Baltimore Elite Giants
The Elite Giants moved to Baltimore in 1938 after seasons in Nashville, Cleveland and Washington, and played eleven there. They won the Negro National League playoff in 1939, beating the Homestead Grays. The recorded figures rest on surviving box scores rather than a complete count of games.
Roy Campanella signed with the club at fifteen and caught for it for most of nine seasons before Brooklyn took him in 1946. Junior Gilliam came through it too, and both went to the Dodgers, which is how a Baltimore club ended up supplying two thirds of a Brooklyn infield and its catcher.
The name was pronounced ee-light, which the club printed on its own material. Its ground was Bugle Field. It was among the last Negro National League clubs standing when the league folded after 1948, by which point the major leagues were signing its players and its crowds were following them.
Season by season
| Year | Club | W | L | Pct | Finish | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Baltimore Elite Giants | 21 | 23 | .477 | 4 | — | — |
| 1939 | Baltimore Elite Giants | 22 | 25 | .468 | 4 | Pennant | — |
| 1940 | Baltimore Elite Giants | 25 | 14 | .641 | 2 | — | — |
| 1941 | Baltimore Elite Giants | 27 | 14 | .659 | 2 | — | — |
| 1942 | Baltimore Elite Giants | 24 | 14 | .632 | 2 | — | — |
| 1943 | Baltimore Elite Giants | 14 | 21 | .400 | 6 | — | — |
| 1944 | Baltimore Elite Giants | 26 | 23 | .531 | 4 | — | — |
| 1945 | Baltimore Elite Giants | 25 | 17 | .595 | 2 | — | — |
| 1946 | Baltimore Elite Giants | 27 | 29 | .482 | 4 | — | — |
| 1947 | Baltimore Elite Giants | 41 | 36 | .532 | 3 | — | — |
| 1948 | Baltimore Elite Giants | 46 | 25 | .648 | 2 | — | — |
| Total | 11 seasons | 298 | 241 | .553 | — | 0 World Series | — |
Notable players
Showing 60 of 67 players on file for the club, most prominent first.