Rhode Island Historical Society: Black Greys & Colored Giants
On February 28, 2023 at 7:00 p.m., I attended a Zoom talk hosted by Rhode Island Historical Society and focused on the recently published book Black Greys and Colored Giants: A Comprehensive Guide to Black Baseball in Rhode Island, 1870-1949 by Robert Cvornyek, who is professor emeritus and former chair of the History Department at Rhode Island College, along with a professor at Florida State University Panama City. The talk took the form of a conversation moderated by Richard J. Ring, Deputy Executive Director for Collections and Interpretation at Rhode Island Historical Society since 2017.
Cvornyek explained that he wrote the book after researching Black baseball in Rhode Island for over twenty years, starting in the early 2000s. He interviewed men who played baseball in the late 1940s, along with their families, and learned that “Baseball is a critical lens to understand African American history.” He originally planned to donate all his research materials to RIHS, but realized it made more sense to put everything into an accessible book that the families of players would enjoy.
Besides conducting interviews, Cvornyek investigated the extensive newspaper collection from the late 19th and early 20th century held by RIHS. The collection included the Boston Chronicle, which later became the Providence Chronicle, a Black newspaper that paid attention to sports and hired talented sports writers. Cvornyek visited Ken Carlson, the archivist for the Rhode Island Secretary of State, where they found the incorporation papers for three Black teams dating from 1905, 1924, and 1926. This proved that baseball was a commercial enterprise for Black entrepreneurs, in addition to being an important social and cultural institution. Incorporation papers also included “silent partners”, people listed as owners of the organization on the document but not talked about.
Incorporated in 1905, the Providence Colored Giants was a successful Black baseball team that stayed in Providence, RI uninterrupted until 1932. The team elevated the game from an amateur to semi-professional sport, clearly different than the traditional team sponsored by a fraternal or civic organization. The team played in now demolished Melrose Park, where owner Daniel Whitehead promised Providence Journal subscribers that the team was worth the price of admission. Players were paid by the game, either by “split gate”, where each team took half the admission money, or “guaranteed gate”, where the visiting team was given a specific amount. The method of payment changed briefly in 1931 when the team turned full professional, but the first Negro National League went under that year upon the death of its founder, Rube Foster. The team did not play well enough on salary, so they were returned to split gate.
Interest in baseball was strong from the 1880s through the 1960s. A hotel circuit comprised of Ocean House, Watch Hill Inn, and now demolished Larkin House at Watch Hill of Westerly, RI gave Black teams venues where they could play. The multitalented players would migrate north during the summer to work as waiters at the hotels, along with playing baseball, singing, and dancing. The highlight of the season was the Black championship of Rhode Island, played during the celebration of West Indian Emancipation Day on August 1, a holiday recognized by the Black community of Rhode Island since 1837.
During the question and answer session at the end of the talk, Cvornyek talked effortlessly about race, gender, and social activism in sports. A robust baseball league for White women once ran in Rhode Island. Some African-American women played on Negro League teams, like Toni Stone, Connie Morgan, and Mamie “Peanut” Johnson. Cvornyek found two cases of integrated baseball leagues. The Providence Color Giants moved to Boston in 1931 to join the otherwise all-White Boston Twilight League. Both Black and White umpires called games, although in at least one instance, a White umpire stopped the game before a Black team could pull ahead and win. While basketball is current a favorite sport of African-Americans, teams received less recognition at the beginning of the 20th century, although women’s games were played in the same gym right before men’s games in a rare showing of gender equality. Athletes back then were not politically active in the same way as athletes today, but a few had strong political affiliations. Democrat Dixie Matthews played for the Providence Steamrollers and managed a team named after himself, while his rival, the Republican Richard "Pop" Dudley, managed the Providence Invaders.
Overall, this talk was informative, fast moving, and a lot of fun. I was impressed by Cvornyek’s encyclopedic knowledge of sports, culture, and Rhode Island history. I look forward to reading his full book once it becomes available at a library near me.