Chattanooga Black Lookouts

CHATTANOOGA BLACK LOOKOUTS
Negro Southern League

Rube Foster founded the Negro National league in a YMCA in Kansas City in 1920. The Negro National League consisted originally of eight teams spread throughout the Midwest.

The Birmingham Black Barons joined the league four years later, having competed successfully in Negro Southern League, a minor-league of Negro baseball.

The original Black Barons featured a lanky right-handed pitcher named Leroy "Satchel" Paige, whose legend later rose to mythical proportions. Paige originally from Mobile, signed his first contract with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts for $50 a month. The Black Barons bought his services in 1923 for $350 a month. Later, his fame grew with his immense talent and he moved North to play for a series of teams that could offer more money.