The state of Michigan has a rich history in Black baseball. From Detroit to Ann Arbor to our very own Albion, Black ballplayers have influenced the evolution of America’s national pastime since its beginning.
Jackie Robinson’s story and the contributions he made to baseball are recognized by Americans all over the country. But how many people know about the Black ballplayers who changed the game before him? How many know their local community’s role in baseball history?
Though baseball has existed for almost two centuries, the color barrier kept the game racially segregated for 60 years until Jackie Robinson made his Major League debut in 1947. Despite this, Black athletes all over America found ways to push for their involvement in professional baseball.
The Albion Malleable Giants
Many small cities and towns across the Great Lakes state sponsored Black baseball teams in the early 20th century, and Albion was no exception.
The Albion Malleable Iron Company was founded in 1888 and operated independently until 1969. In 1916, secretary-treasurer Montford B. Murray recruited 64 Black men from Florida to work for the company. Their families soon followed them north, and in a few months, Albion’s Black population increased to almost 500 people.
When Murray was finding workers for the company, he was also looking for recruits to play on the Albion Malleable Giants baseball team. Many men he brought up from the south became regular players for the Malleable Giants. The team allowed these Black workers to play recreational baseball in southern Michigan.
Exactly how long the Malleable Giants lasted is unknown, but there is documentation of the team still operating in 1949.
The Walker Brothers at the University of Michigan
In 1881, a Black man named Moses Fleetwood Walker attended Michigan Law School and played for Michigan’s baseball team the next year. The Michigan Wolverines finished out the 1882 season with a 10-3 record and a Western Baseball League championship win. In 1884, Walker left Michigan to play for the Toledo Blue Stockings, making him the first Black player to ever play professional baseball.
Walker’s younger brother, Weldy Walker, followed him to the University of Michigan and then to the Blue Stockings later in the 1884 season.
In 1887, Major and Minor League club owners established baseball’s color barrier. This made the Walker brothers the first and last professional Black ballplayers until Branch Rickey – Michigan’s head baseball coach from 1910 to 1913 – signed Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers 60 years later.
The Detroit Stars of the Negro Leagues
The Detroit Stars were one of the most well-known teams in the Negro Leagues. The Stars were founded by Rube Foster, considered the “Father of Black Baseball,” in 1919. They played their first game as part of the Negro Leagues in 1920.
Norman “Turkey” Stearnes, recognized as one of baseball’s best hitters by other ballplayers of his time, spent most of his Negro Leagues career with the Stars. Stearnes lead the Negro Leagues in home runs seven times and played in five separate All-Star games.
The original Detroit Stars folded with the league in 1931 as a result of the Great Depression. In 1954, a semi-pro Grand Rapids team relocated to Detroit and adopted the Stars as their new name. All Negro League teams were shut down in 1961 as Major League baseball became fully integrated.
Bud Fowler’s Giants in Adrian
Decades before the birth of the Negro Leagues, unaffiliated Black baseball teams were popping up across America. One of these teams, the Page Fence Giants, was based in Adrian.
The Giants were created by Bud Fowler, a Black manager and ballplayer who, like the Walker brothers, entered professional baseball in the late 19th century. Fowler, who was playing baseball in Findlay, Ohio at the time, wanted to create an all-Black team of star athletes. Unable to raise enough money to create the team, he left for Adrian in hopes of better funding.
Fowler struck a deal with the owner of the Page Woven Wire Fence Company, who was interested in sponsoring a Black baseball team. With enough funding and support, Fowler was able to establish the Page Fence Giants.
The Giants lasted for four seasons before dissolving due to difficulty attracting fans, which led to a loss in revenue. During this time, they traveled across the Midwest and played against many high-level teams, including the Major League Cincinnati Reds.
Remembering Black Athletes
The Baseball Hall of Fame showcases dozens of Black ballplayers who have broken records and barriers in the last 150 years of baseball history. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum exhibits the history of Negro League baseball in America. Both organizations feature special events and collections during Black History Month, in addition to exhibitions displayed year-round. This Black History Month – as well as this upcoming Jackie Robinson Day – presents opportunities to celebrate Black baseball players at every level and in every league.
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