Cleveland Buckeyes

The Cleveland Buckeyes were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1942 to 1950 in the Negro American League. The Buckeyes played in two Negro World Series, defeating the Washington Homestead Grays in 1945, and losing to the New York Cubans in 1947. They were based in Cincinnati for their first season and Louisville for their second-to-last season.

Cleveland Buckeyes
Information
League
LocationCleveland, Ohio
Ballpark
Year established1942
Year disbanded1950
Nickname(s)
  • Cincinnati Buckeyes (1942)
  • Cleveland Buckeyes (1943-1948)
  • Louisville Buckeyes (1949)
  • Cleveland Buckeyes (1950)
League titles
Negro World Series championships1945

Founding

The Buckeyes were established in 1942 as the Buckeyes Baseball Club,[1] established initially in Cincinnati, Ohio[2] (Ohio being the Buckeye State), scheduling seven league games in Cincinnati and nine in Cleveland, plus another five in Meadville, Pennsylvania.[3][4] The following season, owner Ernest White of Erie made Cleveland the team's home city, where they played their games at League Park.[5]

Glory years

While in Cleveland, the team achieved great success, including winning a pair of Negro American League championships (1945, 1947) and a Negro League World Series title in 1945.[2]

Decline and demise

In 1949 the team moved again, to Louisville, Kentucky, but it was to no avail and the Louisville Buckeyes returned to Cleveland for the first two months of the 1950 season before disbanding.[2][6]

Home fields

The Buckeyes played their inaugural season's home games at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.[7] After one season, they moved upstate to Cleveland and played at League Park until their demise,[8] except for 1949 when they played at Parkway Field in Louisville, Kentucky.[9]

MLB throwback jerseys

On May 20, 2006, in Cleveland, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians honored the Negro league teams by wearing the uniforms of the Homestead Grays and the Cleveland Buckeyes, respectively, during an inter-league game, as well as displaying the names on the scoreboard. The Pirates won the game 9–6.

On April 25, 2015, in Detroit, the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers wore the uniforms of the Cleveland Buckeyes and Detroit Stars, respectively.[10] Players' names were not displayed on the jerseys. Detroit won the game 4–1.[11]

On May 7, 2017, in Kansas City, the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals wore the uniforms of the Cleveland Buckeyes and Kansas City Monarchs, respectively. Players' names were not displayed on the jerseys. Cleveland won the game 1–0.

References
  1. "BUCKEYES GET FRANCHISE IN THE NEGRO AMERICAN LEAGUE". The Cleveland Call & Post. January 3, 1942.
  2. "Encyclopedia of Cleveland History". Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
  3. "1942 Cincinnati/Cleveland Buckeyes". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  4. "Negro American League First Half Schedule (May 10: Cincy-Cleve @ Memphis, 2 games)". The Cleveland Call & Post. March 14, 1942.
  5. O'Karma, Dave (May 2006). "The Forgotten Championship". Cleveland Magazine. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
  6. "Cleveland Buckeyes". Negro League Baseball Players Association. Archived from the original on 2009-05-21. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  7. Lowry, Philip J. (2006). Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebration of Major League and Negro League Ballparks. New York: Walker Publishing Company, Inc. p. 65. ISBN 0-8027-1562-1.
  8. Lowry, Philip J. (2006). Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebration of Major League and Negro League Ballparks. New York: Walker Publishing Company, Inc. p. 71. ISBN 0-8027-1562-1.
  9. Lowry, Philip J. (2006). Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebration of Major League and Negro League Ballparks. New York: Walker Publishing Company, Inc. p. 123. ISBN 0-8027-1562-1.
  10. "Indians wear Buckeyes uniforms in annual Negro Leagues Tribute Game". 2015-04-25.
  11. "Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit Tigers Results, Stats, and Recap - April 25, 2015 Gametracker".
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