The Colored Gophers
There is no other professional sport in America that sparks as much nostalgia than baseball. Today, athletes and fans of all races compete, spectate and enjoy the game collectively as teams battle for supremacy. Baseball wasn’t always this simple. In the dawn of America’s national pastime, the sport mirrored discriminating Jim Crow laws, as the games unwritten rules enforced segregation in the beloved sport. African Americans were ruled out of the highest levels of the organized game and subjected negro ball players to form their own teams and leagues. In a state that had not seen much diversity, Minnesota was introduced to its first negro baseball club the Colored Gophers in 1907. The history of the Colored Gophers from St. Paul Minnesota tales an inspiring perspective of negro ball players whose talent helped resolve the game by integrating the sport one baseball diamond at a time.
In the hundred-eighty-year history of baseball, racism and discrimination were eventually crafted out from the integrity of the game, sculpting the sport most Americans enjoy today. Ironically, the evolution of baseball was heavily impacted by negro ball players due to their artistry and flair, evolving the game to the likes segregated baseball had never seen. The unique play-style of the Gophers brought an abundance of success. Although much of their achievements have been lost to history, they left a tremendous imprint on baseball dismantling the games color line, inspiring the future of an intergraded sport.
Initially, before professional baseball was introduced teams would play simply for recreation. Many rosters would have all white or all black teams, and some clubs would be integrated. In 1868, the integration of baseball teams would soon be eradicated by the National Association of Baseball Players. This organization was responsible for governing the rules of American baseball, and unanimously voted against teams composed of one or more African American ball players. One year later, Major League Baseball launched its brand in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1869. The end of the Civil War heightened baseballs popularity and increased interest in the sport for all races. However, African Americans were still vulnerable to racism, discrimination and segregation throughout every baseball diamond in the country. Only a few short years following the commencement of the MLB, African Americans were thoroughly excluded from professional baseball. As result of their exclusion, African American ball players developed their own teams and were stirred toward barnstorming squads that traveled around the country only permitted to play whites in exhibition games, yet ostracized from joining leagues.
Throughout the years, the snowball effect of all-black teams inspired the creation of negro ball clubs across the country. In 1907, self-made businessman Phil “Daddy” Reid, established Minnesota’s first negro baseball club, “The Colored Gophers”. Prior to founding the Gophers, Reid, possibly born into slavery, maneuvered his way north finding employment as a hotel waiter, bartender, insurance agent and entertainer. In time, Reid would become a notable black businessman of St. Paul. The wealth he earned later as a successful saloon Owner, privileged him to travel the south, intently to recruit “the best colored ball players money can secure”. (Duluth News Tribune).
His ambitions were simple. “To outcast all of the white semi-professionals of that section of the country”. To fulfil Reid’s desires, he traveled across the country acquiring the nation’s top negro ball players from Nashville, Chicago and Arkansas to join his team. His round-up of ball players would transpire in the Colored Gophers baseball team. Reid became fixated on creating a transcendent ball club capable of beating any black or white team they encountered. Reid would soon find his team loaded with talent, blended with vibrant personalities that characterized the teams’ charisma. Eminent players such as Eugene Millner, Julius Landon, and Robert Wells were large contributors to the Gophers success and helped convince the world of two things. The Gophers ball club consisted of fine gentleman, and great baseball players.
The gathering of these men served the team well, representing themselves and the African American communities of St. Paul in great fashion. Local black neighborhoods were immensely proud of their team, but poverty-stricken communities were incapable of hosting games. The Gophers spent more than half their season barnstorming cities to make money. Barnstorming games grew in significance, as the winning club would collect sixty percent of the earnings. Suddenly, the game that was once played for recreation transfigured, as the sense of winning became crucial and directly impacted the team’s profits.
Despite his wealth, funding a baseball team came with its complications. As Reid would soon figure out, the constant traveling of the Gophers led to extraordinary train and hotel bills. With the limited number of African American ball players in Minnesota, Reid believed curious white fans would pay exceedingly to watch black players compete against their favorite hometown teams. These curious fans would ultimately finance the Gophers season, but for the Gophers to earn, they had to win.
From the outset, the Gophers found moderate success. Weaving their way through Minnesota to play white clubs, and shaping an evident rivalry between the Minnesota Keystones, St. Paul’s other negro ball team. Their success brought them much attention but they were not yet the powerhouse they would soon become. By the start of the 1909 season, the Gopher’s met their zenith, adding complimentary talent to the team’s all-star squad. Notable players like Chappie Johnson, Johnny Taylor and Bobby Marshall’s talent helped dismantle the color line, becoming the first of many negro ball players to earn top-dollar contracts and compete alongside white players.
Their season started slow, losing back to back games against Lacrosse and then being shut out 11–2 against Hibbing the day after. They soon caught fire in unsuspecting towns like Groton and Toddsville infamous for their racist heritage. Despite not being welcomed in all towns, when the Gopher’s schedule placed them back in Hibbard, Minnesota, fans were reluctant to have the team playing in their ballparks. Racial slurs and other degrading comments were routinely hurled at the team. The Gophers countered the remarks with class, outperforming their opposition winning the game 5–0. The victory sparked a momentous stretch of victories, altering the way spectators viewed integrated baseball. For the duration of the season, the Gophers barnstormed the upper Midwest simply outplaying opponents and outclassing narrow-minded sports fans. They finessed their season to a record of 28–5–1 setting themselves up to clash against the Leland Giants negro club of Chicago.
The Gophers and Giants five-game championship series was held in St. Paul, giving the Gophers a sizeable fanbase. Game one made its way into extra innings until Bobby Marshall hit a walk off homerun in the bottom of the eleventh inning giving the Gophers a 10–9 win (City Page News). The Giants were not to be deterred, trouncing the Gophers in game two in a blowout victory 8–1, then again in game three after Gophers pitcher Johnny Taylor blew the shutout in the 9th losing 5–1. Though they were down in the serious, St Paul’s Gophers came back lively in game four, winning the contest 4–3, evening the series at 2. The stage was set for a storied game five, and the aura surrounding this game seemed appropriate. The giants maintained a 1–0 lead through seven innings until a late eighth inning rally propelled the Gophers to a 3–1 victory.
The Gophers success of 1909 resulted in a world title and helped reroute the course of American baseball. In the years that followed a championship, they team attracted a significant number of fans of all backgrounds, and gained respect from their white baseball counterparts. Reid was acknowledged as one of the proudest owners and managers in baseball, according to an Oelwein, Iowa newspaper.
In the sport that captivated my interest as a child, I have always appreciated the people I have met through the sport. I find it joyous that players who were once excluded from participation, were courageous enough to confront discriminated baseball, and have a substantial impact on the games progression toward integration. Negro ball players have played an important role in baseball history, their contributions to the game extended beyond the ball park, and influenced change throughout the country.
