Clippers and Indians set to salute Negro Leagues

When Columbus and Indianapolis take the field at Huntington Park on Sunday, it won't be as the Clippers and the Indians. Instead, the clubs will pay homage to the Negro Leagues as they kick off the Negro Leagues Summer Series as the Blue Birds and the ABCs.

As part of Minor League Baseball's "The Nine" initiative, Columbus and Indianapolis created a partnership for their series in May and June as a "home-and-away" presentation of the former Negro Leagues teams from both cities.

Columbus will don the Blue Birds' road grey jerseys, while Indianapolis will sport the ABCs' white uniforms and hats.

“We are thankful for the Columbus Clippers and their willingness to collaborate on an incredible promotion to honor the Indianapolis ABCs and Columbus Blue Birds of the Negro Leagues as part of Minor League Baseball’s ‘The Nine’ initiative,” Indianapolis president and general manager Randy Lewandowski said. “In addition to the on-field jerseys, we hope to educate the players, fans and staff from both teams on the significance of the Negro Leagues, ABCs and Blue Birds, and their impact on professional baseball today with help from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.”

The Negro Leagues are deeply rooted in Columbus, where the Columbus Buckeyes were an associate member of the Negro National League in 1921 for one season before the Blue Birds helped usher in the second incarnation of the Negro National League in 1933. The club played home games at Neil Park -- shared with the Columbus Red Birds of the American Association.

Negro Leagues legend Dizzy Dismukes, the right-handed submariner, has connections to both teams. Dismukes played for the ABCs during two stints -- 1914-18, 1920-24 -- and went on to manage the Blue Birds for one season with a roster that including Bill Byrd, Roosevelt Davis and Columbus-born shortstop Leroy Morney.

The team later rebranded to the Akron Black Tyrites and then the Cleveland Giants.

The ABCs were a charter member of the Negro National League, debuting in the league's first official game against the Chicago American Giants on May 2, 1920 at Washington Park in Indianapolis. The ABCs were led by Indianapolis native Oscar Charleston, who is still widely regarded as one of the best baseball players of all-time despite never having the chance to play in the Major Leagues. After his playing days, Charleston became manager of the Indianapolis Clowns, a Circle City-based Negro Leagues team that featured Hank Aaron, Chuck Harmon and the first three women to ever play professionally with men -- Toni Stone, Mamie “Peanut” Johnson and Connie Morgan.

"After honoring the Indianapolis Clowns in 2022, our organization wanted to again recognize Indy's prominence in the Negro Leagues and educate fans through a week-long summer series by wearing Indianapolis ABCs uniforms, bringing the stories of one of the charter Negro Leagues teams and all-time great Oscar Charleston to life," Indians Director of Communications Cheyne Reiter said. "We researched a few International League opponents that also once had Negro Leagues teams in their respective cities and found the Columbus Clippers as the perfect fit and a willing partner to honor the Columbus Blue Birds."

“As we start the second season of celebrating ‘The Nine’, we have teamed up with Indianapolis, with each of us wearing these special historical jerseys home and away in each city to share some of this very important history with both fan bases,” Columbus Clippers president and general manager Ken Schnacke said.

The Negro Leagues Summer Series will continue with each team donning the same jerseys worn on Sunday during their series that will be played June 20-24 at Victory Field in Indianapolis. Both teams will auction off the game worn, autographed Blue Birds and ABCs jerseys to benefit Clippers Charities and Indianapolis Indians Charities.