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How did the Great Depression affect Negro league baseball?

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Negro league The 1935 roster of the Negro league team the Pittsburgh Crawfords, including Cool Papa Bell (seventh from right), Josh Gibson (fourth from right), and Satchel Paige (second from right).

The Great Depression had a severe impact on Negro league baseball, primarily by exacerbating the financial instability that already plagued the early circuits. As the economic crisis deepened, it left most fans with little disposable income, leading to a significant decline in attendance and revenue.1

The financial strain caused the original Negro National League (NNL) to disband in 1931. Following this collapse, other attempts to organize leagues struggled to survive; for example, the East-West League, established in 1932, failed to last through its first summer as schedules were curtailed and player salaries were slashed. While some solvent franchises attempted to continue by joining the Negro Southern League, the era was characterized by widespread economic hardship that made maintaining a professional league extremely difficult.1