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1938 Durham Black Sox Team Photograph

This rare image is a team photograph of the 1938 Durham Black Sox and was taken at El Toro Park in Durham, NC which burned down in 1939

1938 Durham Black Sox Team Photograph

1938 Durham Black Sox Team Photograph

This rare image is a team photograph of the 1938 Durham Black Sox and was taken at El Toro Park in Durham, NC which burned down in 1939.

The Black Sox were one of several Negro League teams that played in the city of Durham, along with the Durham Eagles and Durham Rams, from the 1920s through 1963.

El Toro Park would later become the Durham Bulls Stadium after it was rebuilt .

The back of the 8x10" photo has handwritten "Black Sox Ball-Team - Eltoro Park (1938)," and also has the team roster written in hand and taped on back with three white-out strips underneath.

The contemporary writing indicates the players to be:
Sowell, W. Barbee, Lee (coach) L. Barbee, Cradock, Johnson, B. Barbee, Henderson, unknown, Stanley (business mgr.), Hayes, Holeman (manager), Mangum, Rice, C. Barbee, Fairley, Cunningham.

It is increasingly difficult to find Negro Leagues information from this period, especially one with identifications.

**Here is a link to the Carolina Times online newspaper July 9, 1938 edition that has an article about the Durham Black Sox Negro baseball team's games.

Link: https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/.../1938-07-09/ed-1/seq-8/

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