I decided to build an 8-team league for this simulation. I wanted to choose the teams from the Negro Leagues. Strat-O-Matic’s Negro League Legends set comes with four teams (Detroit Stars, Kansas City Monarchs, Pittsburgh Crawfords, Washington Homestead Grays), so I began with those four teams. I then added four more teams: Birmingham Black Barons, New York Black Yankees, Newark Eagles, and St. Louis Stars. Here is a bit on each of those eight teams.
Birmingham Black Barons
The Black Barons began in the Negro National League from 1924-1930, except for 1926 when they were in the Negro Southern League. They were members of the Negro American League from 1937-1950. They made it to three Negro League World Series three times in the 1940’s, losing to the Homestead Grays each time.
Notable players: Willie Mays, Satchel Paige, Mules Stuttles, and Bill Foster.
Detroit Stars
The Stars played in the Negro National League from 1920-1931. They were also active in 1933 (National) and 1936 (American). They were the Western Champions as an Independent team in 1919.
Notable players: Turkey Stearnes, Sam Crawford, Pete Hill, Double Duty Radcliffe, John Donaldson, Bruce Petway
Kansas City Monarchs
One of the most successful Negro League teams, playing in the Negro National League (1920-1931), Independent (1932-1936), and the Negro American League (1937-1959). They won 10 pennants, and were World Series champions in 1924 and 1942. Thirteen men associated with the Monarchs are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. (One more should be! At least.)
Notable players: Cool Papa Bell, Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, Bullet Rogan, Turkey Stearnes, Cristobal Torriente, Willard Brown, Andy Cooper, Bill Foster, Jose Mendez, Hilton Smith, Elston Howard, and the great Buck O’Neil.
New York Black Yankees
Formed in 1932 to fill a void created when the New York Lincoln Giants folded, the Black Yankees played until 1950, spending the 1936-1948 seasons as a member of the Negro National League. They never finished higher than 5th in a 6-team league.
Notable players: Satchel Paige, Fats Jenkins, Double Duty Radcliffe, Mule Suttles, Willie Wells
Newark Eagles
This team was a consolidation of the Brooklyn Eagles and the Newark Dodgers. They were members of the National Negro League from 1936-1948. They won the World Series in 1946, defeating the Kansas City Monarchs.
Notable players: Larry Doby (broke the color barrier in the American League in 1947), Ray Dandridge, Leon Day, Monte Irvin, Biz Mackey, Mule Suttles, Willie Wells, Don Newcombe
Pittsburgh Crawfords
After two years as an Independent team, the Crawfords played in the Negro National League from 1933-1938. They won the pennant in 1935 and again in 1936. The team disbanded after several prominent players left to play for Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
Notable players: Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston (player-manager), Judy Johnson, Cool Papa Bell, Willie Bell, Jimmie Crutchfield, Rap Dixon, Sam Bankhead, Ted Radcliffe
St. Louis Stars
Members of the Negro National League in 1922-1931, winning three pennants. After disbanding in 1931, another team by this name was formed in 1937, and they bounced around between the Negro American and National Leagues, as well as spending a season as an Independent team.
Notable players: Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Mule Suttles, Biz Mackie, Willie Wells
Washington Homestead Grays
Originally based in Homestead, PA, the Grays moved on to also play games in Pittsburgh and Washington, DC. Strat-O-Matic placed the team in Washington, DC. The Grays spent many years from 1912-1950 as an Independent team, they played in the American Negro League in 1929 and the Negro National League from 1934-1948. They were the Eastern champions in 1930 and 1931, and then went on to win ten Negro National League pennants (including NINE in a row from 1937-1945). They lost the World Series in 1942 (Kansas City Monarchs) and 1945 (Cleveland Buckeyes), and won the World Series in 1943, 1944, and 1948 (defeating the Birmingham Black Barons each time). Many believe the 1931 team was the greatest black team of all time.
Notable players: The Thunder Twins (Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard), Cool Papa Bell, Ray Brown, Oscar Charleston, Martin Dihigo, Bill Foster, Judy Johnson, Willie Wells, Smokey Joe Williams, Jud Wilson
You can check out team profiles for all of these teams on NLBM’s “emuseum” site: https://www.nlbemuseum.com/history/teams.html