West Coast Negro Baseball Association (1946)
Tombstone
Born: 1946 (Harlem Globetrotters baseball team relocated to Seattle)
Folded: 1946 (team resumes using Harlem Globetrotters name in 1947)
First Game: May 1946
Last Game: July 1946
League Titles: 0
Stadium
Sicks’ Stadium: 1946 (also played home games in Bellingham, Bremerton, Tacoma, Olympia, and Wenatchee)
Opened: 1938
Demolished: 1979
Ownership
Owners:
Abe Saperstein (1946)
Background
On October 18, 1945, two Berkeley, CA firefighters, Edward Harris and David Portlock, established the West Coast Negro Baseball Association (WCNBA) at a meeting of the High Marine Social Club at the Elks Clubhouse in Oakland. Their goal was to bring top-level Negro baseball to the West Coast.
They soon enlisted the help of sports promoter and team owner Abe Saperstein, who was widely known for his involvement with the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. The Chicago native helped organize the circuit and took the Seattle franchise. Jesse Owens, who had occasionally toured with the baseball Globetrotters, was awarded the Portland franchise.
Our Favorite Gear
Seattle Steelheads Negro Baseball Apparel
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Each jersey individually handmade
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Sewn tackle twill crest, numbers & letters
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Heavyweight fabric made to game standards
Honor the memory of the Seattle Steelheads Negro leagues ball players in great apparel from Royal Retros
At the time, Saperstein managed the operations of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team and their baseball counterparts, also known as the Harlem Globetrotters. As such, he moved the latter to Washington State and renamed them the Seattle Steelheads. The team’s home field was officially Sick’s Stadium in Seattle, but they also played home games in Bellingham, Bremerton, Tacoma, Olympia, and Wenatchee.
Ironically, the Harlem Globetrotters baseball team played its first-ever game at Sick’s Stadium on August 6, 1944. The club lost both games of a doubleheader against the House of David by identical scores of 1-0. The renamed Steelhead’s opened their season on June 2, 1946 against the San Diego Tigers.
The league fell short of completing its inaugural season by two weeks, closing down after the July 22, 1946 slate of games. The Steelheads played 19 league games and finished with a record of 10-9. The Oakland Larks are considered the pennant winner based on a better winning percentage. The Steelheads and the Larks continued as barnstorming teams, though. In 1947, the Steelheads went back to being the Harlem Globetrotters baseball team, joined once again by Owens. On July 30, 1946, the team, still called the Steelheads and joined by Owens, was scheduled to play in Cheboygan, MI, but mistakenly traveled to Sheybogan, WI.
At a game in 1995, the Seattle Mariners honored the Steelheads and the 75th anniversary of the founding of the first professional organized Negro league, the Negro National League (NNL). For the game, the visiting Kansas City Royals wore uniforms representing the Kansas City Monarchs, who played in the NNL and later the Negro American League. The Mariners donned the uniforms of the Steelheads. Unfortunately, the history of the Steelheads and the WCNBA was so poorly documented there were no photos of the Steelheads uniforms could be found, so the uniform design was a complete guess.
The Mariners wore Steelheads uniforms again in 2015. For that game, though, the team was able to wear accurate replicas as a local sports historian and author named David Eskenazi was able to unearth a photo of Steeleheads’ catcher and manager Paul Hardy in uniform. The Mariners wore Steelheads’ uniforms again in 2021 and 2022.
Our Favorite Gear
West Coast Negro Baseball Association Jerseys
When it comes to high-quality replica jerseys, turn to Royal Retros, who put extraordinary detail into their fully customizable baseball jerseys, including those for the West Coast Negro Baseball Association teams, as well as other Negro Leagues teams. T-Shirts and caps too!
Free Customization Included
Each jersey individually handmade
Any name and number
Sewn tackle twill crest, numbers & letters
100% polyester
Heavyweight fabric made to game standards
Honor the memory of the great Nego Leagues ball players in great apparel from Royal Retros