Fleet Walker Photo © National Baseball Hall of Fame
Negro League Logos © 1998 Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. majorleaguebaseball.com

Beginning in 1921, Redland Field/Crosley Field was host to four Negro League teams as well as to the Reds. The first Negro League team to come to Cincinnati, the Cuban Stars, formed in Havana, Cuba in 1920 and moved to Cincinnati in 1921. In 1922, they moved to New York.

The Negro League teams played generally on weekends when the Reds were out of town. The concession stands were not open, but the fans (which included many whites) would bring their own food to the games. In keeping with the mentality of the day, the players were not permitted to use the locker rooms.

Many of the Tigers' games played at Crosley Field were more heavily attended than Reds games, with attendance from 10,000 to 15,000 per game. The Tigers were absorbed into the Memphis Red Sox organization after 1937.

The Clowns (1943 - 1945) put on quite a show for the fans and were extremely popular, drawing up to 20,000 fans per game. Pre game activities included foot races and greased pig contests. They even had a catcher who caught from a rocking chair! They were like a baseball version of, and precursor to, The Harlem Globetrotters. The Clowns moved to Indianapolis for the 1946 season and played there until 1962. It would appear from the reproduced poster below, that the Clowns still played games at Crosley after moving to Indianapolis. Perhaps they used it for big games with teams like the famous Kansas City Monarchs. The poster below is from the 50's (either 1953 or 1959) as the day and date (Friday, July 3rd) only occured during those two years in which both teams were in existence.

The Clowns were owned by Abe Saperstein (owner of the Harlem Globetrotters). They hired the first female professional ballplayer, Toni Stone and in 1952, signed future Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.

The Cincinnati Reds were one of the last teams to integrate, hiring Chuck Harmon in 1954. Harmon was mainly a reserve player, playing outfield and third base.