Little Rock Black Travelers (1945)
The Little Rock Black Travelers were a Negro baseball team in the 1945 Negro Southern League. The team played games at Travelers Field.History
The Negro Southern Schedule was divided into a split season. The first half began on May 6th, and finished on July 4th. Little Rock finished seventh among eight teams in the first half with 9-22 record (19). Shortly after the second half began in late July, the Black Travelers moved to Richmond, VA due to "difficulties with the Little Rock baseball park" (1). This difficulty was likely an over-booking of Travelers Field.
After Little Rock dropped out, the team barnstormed around the mid-west.
Little Rock was owned by Sam Parks (10).
Schedule/Results
The Negro Southern League schedule was divided into a split schedule. The following is a record of those halfs before the team moved to Richmond, as can best be understood:
First Half
| Date | Location | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5/6/1945 (2) | Little Rock, AR | New Orleans Black Pelicans | L |
| 5/6/1945 (2) | Little Rock, AR | New Orleans Black Pelicans | L |
| 5/7/1945 (2) | Little Rock, AR | New Orleans Black Pelicans | L |
| 5/1945 (9) | New Orleans Black Pelicans | L, 4-7 | |
| 5/13/1945 (3) | Mobile, AL | Mobile Black Bears | W, 1-0 (9) |
| 5/13/1945 (12) | Mobile, AL | Mobile Black Bears | W, 6-7 (9) |
| 5/14/1945 (12) | Mobile, AL | Mobile Black Bears | L, 6-8 (9) |
| 5/15/1945 (12) | Mobile, AL | Mobile Black Bears | L, 2-8 (9) |
| 5/20/1945 (14) | New Orleans Black Pelicans | W, 8-6 (11) | |
| 5/21/1945 (14) | New Orleans Black Pelicans | L, 3-11 (11) | |
| 5/22/1945 (14) | New Orleans Black Pelicans | L, 0-8 (11) | |
| 5/23/1945 (4) | Dallas, TX (4) | New Orleans Black Pelicans | L, 9-10 (4) or 9-12 (11) |
| Note: Complete to this point. Record of 3-9. | |||
| 5/27/1945 (9) | Little Rock, AR | Chattanooga Choo Choos | |
| 5/28/1945 (9) | Little Rock, AR | Chattanooga Choo Choos | |
| 5/29/1945 (9) | Little Rock, AR | Chattanooga Choo Choos | |
| 5/30/1945 (9) | Little Rock, AR | Chattanooga Choo Choos | |
| 6/3/1945 (9) | Knoxville, TN | Knoxville Grays | |
| 6/3/1945 (9) | Knoxville, TN | Knoxville Grays | |
| 6/4/1945 (9) | Knoxville, TN | Knoxville Grays | |
| 6/5/1945 (9) | Knoxville, TN | Knoxville Grays | |
| Note: Won 3 of 4 games with Knoxville. | |||
| 6/10/1945 (13) | Little Rock, AR | Mobile | |
| 6/11/1945 (13 | Little Rock, AR | Mobile | |
| 6/12/1945 (13) | Little Rock, AR | Mobile | |
| 6/17/1945 (15) | Asheville, NC | Asheville Blues | |
| 6/18/1945 (15 | Asheville, NC | Asheville Blues | |
| 6/19/1945 (15) | Asheville, NC | Asheville Blues | |
| 6/24/1945 (16 | Knoxville, TN | Knoxville Grays | L |
| 6/25/1945 (16) | Knoxville, TN | Knoxville Grays | L |
| 6/26/1945 (16) | Knoxville, TN | Knoxville Grays | L |
| 6/26/1945 (16) | Knoxville, TN | Knoxville Grays | L |
| 6/29/1945 (17) | Little Rock, AR | Atlanta Black Crackers | L |
| 6/30/1945 (17) | Little ROck, AR | Atlanta Black Crackers | L |
| 7/1/1945 (17) | Little Rock, AR | Atlanta Black Crackers | L |
| 7/1935 (18) | Atlanta Black Crackers | L | |
| 7/1935 (18) | Atlanta Black Crackers | L | |
| 7/4/1945 (17) | Little Rock, AR | Atalanta Black Crackers | L |
| First Half | 9-22 (.290) (19) |
Second Half
| Date | Location | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/1935 (20) | Little Rock, AR | Chattanooga Choo Choos | L |
| 7/1935 (20) | Little Rock, AR | Chattanooga Choo Choos | L |
| 7/1935 (20) | Little Rock, AR | Chattanooga Choo Choos | L |
Non-League Games
| Date | Location | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6/26/1945 (5) | Kingsport, TN | Knoxville Grays | |
| 7/30/1945 (6) | Danville, VA | Nashville Black Vols | |
| 8/3/1945 (7) | Hammond Indiana | East Chicago Giants | |
| 8/9/1945 | Racine, WI | Pittsburgh Crawfords | L, 27-7 |
Players
| Player | Birth | Death |
|---|---|---|
| Clark | ||
| Coachman | ||
| Creamer | ||
| Curry | ||
| Eddie Green (7) | ||
| Hainey | ||
| Hill(4) | ||
| Hubbard | ||
| Hyde | ||
| Kooker | ||
| Lewis | ||
| Lockman | ||
| Manion | ||
| Lefty Peach | ||
| Saunders | ||
| Joe Washington | ||
| Williams |
Sources
1) Afro American, 7/28/1945
2) Times-Picayune, 5/11/1945
3) Times-Picayune, 5/13/1945
4) Times-Picayune, 5/24/1945
5) Kingsport Times, Kingsport, TN, 6/26/1945
6) The Bee, Danville, VA, 7/25/1945
7) Hammond Times, Hammond, IN, 8/3/1945
8) Racine Journal-Times, 8/8/1945
9) Afro American, 5/26/1945
10) The Sporting News, 3/1/1945
11) Afro American, 6/2/1945
12) Afro American, 5/12/1945
13) Afro American, 6/9/1945
14) Afro American, 5/19/1945
15) Afro American, 6/16/1945
16) Afro American, 6/23/1945
17) Afro American, 6/30/1945
18) Afro American, 7/14/1945
19) Times-Picayune, 7/8/1945
20) Afro American, 7/21/1945
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