St. Louis Stars (baseball)
| St. Louis Stars 1922–1931 St. Louis, Missouri |
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| League titles | 1931 • 1930 • 1928 | ||
The St. Louis Stars were a Negro League baseball team that competed in the Negro National League from 1922 to 1931. Founded when Dick Kent and Dr. Sam Sheppard took over the St. Louis Giants franchise from African-American promoter Charlie Mills, the Stars eventually built one of the great dynasties in Negro League history, winning three pennants in four years from 1928 to 1931.
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[edit] Founding
The club played in Stars Park (SE corner of Compton and Laclede, 38°37′56″N 90°13′34″W / 38.632193°N 90.226014°W), completed in mid-season 1922 as one of the few ballparks built expressly for the Negro Leagues. The park became famous for its 269 foot left field wall, built to accommodate a trolley car barn. Despite special rules that in some seasons counted home runs hit over the car barn as ground-rule doubles, the park proved very friendly to power hitters over the years.
The Stars inherited almost the entire roster of the 1921 Giants (who had finished in second place), with the exception of Hall of Fame center fielder Oscar Charleston. Without Charleston, the Stars dropped to fourth place in 1922, though with a creditable 35-26 record. In 1923 they slipped badly, finishing with 28 wins and 44 losses, good for only sixth place. Midway through the year they acquired several players from the Toledo Tigers when that team folded, including new manager Candy Jim Taylor. A 37-year-old third baseman, Taylor tied for the 1923 league lead with 20 home runs (19 hit in St. Louis).
More importantly, over the next few years Taylor put together one of the most impressive assemblages of talent in Negro League history, including Cool Papa Bell, whom Taylor converted from a left-handed pitcher into a brilliant defensive center fielder and leadoff man; Mule Suttles, first baseman and all-time Negro League home run king; Willie Wells, considered by many historians to be John Henry Lloyd's only serious rival as greatest shortstop in Negro League history; and Ted Trent, pitcher and wielder of one of the most effective curve balls in the league.
[edit] Championship years
In 1924, the Stars improved to 42-34 and fourth place. The next year they won the second-half title with an impressive 38-12 record after only narrowly losing the first half (69-27 overall), but lost the playoff series to Bullet Rogan and the Kansas City Monarchs. When Taylor left to manage the Detroit Stars and Cleveland Elites in 1926, the Stars slumped to 49-30, good for third place overall, though Mule Suttles enjoyed an historic season at bat. According to John Holway's Complete Book of the Negro Leagues, he hit .498, and led the NNL in doubles (27), triples (21), and home runs (27, the all-time Negro League single season record). He returned in 1927, and in 1928 the Stars took over the league, winning the first half going away, and compiling the best overall record by a good margin (66-26). They defeated the Chicago American Giants, second-half winners (and Negro League world champions for two years running) in an exciting playoff series, 5 games to 4.
The Stars continued their winning ways in 1929, but were just edged out in both halves of the season by the Kansas City Monarchs, despite Willie Wells's 27 home runs (tying Suttles's 1926 record). The following year they took their second NNL pennant, defeating the Detroit Stars in the playoff. In 1931, the Stars were awarded the pennant when the league disintegrated partway through the season; unfortunately, the club folded along with the league.
[edit] MLB throwback jerseys
The St. Louis Cardinals have honored the Stars by wearing replica uniforms during regular-season baseball games on several occasions, including July 4, 1997 (at home vs. Pittsburgh), August 1 and 2, 1998 (at Atlanta), June 29, 2003 (at Kansas City), August 12, 2006 (at Pittsburgh), and August 14, 2007 (at Washington), and July 23, 2011 (at Pittsburgh).
[edit] Home fields
Stars Park, in St. Louis, Missouri located at the southeast corner of Compton and Laclede avenues, was the primary home baseball park of the Stars from 1922 to 1931. The stadium was one of the few ballparks purposely built for a Negro league team. It had a capacity of 10,000 people.[1]
The Stars also played at Giants Park the first month and a half of the 1922 season, and occasionally played some games in the 1920s at three nearby parks: Vandeventer Lot II, Easton Street Park and Market Street Park.[1]
[edit] Hall of Famers
Below are the three men who played for the St. Louis Stars and were later inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. After the player's name is their primary position, years played with the Stars and year inducted into the Hall of Fame. An asterisk denotes the Stars were also their primary team.
- Cool Papa Bell*, outfielder, 1922-1931, inducted 1974
- Willie Wells*, shortstop, 1924-1931, inducted 1997
- Mule Suttles, firstbase, 1926-1930, inducted 2006
[edit] NAL reincarnate
In 1937, another club named the St. Louis Stars joined the Negro American League as a charter member, but this was an entirely different organization. They disbanded for the 1938 season due to financial difficulties but reformed for the 1939 season in the NAL. This club suffered continual financial woes and resorted to splitting their home games between St. Louis and New Orleans in 1940 and 1941 (as the New Orleans–St. Louis Stars). They again disbanded for the 1942 season and again reformed in 1943, this time based solely in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, although they played under the Harrisburg–St. Louis Stars monicker. They finally disbanded for good after the 1943 season. This club played their St. Louis home games at Metropolitan Park (1937) and South End Park (1939, 1941)[1]; their New Orleans home games at Pelican Stadium (1941)[2]; and their Harrisburg home games at Island Stadium (1943).[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Lowry, Philip J. (2006). Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebration of Major League and Negro League Ballparks. New York: Walker Publishing Company, Inc.. p. 203. ISBN 0-8027-1562-1.
- ^ Lowry, Philip J. (2006). Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebration of Major League and Negro League Ballparks. New York: Walker Publishing Company, Inc.. p. 144-145. ISBN 0-8027-1562-1.
- ^ Lowry, Philip J. (2006). Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebration of Major League and Negro League Ballparks. New York: Walker Publishing Company, Inc.. p. 95. ISBN 0-8027-1562-1.
[edit] External links
- St. Louis Stars Photographs from the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri–St. Louis
- Negro League Baseball Project Oral Histories at Western Historical Manuscript Collection - University of Missouri-St. Louis
