Yankee Stadium is known as the House that Ruth built, but the legendary stadium also has a historic connection to the Negro Leagues and Black history.
On Saturday, July 5th, 1930, seven years after opening, Yankees owner Colonel Jacob Ruppert opened the Stadium’s doors to the Negro Leagues by hosting a doubleheader between the New York Lincoln Giants and the Baltimore Black Sox.
But this event held more significance than a baseball game.
While it marked the first time that the Stadium played host to a Negro League game, it was also a fundraiser for the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), the fledging organization led by civil rights activist, A. Philip Randolph.
Randolph, a Florida native, moved to New York and became a well-known figure in Harlem tirelessly advocating for social equality. In June 1925, a group of Pullman porters, the all-black service staff of the Pullman sleeping cars, asked Randolph to lead the organization. He agreed and embarked on a 10-year push to organize the group.
He ultimately succeeded as, according to the AFL-CIO, the BSCP became certified as the “exclusive collective bargaining agent of the Pullman porters in 1935.”
It was the “first victory of Negro workers over a great industrial corporation,” said Philips at the time.
But five years prior, Philips was only halfway through his organizational efforts and needed a way to galvanize the masses.
In stepped Colonel Ruppert and the Yankees.
Ruppert loaned the Stadium to Randolph to help the BSCP and waived the normal rental fee. According to MLB.com, an estimated 20,000 fans showed up that day to support the cause and take part in the historic first Negro League game at Yankee Stadium.
The game was a “grand success,” wrote Dr. Lawrence D. Hogan in his story The House that Ruth Built and Pop Opened.
“Between games the redoubtable Bojangles Robinson running backwards outraced several YMCA track stars. The band of the 369th infantry regiment, Harlem’s famous “Hell Fighters,” entertained the large crowd. And when the receipts were tallied, and expenses paid, Randolph’s Brotherhood treasury was more than $3,500 to the good,” wrote Hogan.
Hogan notes the game featured other firsts as well.
The Giants’ Bill Holland became to first Black pitcher to throw a pitch at the famed stadium. It was the first time a game at the Stadium was officiated by two Black umpires and Giants’ shortstop Bill Yancey became the first Black player to step foot on the field at the Stadium.
The game also served as a special moment for Negro Leagues legend, John Henry Lloyd, affectionately known as “Pop.”
Pop, who was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977, played for nine Negro Leagues teams during his career (1906-1932) and is considered to be one of the greatest shortstops in Negro League history. Babe Ruth even called him the greatest baseball player of all time.
That day, Pop went 4 for 8 and stole a base.
Unfortunately, the history-making game in the Bronx doesn’t receive the attention it deserves.
It was the first time a Negro League game was held at Yankee Stadium and became the first time Black professional baseball players played on the historic field.
It also provided A. Philip Randolph with a major stepping stone that helped both the BSCP and his career.
Randolph led the charge that resulted in President Franklin Roosevelt issuing his executive order in 1941 that prevented discrimination in government or defense industries. His organization of Black men in 1948 forced President Harry Truman to issue an order ending military discrimination. In 1955, he became Vice President of the AFL-CIO and in 1963 he was named chair of the March on Washington.
Yankee Stadium would go on to host other Negro League games, including the stadium debut of the Black Yankees on September 9th, 1934, a fundraiser featuring Satchel Paige of the Pittsburgh Crawfords that drew an estimated 25,000 fans. It would host other historic Black events, including the stadium’s first-ever HBCU football game on September 28, 1968, between Grambling and Morgan State.
But the 1930 doubleheader between the New York Lincoln Giants and the Baltimore Black Sox should be considered the most important for its place in sports, Black and American history.
This story was written thanks to the unrelenting efforts of Dr. Larry Hogan in keeping Negro League Baseball history alive. His story “The House that Ruth Built and Pop Opened- Negro League Baseball at Yankee Stadium. Three Popes But No Pop.” was the basis for this piece.
