In 1949-50, the old Newark Eagles of eastern seaboard negro league fame briefly housed themselves in this city as the Houston Eagles. Like all of the negro league teams, the future of this noble institution had been born on the sting of racial segregation and would now soon enough be driven into extinction once all the greatest black players started integrating MLB with a level of talent that previously had been denied them as an opportunity by racism and all of its various manifestations of cultural belief and stupidity.
The Eagles were already losing big at the gate in Newark. With stars like Monte Irvin now playing for the New York Giants of the MLB National League, former Eagles fans crossed the river in droves to watch the best of them all still play rather than continue to support for their hometown, lesser talented Eagles.
The Eagles moved to Houston in 1949 in preference to folding their tent for all time. They barely captured a ripple of media or fan support as I recall from childhood, Houston was five years away from Bob Boyd’s integration of the Texas League’s Houston Buffs in 1954., The Eagles were in flight from the inevitable when they got here. – And that kind of move was not one that even earned them a curious nod from local fans. There may have a brief flurry of support from black fans of the Third Ward area, which is right across the freeway from Buff Stadium, where the Eagles played their games around the schedule of the Buffs, but I don’t think anyone has ever done any kind of detailed research into the flow of support that existed for the Eagles during their moment in time at home in Houston.
Mike Vance has written the most in-depth piece on negro league baseball in Houston as a chapter for our new multiple author SABR book, “Houston Baseball: The Early Years, 1861-1961.” As the only detailed and documented history of the game in Houston prior to the 1962 coming of major league baseball, ours is a book for all who desire an excellent resource on local baseball history that also happens to be an entertaining read.
Snippets of Information Seem to be What Remains
From what I can tell, we cannot go the major Houston news files of 1949-50 and turn up anything that looks like ongoing full coverage of the Eagles’ time in Houston. It is possible to pick little snippets of info about an upcoming game or the scores from a Sunday doubleheader, but the stuff I’ve found is very short on player information or team’s ebb and flow pattern over the long season. You know what I mean. – I’m talking about the kinds of articles and columns that we baseball fans consume as breakfast data on our favorite teams. – That condition apparently never took hold in Houston for the Eagles.
Here are some snippets from an article that appeared in The St. Joseph Herald Press on Page 10 of their July 19, 1949 edition:
“The Houston Eagles, reportedly one of the finest clubs in the Negro American league, will be at Edgewater park Thursday night (to play the hometown St. Joseph Auscos)………….
……….. The Houston Eagles, formerly the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League nut now affiliated with the Negro American League, are reported to be the top showmen in their circuit.
“Recently the Eagles defeated the Philadelphia Stars, 5 to 1, as Jehosie Heard gave up but four hits. The Texans finished the first half race, which ended July 4th, tied with the Birmingham Black Barons tied for third place.
“The Houston club, when going under the banner of the Newark Eagles, are proud of the fact that they sent Roy Campanella to the Brooklyn Dodgers, Larry Doby to the Cleveland Indians, and Monte Irvin to the New York Giants.”
The Houston Eagles were done beyond 1950, but their pulse still beats in the stories told by their most famous living alumnus, Monte Irvin. Stay with us, Monte. We need the light your presence shines on all things baseball.
Houston, Baseball, & Other Musings.
The Pecan Park Eagle 