The First Black Baseball Team to Visit Milwaukee

The first games of baseball involving an all-Black baseball team in Milwaukee that I could find were played in 1879. Milwaukee had had a team in the National League in 1878, but the franchise was expelled after the season for unpaid bills. With no team in the National League or any minor league, local amateur clubs dotted the Milwaukee landscape. Probably the best of these were the Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs played other local amateur clubs, teams from southeastern Wisconsin and the Chicago area.

On June 1, 1879, the Uniques, “a colored nine of Chicago,” traveled to Milwaukee and played a Sunday afternoon game at Milwaukee Park, located at 10th and Clybourn. About 400 witnessed a spirited game in which the players “were ankle deep in mud.” Both teams collected eleven hits, but the Uniques scored one run in both the second and third innings to win 2 to 0. We are fortunate to have a box score of this landmark game. ¹

Milwaukee Sentinel June 2, 1879

The Uniques returned to Milwaukee to play at Milwaukee Park on Sunday, August 17. The game resulted in a tie after twelve “hotly contested” innings, called on account of darkness. ² A rematch was set up for the next Sunday. It was reported the Maple Leafs enlisted Wolf of the local Aucklands to play first base, and a large audience was expected. ³ However, if the game was played I could find no mention of it in three Milwaukee papers.

Notes:
1) Milwaukee Sentinel June 2, 1879; Evening Wisconsin June 2, 1879

2) Daily Milwaukee News August 17, 1879; Milwaukee Sentinel August 19, 1879

3) Milwaukee Sentinel August 19, 23, 1879; Daily Milwaukee News August 24, 1879