Remembering the Negro Leagues in Arkansas
Arkansas is known for its incredible and natural beauty from border to border, showcasing how diverse nature can get within one state. The geographical diversity is so closely associated with the area that it’s known as “The Natural State”. While Northwest Arkansas is home to its own Naturals at Arvest
Arkansas is known for its incredible and natural beauty from border to border, showcasing how diverse nature can get within one state. The geographical diversity is so closely associated with the area that it’s known as “The Natural State”. While Northwest Arkansas is home to its own Naturals at Arvest Ballpark, the state has deep ties to America’s pastime and serves as a proving ground to some of the best in baseball.
Whether it’s more recent players like Torii Hunter (Pine Bluff), Pat Burrell (Eureka Springs) and A.J. Burnett (North Little Rock) or the legends of the game like Lou Brock (El Dorado), Dizzy Dean (Lucas), and Brooks Robinson (Little Rock), Arkansas has long-standing baseball history coursing through its mountains, rivers, and valleys. All those features played host to some of the best in the world: Negro League Baseball.
The beginnings of black baseball in the state are hard to trace due to lack of coverage, but by the late 1800’s Arkansas was seeing professional baseball start to develop and became very popular. Some of the first teams started in Hot Springs with the Arlingtons and Little Rock, where the Quapaws played teams from places like St. Louis, Kansas City, and Memphis. The Arlingtons lasted from 1896-1904, winning one championship while having a future Baseball Hall of Famer on the team: Andrew “Rube” Foster in 1901. Foster, who was inducted into the Hall 80 years later, was the driving force behind the organization of the Negro National League and is still called the “Father of Black Baseball”.
Hot Springs and Little Rock hosted many teams through the 1900’s, known by many names, too. Hot Springs had the Bears, Blues, Sluggers, Giants, and Majestic White Socks while Little Rock had the 400’s, A. B. C’s, and the Stars. Other areas to host clubs included Pine Bluff, El Dorado, and Fort Smith who was the closest team to Northwest Arkansas.
There was plenty of talent coming through Arkansas, even when it wasn’t on one of the state’s teams. Hot Springs hosted spring training for teams like the Homestead Grays and Kansas City Monarchs and hosted major league teams until the 1920’s. Baseball fans can still visit Hot Springs to this day and take the self-guided “Hot Springs Historic Baseball Trail” tour.
The fact that the Negro Leagues even needed to exist is shameful, let alone that they weren’t considered the highest level of baseball for 100 years. In 2020, Major League Baseball finally designated select Negro Leagues as “Major Leagues”. That elevated the 1932 “Negro Southern League” to Major League status, with the lone team from Arkansas joining the ranks: the Little Rock Grays. The Grays finished the 1932 season 9-12 after 21 games led by three native Arkansans: Buford Nunley (Des Arc), Red Longley (Little Rock), and Pete McQueen (Carlisle). You can find more information on the Negro Leagues Data Base at www.seamheads.com.
One of the more interesting paths out of Arkansas to the Negro Leagues belongs to Neale Henderson, who was born just over an hour away from Springdale in Fort Smith. Henderson served as a batboy for the legendary Monarchs while the team was in Fort Smith barnstorming. Henderson and his family moved away from Arkansas, but he played all over the country with various barnstorming clubs that included stints with the Monarchs and Travelers.
For more information about black baseball in Arkansas, you can visit the Arkansas Baseball Encyclopedia at www.arkbaseball.com. If you want to learn more about the Negro Leagues and their impact on the game of baseball, check out the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, MO or by visiting www.mlbm.com.