George Stovey

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George Stovey is considered the best African-American baseball pitcher of the nineteenth century, but discrimination barred him from the majors and led him to move from team to team until he had no further opportunities to play in the minors. In 1886 the New York Giants attempted to acquire Stovey but Cap Anson helped stop the arrangement.

In 1889 he pitched for both the Cuban Giants, based at Trenton, New Jersey, and the New York Gorhams, based in Philadelphia. In 1891 he played for the Cuban Giants at Ansonia. These were all-black teams playing in organized baseball in those two seasons. He also played some in the outfield, batting .256 in a total of 122 games.

  • 1886 Jersey City Jerseys Eastern League 31 G, 270 IP, 16-15, 1.13 ERA, 203 K, 43 BB
  • 1887 Newark Little Giants International League 48 G, 424 IP, 34-14, 2.46 ERA (Some sources list Stovey with an all-time IL-record 35 wins; some list 33 wins. Either way he led the league.)
  • 1888 Worcester Grays New England League 11 G, 98 IP, 6-5, 2.30 ERA (also played with the Cuban Giants)
  • 1889 Trenton/Philadelphia Mid State League 7 G, 45 IP, 1-4, 4.40 ERA
  • 1890 Troy Trojans New York State League 2 G, 18 IP, 1-1, 2.00 ERA
  • 1891 Ansonia Connecticut State League 3 G, 27 IP, 2-1, 4.00 ERA

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