The beginning of Newark’s rich baseball legacy pre-dates the Civil War. The game of baseball provided a universal language for the diverse immigrant residents of the city. During the Great Depression, baseball provided jobs as well as much-needed entertainment and a sense of pride among the hardworking people of Newark who, in the midst of great adversity, were able to enjoy one of the most successful minor league teams in baseball history. Newark was the home of several former minor league baseball teams, from the formation of the Newark Indians in 1902, and the addition of the legendary Newark Eagles of the Negro National League in 1936. A Federal League team, the Newark Pepper also played in 1915. The Newark Bears were introduced in the International League in 1917 and underwent many changes over the years as they made their mark in sports history and developed star talent who were promoted to the parent organization, the New York Yankees. Readers of Baseball America named the 1937 Newark Bears the minor-league team of the century. In 1950, the franchise was sold to the Chicago Cubs and was moved to Springfield, Massachusetts.;xNLx;;xNLx; It took nearly 50 years, but the city’s resilience, as manifest through baseball, led to the 1998 reformation of the Bears by former Yankee catcher, Rick Cerone. On July 16, 1999, the County of Essex opened the Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium as the new home of the Bears. The stadium name pays tribute to the city’s former Negro League Team, the Newark Eagles, formed via the merger of the Newark Dodgers and the Brooklyn Eagles in 1936. The talented team won the Negro World Series in 1946 and sent five players to the National Baseball Hall of Fame: Larry Doby, Monte Irvin, Willie Wells, Ray Dandridge, and Leon Day. Larry Doby made another significant mark in history by becoming the first African American to play in the American League. In 1948, the Eagles departed from Newark as the integration of baseball found increased success.
The Eureka Baseball Club of Newark first began playing other members of the NABBP (National Associations of Base Ball Players). They played at a field at Ferry Street and Adams Street in the Ironbound. The first game was held June 4th, 1860 where the Eureka’s lost to the Hamilton Club of Jersey City 35-18.
a breakout of the Civil War halted the Eureka’s season, but did not completely stop it. Some records show a 5-3 season record for the ball club while references are made to other games without the results discovered.
In 1908, the Newark Sailors changed their name to the Newark Indians. From the start, the team featured great pitching - in '08 Tom Hughes led the Eastern League in strikeouts, in '09 Joe McGinnity led in wins (29), games (55) and strikeouts (195) while allowing just 297 hits in 422 innings, in '10 McGinnity won 30 and Rube Waddell went 5-3 and McGinnity continued as player-manager for two more years. In '13 the team won the International League pennant but they slipped from there and by '16 were in last place in the IL.
Thomas Joseph Needham (Deerfoot) was the 1917 team manager that had also played with the Beaneaters, Cubs, Doves, and Giants from 1904-1914
Class Negro Majors 1926 Eastern Colored League
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