Indianapolis ABCs

MLB.com has compiled a Top 5 of the greatest Negro League teams. Team number four was released yesterday.

ABCs' small ball won big
1916 Indianapolis team named fourth best in history

The countdown to the greatest team in the history of Negro League Baseball continues with team No. 4. More than a handful of teams were worthy of this spot. But it went to a pre-Negro Leagues ballclub, a team that many ranked highly because of its depth. With a young Oscar Charleston, Ben Taylor and Bingo DeMoss, not many teams had as much talent. No. 4 on the list is the 1916 Indianapolis ABCs. Here is their story:

Rube Foster's Chicago American Giants dominated the Western Black Baseball Division from 1910-15, but the team met its match in 1916.

That was when the Indianapolis ABCs defeated the Giants in five games to win the division title. Indianapolis outscored Chicago, 33-15, in the series. It was sweet revenge for the ABCs, who lost to the American Giants the year before.

Managed by C.I. Taylor, Foster's equal during the era, the ABCs were 43-23-2 in 1916, and they were arguably the most fundamentally sound team in baseball history. Instead of relying on the long ball, they preferred small ball to win games.
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Center fielder Charleston was the team's most complete player, and historians have often said that his game was similar to Willie Mays'.

George Shively, nicknamed "The Rabbit," was the leadoff hitter and hit .352 that season. Second baseman DeMoss was a superb contact hitter and was considered the model at turning the double play.

There was also a little brotherly love on the team. Taylor signed his siblings, Ben and Candy Jim, to play on the team, and it proved to be more than just nepotism. Ben was the team's first baseman and cleanup hitter, hitting .334 in his career, while Candy Jim was an excellent defensive third baseman and batted third in the lineup.

Dizzy Dismukes was the ace of the pitching staff. He was known to throw a lot of trick pitches and is credited for teaching Yankees great Carl Mays some of his antics. Dismukes would later become an executive with the Kansas City Monarchs.

Team Number 3 is going to be released on 2/13.