The team existed in some form or fashion between 1913 and 1936, in any number of leagues.

Frank Warfield led the Balto Sox to the 1929 Negro American League championship as a player manager. Bill James referred to him as a “complete defensive wizard.” He also supposedly bit off Ghost Marcell’s nose in a heated dispute over a dice game while playing in Cuba. 😬

Oliver “Ghost” Marcell was also there, and also a genius on the left side of the infield. Judy Johnson was like yeah, this guy is better than me imo. 🤯

Dick Lundy was one of the great third basemen of the Negro Leagues.

That infield didn’t get paid a million, of course. But that was what their value was considered to be had they been white players. 🫠

I didn’t know a lot about the Balto Sox, aside from the fact that HOF’er Jud “Boojum” Wilson, was part of the team’s “million dollar infield” before going to play for the Grays (among others). “Boojum” came from the sound his line drives made when they hit the outfield walls.

Original owner John Conners named the team after his Brooklyn Royal Cafe. The team was great in the early years of the 20th Century, with multiple National Ass’n championships to their name. They were charter members of the Eastern Colored League in 1923, but dropped out in 1927.

That’s one of the more positive takes on it that I’ve heard! I’m torn, to be honest, but lean negative. I think I’m just hung up on how many good colors and logos are in the team’s history. It just feels like opportunities were missed.

Like the Phanatic is RIGHT THERE. Throw some green in there!!

I wish the worm dog got a proper credit…

Last season the Memphis Redbirds paid homage to the Red Sox with some great throwback jerseys, and hey, wouldn’t it be great if teams did more of this?

But Verdell “Lefty” Mathis, maybe the best Negro Leagues southpaw of the 40s, played most of his career for Memphis, though he was one of the players who jumped ship, briefly, for the greener pastures of the Philadelphia Stars.

(Painting by the great @graigkreindler.bsky.social )

Turkey Stearnes,Willie Wells, and Willie Foster, all Hall of Famers, passed through Memphis. Charley Pride played a few years there before quitting baseball to become a country music star.

They were also one of the few teams to own their own ballpark, Lewis Park, named after the-owner Robert B. Lewis. It was renamed Martin stadium in 1927 following a sale of the team to the Martin brothers, and would be expanded in subsequent years. The park was demolished in 1961.

Though never a powerhouse, the team had relative stability, existing in some form or fashion from 1920 until disbanding in May 1960. They were a charter member of the Negro American League in 1937, and won the pennant in 1938 against the 2nd half champion Atlanta Black Crackers.