Columbus Blue Birds

The Columbus Blue Birds was a professional baseball team based in Columbus, Ohio in 1933.

Their name appears to have been derived from that of the Columbus Red Birds , the top-level minor league baseball team that played in the American Association from 1931 through 1954.

Blue Birds cap.

The Blue Birds, which was one of the five founder members of the second incarnation of the Negro National League, was organised under the ownership of WJ Peebles of Columbus.

Peebles was reported to have built up "a formidable aggregation" and one that was fast growing in favour in the capital city.^[1]

Several players, who formerly wore the colors of the Homestead Grays and Kansas City Monarchs had been added to the Birds' roster for their first season.^[1]

Columbus started the season well, but proved too weak and finished the first half of the split season in last place of the six team league with a record of 11-18.

The team was disbanded and ended up merging with the Akron Tyrites, one of the top independent Negro league teams of their day.^[2]

The merged team more or less became the Cleveland Giants, which finished the season.^[3]

Batting champion Leroy Morney and slugger Jabbo Andrews were the top stars.

Notable players

• Bill Byrd
• Lou Dials
• Dizzy Dismukes
• Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Newark Advocate. May 16, 1933
2. ^ Tools of Ignorance
3. ^ 'Black Baseball in Cleveland during the Depression Years 1930-1940', Black Baseball in Cleveland, Chapter 2, Retrieved July 24, 2005.

References

• Peterson, Robert W. Only The Ball Was White, (New York: Prentice-Hall Englewood-Cliffs, 1970)
• Ohio Central History