May 2, 1920: The Negro National League (NNL) began play with its first opening day. The Indianapolis ABCs defeated the Chicago Giants that day by a score of four to two. Led by Andrew “Rube” Foster, it started with eight teams and became the first successful African American professional baseball league. As historian Robert Peterson writes, “The story of organized Negro leagues properly begins in 1920, although due note should be made of the League of Colored Baseball Clubs, which lasted a week in 1887; the International League of Independent Professional Base Ball Clubs in 1906, which included both white and black teams and struggled through one season; and a semi-pro Negro Texas League in 1919.” Peterson also summarizes the NNL’s inaugural season, writing: “In the larger cities of the circuit, attendance was good that first year, particularly on holidays and weekends. Crowds of 8,000 to 10,000 were not uncommon in Chicago, Kansas City, and Indianapolis on a Sunday. The [Chicago] American Giants were awarded the pennant, though no final standings were published.”
Citations: Robert Peterson, Only the Ball Was White: A History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams (New York: Oxford University Press, 1970), 82-84, https://archive.org/details/onlyballwaswhite0000pete; “Rube Foster, 1924, NNL League President,” photograph (location unknown, 1924), public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rube_Foster_1924.jpg#/media/File:Rube_Foster_1924.jpg.
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