Newark Eagles facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Newark Eagles |
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|---|---|
| Information | |
| League |
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| Location | Newark, New Jersey |
| Ballpark |
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| Year established | 1933 (est. 1936 through merger) |
| Year disbanded | 1950 |
| Nickname(s) |
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| League titles | 1946 |
| Negro World Series championships | 1946 |
The Newark Eagles were a professional baseball team. They played in the Negro leagues, which were special baseball leagues for African American players. This was during a time when Major League Baseball did not allow Black players. The Eagles played in the Negro National League from 1936 to 1948. The team was owned by a husband and wife, Abe and Effa Manley. Effa Manley was a very important figure, as she was one of the first women to own and manage a professional sports team.
Contents
Team History
How the Eagles Started
The Newark Eagles team was formed in 1936. It happened when two other teams joined together. The Newark Dodgers and the Brooklyn Eagles became one team.
Abe Manley and his wife Effa Manley owned the Brooklyn Eagles. They bought the Newark Dodgers team. Then, they combined all the players and resources from both teams. This created the Newark Eagles.
Effa Manley took charge of running the team. This made the Eagles the second professional baseball team ever owned and managed by a woman. The first was the Indianapolis ABCs, owned by Olivia Taylor. The Eagles played their home games at Ruppert Stadium in Newark. They shared the stadium with another local baseball team, the Newark Bears.
The Eagles were to (black) Newark what the Dodgers were to Brooklyn.
—Eagles star Max Manning
The Team Moves On
After the 1948 season, big changes happened in baseball. A year earlier, Jackie Robinson had successfully joined Major League Baseball. This helped end the segregation in baseball.
Because of these changes, the Negro National League became smaller. It then joined with the Negro American League. The Newark Eagles team was sold and moved to Houston, Texas. For the 1949 season, they were called the Houston Eagles.
Two years later, the team moved again. This time, they went to New Orleans. They were known as the New Orleans Eagles. However, this team only lasted one year. It stopped playing after the 1951 season.
Winning the World Series
Under Effa Manley's leadership, the Newark Eagles had a fantastic year in 1946. They won the Negro World Series! This was a huge victory for the team.
They beat a very strong team, the Kansas City Monarchs. The Eagles won the championship in a thrilling 7-game series.
Famous Players
Baseball Hall of Famers
Many amazing players from the Newark Eagles later became members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This shows how talented the team was.
| Newark Eagles Hall of Famers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Position | Years with Eagles | Inducted |
| Ray Dandridge | 3B | 1934–1938 1942, 1944 |
1987 |
| Leon Day | P | 1937–1939 1941–1943, 1946 |
1995 |
| Larry Doby | CF | 1942–1944 1945–1947 |
1998 |
| Monte Irvin | LF | 1938–1942 1945–1948 |
1973 |
| Biz Mackey | C | 1939–1942 1945–1947 |
2006 |
| Mule Suttles | 1B | 1936–1940 1942–1944 |
2006 |
| Willie Wells | SS | 1937–1939 | 1997 |
Other Notable Players
- Don Newcombe (1944–1945) - He later became a huge star in Major League Baseball. He was a 4-time MLB All-Star, the 1949 Rookie of the Year, and won both the Cy Young Award and the National League Most Valuable Player award in 1956.
