leagues Data Base. Seamheads.com. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- ^ "1935 Newark Dodgers". Negro Leagues Data Base. Seamheads.com. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- ^ "Ebbets Field". RetroSeasons.com. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
- ^ Overmyer, James (1998), Queen of the Negro Leagues: Effa Manley and the Newark Eagles, Scarecrow Press
- ^ a b c "Negro Leagues Baseball eMuseum: Team Profiles: Newark Eagles". www.coe.ksu.edu.
- ^ Newman, Roberta J.; Rosen, Joel Nathan (2014). Black Baseball, Black Business: Race Enterprise and the Fate of the Segregated Dollar. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781626742253. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
- ^ "Forgotten Heroes: Charles Isham "C.I." Taylor" (PDF). Center for Negro League Baseball Research. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ "Negro American League Standings (1937-1962)" (PDF). Center for Negro League Baseball Research. Retrieved July 7, 2019.