Denver White Elephants

The Denver White Elephants was a semi-professional independent African-American baseball team in Denver, Colorado, United States.^[1] The team was active from 1915 to 1935, and practiced at Broadway Park at 6th and Acoma Streets in Denver.^[2][1] The team played exhibition games against White teams.^[3] It was owned and led by Albert Henderson Wade Ross (A.H.W. Ross) (1884–1939), a businessman who ran the Rossonian Hotel in Denver's Five Points neighborhood.^[4][5]

The Denver Post Tournament was the most popular baseball event locally, Negro league baseball teams and African-American players were not allowed to participate until 1934.^[6] The Denver White Elephants and the Kansas City Monarchs were the first Black teams to participate at the Denver Post Tournament in 1934.^[6]

In 2020, the team was part of a museum exhibition called "Game Changers" at the History Colorado Center, which examined the role of African American baseball within the history of racial desegregation.^[7]

Players

• Tom “Pistol Pete” Albright, pitcher^[3][8]
• Theodore “Bubbles” Anderson, infielder^[3][9]
• Sam Holmes^[10]

References

1. Epting, Chris (2019-06-04). Roadside Baseball: The Locations of America's Baseball Landmarks. Santa Monica Press. p. 406. ISBN 978-1-59580-791-5.
2. Sanford, Jay (November 3, 2019). "The Negro Leagues". National Ballpark Museum.
3. Newman, Kyle (July 5, 2020). "As the Negro Leagues celebrates its centenary, a look at how Denver was integral in erasing baseball's color line". Denver Post.
4. "Go Behind Colorado's Rich History Of African-American Baseball". CBS News. 2019-09-15. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
5. London, Nell (28 February 2018). "The White Elephants, An All-Black Team, Once Ruled Denver Baseball". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
6. Young, William A. (2016-11-07). J.L. Wilkinson and the Kansas City Monarchs: Trailblazers in Black Baseball. McFarland. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-4766-6299-2.
7. Reed, Byron (February 24, 2020). "History Colorado exhibit shows Denver's role in desegregating professional baseball". KUSA NBC. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
8. Dragseth, P. J. (2021-08-21). Baseball and the House of David: The Legendary Barnstorming Teams, 1915-1956. McFarland. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-4766-7011-9.
9. Repplinger, II, Matthew Kasper (2013-05-20). Baseball in Denver. Arcadia Publishing. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-4396-4221-4.
10. "Former Negro Leagues player Sam Holmes dies at 94; managed Town Club in Denver". The Denver Post. 2010-11-11. Retrieved 2023-02-11.