MONTREAL FIELDED AN ALL-BLACK SEMI-PRO BASEBALL TEAM IN THE INDEPENDENT PROVINCIAL LEAGUE, 1936/37

Montreal (all)Black Panthers, 1936/37.

Up to recently, the Chatham Coloured All-Stars, winners of the Ontario Baseball Association's Intermediate "B" championship in 1934, were the only all-Black Canadian team in my recollection. That is until I had reason to do a little research on the history of baseball in the Province of Quebec.

The origins of baseball in Quebec start in the 1860s with people playing Rounders on the Champ de Mars in Montreal; by 1871, the city’s first baseball club was founded. In the first half of the 19th century, baseball spread throughout Quebec and became better organized as stadiums and parks were built and leagues were formed.

From 1912 to 1917 and then from 1928 to 1960 Montreal had an International League 'Triple A' team, one level down from the Major Leagues, called the “Montreal Royals.” In 1946, the Royals became the first team to break the colour barrier in professional baseball with the promotion of the great Jackie Robinson. 

Prior to this significant date, Major League Baseball only accepted white baseball players. African-Americans were forced to create their own professional leagues known as the “Negro Leagues.” When Jackie Robinson played for Montreal, baseball was forever revolutionised.

The odious racial barrier was crossed in Quebec townships too, albeit much earlier thanks to the rural “out-law” Class "C" Provincial League. The Provincial League was launched in 1894 and operated sporadically and outside the control of organized baseball. 

As it was not recognized by Major League baseball, the independent semi-pro league had no restrictions on hiring black players from the Negro Leagues in the U.S. to help field teams. In fact, the Provincial League included a Dow Brewery-sponsored all black team in Montreal called the “Black Panthers” during the seasons of 1936 and 1937 (*see photo above); its ever-changing roster filled by American teenagers who came and went at a wholesale rate because they had trouble climatizing away from homes in the deep south. Other Quebec township teams included the Farnham Pirates, the Granby Red Sox, the Drummondville Cubs, the Sherbrooke Athletics and the St. Hyacinthe Saints. 

Black players had an easier time playing ball in Quebec as they faced less discrimination, and as the Provincial League was not yet recognized by Major League Baseball (in the early years at least), it had no restrictions on hiring players of color. The first black player to play in the Provincial League was Alfred Wilson who was a pitcher for Granby in 1935. Unfortunately, once the League was recognized by the Majors, Black players were forced to retire from the League. Attitudes changed after the Second World War, when colored players were again allowed to join the Provincial League.

With the demise of the Negro Leagues, several players who were not of Major League quality or were too old to be deemed prospects were scooped up by the Provincial League and other Canadian circuits. Notably, the Saints from Ste-Hyacinthe had several Black players in the 1950s as did Intercounty League teams in Ontario, notably St. Thomas, Galt, Brantford and London. Many Black players from the U.S. also played summer ball in the Prairie provinces in the 40's and 50's.

JUST AN ASIDE: In 1951, the Farnham Pirates hired Samuel Howard Bankhead (1910-1976) who played most notably for the Negro National League’s “Homestead Grays” of Pennsylvania. Bankhead made history when he became the first African-American manager for a Minor League team in white organised baseball. The Pirates went 52-71 that year, finishing 7th in the eight-team league. Among the names on the roster of players in 1951 is catcher Euthumn “Eudie” Napier (1913-1983) who also played with the Homestead Grays. It is interesting to note that Sam Bankhead’s younger brother Daniel was the first African-American pitcher in Major League baseball.

FIRST ALL-BLACK BASEBALL TEAM TO WIN ONTARIO HONORS

Front Row: Stanton Robbins, Jack Robinson (bat boy), Len Harding Middle Row: Hyle Robbins, Earl “Flat” Chase, Kingsley Terrell, Don Washington, Don Taborn, Ross Talbot, Cliff Olbey Back Row: Louis Pryor (coach), Gouy Ladd, Sagasta Harding, Wilfred “Boomer” Harding, Percy Parker (coach) Absent: Joe “Happy” Parker (manager)

Chatham Coloured All-Stars, OBA champs 1934

After winning the OBA Intermediate "B" title in a historic playoff series against Penetanguishene, the Chatham Coloured All-Stars continued to play throughout the balance of the 1930s, with the roster changing slightly. The Sterling Fuels-sponsored team reached championship play twice more, in 1935 and in 1939. In 1935 they won the Chatham city title and went on to win the Western Counties Baseball Association championship, Intermediate "A" division, defeating Strathroy. They lost a series to Sandwich of the Essex County League, however, and did not advance to the next level of Ontario playdowns. In 1939, the Chatham Coloured All-Stars reached the all-Ontario finals against Meaford in OBA play, but a dispute arose over the location of the final game and no title was awarded. After the outbreak of World War II, the All-Stars stopped playing, and several team members served in the war.

Through the 1940s and early 1950s, many of the former Chatham Coloured All-Stars members played on other community teams. In 1946, a new team formed called the Taylor ACs, named after the Taylor Institute that provided sports and community programs in Chatham’s east end. By the early 1950s, this team was known as the Taylor AC Panthers, playing in a newly-formed Kent County League against my Dresden Legionnaires Junior team that also just happened to have four black players in the lineup. Other teams in the league included Wallaceburg, Kent Bridge and a second Chatham  team of all white players.

All home games for the Stars were played in the tight confines of Sterling Park.

To assemble a team of 14 Black homebrew players from a community of no more than 20,000 residents in the 1930s and '40s was quite remarkable. There is a move afoot to have the 1934 edition of the Chatham Colored All-Stars included in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

*Final note: I played with and against a lot of black athletes in the 1950s in the Chatham-Kent area and I can state unequivocally that I never once heard a racial slur from the players' bench or from fans in the stands.  How do you accredit that?

I've always contended that baseball is the great equalizer. Certainly respect was mutual on the sandlot playing fields where I came from...You just do not hear about it all that much in stories written today!

We all played baseball for the fun and enjoyment of it, but it did matter whether we won or lost. You'd better believe we were competitive --  Black, white, et al!