Baltimore Lord Baltimores
The Baltimore Lord Baltimores were a professional pre-Negro league baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in 1887. The Lord Baltimores played as charter members of the short–lived 1887 National Colored Base Ball League, hosting home games at Oriole Park.
History
The 1887 National Colored Base Ball League was an early organization of a professional Negro league, with Baltimore fielding a franchise. The league began play with six charter members: the Baltimore Lord Baltimores, Boston Resolutes, Louisville Fall City, New York Gorhams, Philadelphia Pythians and Pittsburgh Keystones. The Washington Capital Citys and the Cincinnati Browns joined the league on March 15, 1887, although neither team would play a game. In late May 1887, the National Colored Base Ball League folded permanently.The team was managed by Joseph Callis and Hugh Cummings. Baltimore won its opening game on May 5, 1887, a 15–12 victory over the Philadelphia Pythians. The Lord Baltimores were soon affected by financial struggles that impacted all teams. After a game in Louisville, the Boston Resolutes franchise discovered that it could not pay for the team to travel to its next game in Pittsburgh, and its players were stranded in Louisville for their next scheduled two-game series against the Lord Baltimores. Boston forfeited both games, although the first forfeit was declined by Baltimore.
When the league collapsed, the Pythians were in first place with a 4–3 record and the Lord Baltimores were in second place at 5–5. Baltimore was led by William Gray, who was hitting.417, and Joseph Stewart, who had a 2–1 record as a pitcher.