International League of Independent Professional Base Ball Clubs
Racially-integrated baseball league
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The International League of Independent Professional Base Ball Clubs, also referred to as the International League,[1] was a racially-integrated independent baseball league that played a single season during the summer of 1906. It was composed of a mix of white, Cuban, and Negro league baseball teams in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as well as New Jersey and Wilmington, Delaware. The league was planned to continue the following year,[2] but never materialized for 1907.
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1906 |
| Folded | 1906 |
| No. of teams | 8 (5 original and 3 replacement) |
| Country | United States |
Last champion | Philadelphia Giants |
The league's integrated status was unique, given the baseball color line in effect in Major League Baseball and its minor league affiliates. In that sense, it was also not a traditional "Negro league," since fewer than half the teams had all-black rosters. The International League was initially composed of five teams (one white American, two Cuban, and two African American),[1] with three later replacement teams.
Teams
The Havana Stars dissolved in June and were replaced by Riverton-Palmyra;[3] the Cuban Stars and Quaker Giants stopped playing their league schedule in July and both were replaced.[4]
- Cuban Stars of Havana — primarily Cuban roster
- Wilmington Giants — replaced Cuban Stars in July
- Cuban X-Giants — primarily negro/Cuban roster
- Havana Stars — primarily Cuban roster
- Riverton-Palmyra Athletic Club — replaced Havana Stars in June; primarily white roster
- Philadelphia Professionals — primarily white roster
- Philadelphia Quaker Giants — based in New York; primarily negro roster
- Philadelphia Giants — replaced Quaker Giants in July
Freihofer Cup Champion
Winners of the season were awarded the Freihofer Cup, named after league president William Freihofer.[1] Only 40 games were scheduled; eight games per team with each team playing each other twice.
The Philadelphia Giants were declared the champions even though they joined the league later as a replacement team. They inherited a 3–0 record from the Quaker Giants[5] and finished their schedule going 4-1, for an official record of 7-1.[2] The Giants featured future Hall of Famers Rube Foster, Pete Hill, and Sol White, who managed the team.[6][7]