The Political Science Grays

The Department of Political Science has an Intramural softball team made up of faculty and students (undergraduate and graduate). This year we had our best season ever and we would like to thank all of you who played and came out to support the team. It was a great season even though we lost in the first round of the playoffs. We had a solid core of players who would come out for practices and for beverages at the Steak Out (our unoffical sponsor) after the games.

About the Name "Grays"

The Political Science Department Intramural softball team adopted the name of the Homestead Grays, one of the best known black baseball teams in the early 1900s. Homestead was a steel mill town and the workers of U.S. Steel formed a weekend baseball team in 1910. In 1929 they joined the American Negro League. In 1933 the Grays joined the Negro National League which lasted until 1948. During this time the Grays dominated the league winning 9 consecutive pennats and playing in 5 of the 7 World Series between the Negro National League and the Negro American League (winning 3 of them). After the Negro National League ended the Grays continued to play for two more years independently but disbanded in 1950.

Source: James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers,1994. http://www.coe.ksu.edu/nlbemuseum/history/teams/homesteadgrays.html