1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords

MLB.com has unveiled their second rated Negro Leagues team.

Crawfords called best money could buy
Team of 1935 ranks second in history of black baseball

Some people called the 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords the best team money could buy, and nobody could argue that owner Gus Greenlee didn't spend lavishly to put the best ballplayers he could find in a Crawfords uniform. He may have succeeded, for the Crawfords were a close No. 2 in the voting to determine the greatest teams in the history of black baseball. With Hall of Famers littering the roster, the Crawfords are worthy of the position, even as people debate whether they are, actually, the No. 1 team overall. Here is their story.

One of the greatest teams in baseball history was built with a corps of superstars pilfered from an archrival franchise. But in its greatest season, it had to overcome the defection of its No. 1 pitcher because of a contract dispute.

Throw in the fact that it played in a glowing stadium -- funded by a lottery, no less -- and the '35 Crawfords were not only ahead of their time but would be the envy of baseball even today.

This was a team both of its place and of its time.

Pittsburgh's Hill District was a vibrant mix of independent businesses where African-Americans lived alongside the city's many ethnic groups. But because baseball was segregated, two black teams merged in 1925 to form a sandlot club. The next year, the club would draw its name, Crawford Giants, from the Crawford Bath House and Recreation Center, a city-run facility that assisted immigrants as well African-Americans who migrated from the South.

Lots of good stuff about the lottery-funded stadium, Greenlee's businesses, how Satchell Paige didn't play for the Crawfords in 1935, and the 1935 Negro World Series Championship.