Armstrong Secret 9
Armstrong Secret 9 | |
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Information | |
League |
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Location | New Orleans, Louisiana |
Established | 1931 |
Disbanded | 1931 |
The Armstrong Secret 9, originally known as the Raggedy 9 and later also as the Smart 9, were a semi-pro Negro league baseball team. The team was sponsored by American jazz musician Louis Armstrong in 1931 in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana.[1] In the summer of 1931, they toured with Armstrong and they possibly played in 1932 before news coverage of them disappeared.[2] They wore white uniforms with "Armstrong" displayed in a bold font on the chest of each jersey.[3]
History
During the
1931: The Three-month tour
When Louis Armstrong returned home from his professional music tour, he and his Secret 9 went on a three-month homecoming tour in the New Orleans area during which they scrimmaged with other black baseball teams in southern Louisiana. They played against the Melpomene White Sox at
Members
While no rosters are known to exist, the team was allegedly
Uniforms
The Raggedy 9 had tattered uniforms and busted cleats before Louis Armstrong's intervention. Armstrong provided them with brand new white uniforms with engraved stitching and Armstrong's last name on the front and their respective numbers on the back. This gave the men more confidence in their ball skills and a boost of improvement in each area of the game. In August 1931 a reporter for the
References
- ISBN 9780786418572.
secret nine louis armstrong.
- ^ The Times-Picayune. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- ^ a b Hasse, John Edward (April 1, 2014). "Rare Footage of Duke Ellington Highlights When Jazz and Baseball Were in Perfect Harmony". Smithsonian.com.
- ISBN 978-0791466100.
- ^ Tanenhaus, Sam (1989). Louis Armstrong. Holloway House Publishing. p. 151.
- ^ "Swingin' with the All Stars: Louis Armstrong & Baseball". louisarmstronghouse. May 8, 2013. Archived from the original on January 10, 2015.
- ^ a b "Louis Armstrong's Secret Nine: A Baseball Story". OffBeat Magazine. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
- ^ a b "Diamonds in the Rough". myneworleans. June 12, 2012.