Detroit Stars

The Detroit Stars were an American baseball team in the Negro leagues and played at historic Mack Park.

Founded in 1919 by Tenny Blount with the help of Rube Foster, owner and manager of the Chicago American Giants, the Detroit Stars immediately established themselves as one of the most powerful teams in the West.

Foster transferred several of his veteran players to the team, including player-manager Pete Hill and legendary catcher Bruce Petway.

Left-hander John Donaldson, Frank Wickware, Dicta Johnson, and Cuban great José Méndez took up the pitching duties, and Texan Edgar Wesley was brought in to handle first base, a job he would hold for several years.

The mainstays of the Detroit Stars during the 1920s were Hall of Fame center fielder Turkey Stearnes, who ranks among the all-time Negro league leaders in nearly every batting category; Hall of Fame pitcher Andy Cooper, a workhorse southpaw; pitcher Bill Holland; and first baseman Wesley, who led the league in home runs twice and batting average once.

The 1920 Detroit Stars