Top Negro League Players

[538280]

Who do you think the best Negro League player was? I think it is a no-contest, Oscar Charleston.

[The Commissioner]

To me there is always one player who will always be synonymous with the NLs and that's Paige. Unfortunately, it's always impossible to compare players from different eras and picthers to position players. This is especially compounded in this case due to the dearth of records, both stastical and celluloid, of players from the NLs.

[DianasMoon82]

Buck O'Neil

Sach was recognized and got to play a game or two, Buck the fellow Monarch was the better player, but, a batter. He is still revered in KC as one of the all time greats, as he should be.

Buck was great in any era black or white.

Just my thoughts.

[538280]

Sach was recognized and got to play a game or two, Buck the fellow Monarch was the better player, but, a batter. He is still revered in KC as one of the all time greats, as he should be.

Buck was great in any era black or white.

Just my thoughts.

Buck O'Neil was a great player, but he is more famous as a man who told stories about the Negro Leagues after his career. He was a great man, and much of the information about the Negro Leagues comes from him, but there is no way he is the best Negro League player. He isn't in the same stratosphere as players like Paige, Gibson, Smokey Joe, Stearnes, and Dihigo

He was revered, mostly because he was very personable and nice. He could definitely be described as a fan favorite. I have great respect for O'Neill, but he was a good player, not a great one. Another reason why he is famous is because he went on to a successful career as a coach and scout with the Chicago Cubs. Some words on Buck O'Neill from the Negro League Encyclopedia:

A smooth-fielding first baseman for the Kansas City Monarchs as they won four consecutive Negro American League pennants (1939-'42), O'Neill hit .353 as the MOnarchs swept the Homestead Grays in the first World Series played between the Negro American League and the more established Negro National League. That year, 1942, also marked the first of his three appearances for the West squad in the All-Star Game.

A steady hitter, O'Neill won the 1946 NAL batting title with an average of .353 to lead the Monarchs to another pennant. although not known as a power hittter, the steady right-hander hit 2 home runs to go along with his .333 batting average in the ensuing World Series against the Newark Eagles. In the sixth game, centerfielder Leon Day made an outstanding catch to rob O'Neill of a triple and save the game and the Siries, as the Eagles won the final game in the hard-fought 7-game series, despite O'Neill's heroics.

[The Splendid Splinter]

I gotta go with Oscar here...

My Top 5 Negro League Players

1. Oscar Charleston
2. Satchal Paige
3. Pop Lloyd
4. Josh Gibson
5. Smokey Joe Williams

[538280]

My top 10 Negro Leaguers:

1.Oscar Charleston
2.Satchel Paige
3.Josh Gibson
4.Smokey Joe Williams
5.Pop Lloyd
6.Christobel Torriente
7.Buck Leonard
8.Martin Dihigo
9.Biz Mackey
10.Willie Foster

[It's Over The Wall!]

Gibson!

Credited With 962!!!!HOME RUNS!!!!!!!!!!

[538280]

Gibson!

Credited With 962!!!!HOME RUNS!!!!!!!!!!

Credited with 962 home runs against all levels of competition, that's right, all levels of competition. Anyway, Gibson wasn't a top echelon defensive catchers (definitely worse than Biz Mackey), and he couldn't run very well. Charleston was far more complete.

[shoeless1920]

Not at all to take anything away from Josh Gibson's 962 home runs, it is noteworthy that this number includes not only his regular-season homers but also all of his career home runs from Carribean winter league, non-league, barnstorming, and exhibition games. Sadaharu Oh, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and possibly others would probably have had a thousand home runs if we counted all of them from the minor leagues, spring training, exhibition/barnstorming, etc.
That being said, imagine nonetheless how many dingers Gibson would have tallied if not for his premature passing!!

[julusnc]

Oscar Charleston gets my vote as the greatest Negro league Player of All-Time but I would be hard pressed to imagine he was greater than Willie Mays.

[jalbright]

I'm comfortable that one of the current three most popular candidates in the poll is the greatest Negro Leaguer. Thos three are Charleston, Gibson and Paige. It's always hard comparing pitchers to everyday guys, but I tend to think even a pitcher like Satch wasn't quite as valuable as the two everyday guys. I'm more a career value guy, which makes it easier to go with Oscar, who I place between Mays and Mantle because Oscar didn't stay at his best as long as Willie did--but he didn't lose as much time to injury as Mickey did. If you're a peak voter, Gibson presents a heck of a challenge to Oscar. If you give a catcher any extra consideration for the position he plays, it's hard to ignore Josh. I think if it was a draft league, I'd take Josh over Oscar because it would be much easier to pick up an outfielder more nearly as valuable as Oscar in a later round than it would be to pick up a catcher nearly as valuable as Josh--even in a career setting.

Jim Albright

[Bill Burgess]

My Top Negro Leagues Players:

1. Oscar Charleston
2. John Henry "Pop" Lloyd
3. Clarence Raleigh James "Biz" Mackay
4. Joshua "Josh" Gibson
5. Louis "Santop" Loftin
6. Carlos Torrienti
7. Martin Dihigo
8. Pete Hill
9. Willie Wells
10. John Beckwith
11. "Cool Papa" Bell
12. Bruce Petway
13. Monte Irvin
14. "Buck" Leonard
15. "Spot" Poles
16. Ray Dandridge
17. Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe
18. "Mule" Suttles
19. "Turkey" Stearns
20. "Bingo" DeMoss
21. Ben Taylor
22. Oliver Marcelle
23. Newt Allen
24. Judy Johnson
25. Jud Wilson
26. Dave Malarcher
27. Dick Lundy

My order of sequence after #5 is soft & fluid. Not hardened cement at all.

Pitchers:
Robert Leroy "Satchel" Paige, 1926-1967
"Smokey Joe" Williams, 1905-1932
Wilbur "Bullet Joe" Rogan, 1917-38
"Cannonball" Dick Redding, 1911-38
Dave Brown, 1918-1925
Andrew "Rube" Foster, 1902-1926
Bill Foster, 1923-38

[leecemark]

1) Charleston
2) Gibson
3) Lloyd
4) Stearnes
5) Suttles
6) Torriente
7) Leonard
8) Bell
9) Santop
10) Wells
Best of the rest
C: Mackey
1B: Taylor
2B: Monroe
3B: Dandridge
SS: Lundy
LF: Hill
CF: Poles
RF: Brown
Utl:Beckwith (who may be the best of this 2nd group)

P: Paige and Williams are clearly the top 2. 3rd best is arguable. Rogan gets the nod as a pitcher/OF, but some of Ray Brown or Hilton Smith or Leon Day or either Foster or Cannonball Redding were probably better as just plain pitchers.

[Bill Burgess]

Mark,

Nice list. Very strong. Good sequencing.

Bill Burgess

[Bill Burgess]

Chris,

Word for the future. It's fun to never close a poll. I couldn't vote for Oscar.

Bill