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in: Defunct baseball leagues in the United States, Defunct Baseball Leagues, Negro baseball leagues

Negro American League

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The Negro American League was founded as a midwestern Negro League in 1937 following the collapse of the East-West League. It occupied the territory formerly belonging to the Negro National League (a name now taken up by the eastern blackball circuit). It ran until 1958. Prominent teams included the Kansas City Monarchs, Birmingham Black Barons, Chicago American Giants and Memphis Red Sox. From 1942 to 1948 the league champion played against the champion of the Negro National League in the Negro World Series.


After the integration of Major League Baseball, the NNL disbanded, and four of its surviving teams joined the NAL, splitting it into east and west divisions. The league played at what Negro League historians believe was close to major league quality through 1950. The continued loss of established players major, minor, and foreign leagues plus the growing inability of the NAL to sign sufficient young talent, as more young players were being signed directly by Major League teams and sent to the minor leagues, caused a precipitous decline in the league's quality and caused many teams to disband within a few years. The NAL continued to operate through the 1950s, but the average level of play continued to deteriorate down toward a semi-pro level, and it ceased operations after 1962. Media coverage and record-keeping of the NAL after 1948 declined even faster, going from scanty to virtually non-existent. Individual teams barnstormed for a few years after the league's demise, though most were gone by the end of the 1960s. The Indianapolis Clowns were the last former NAL team extant, disbanding about 1988.









1950: Indianapolis Clowns



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