Early East Texas Baseball
Part 1 of 3
Cannibals and Black Spiders
"Cannibals and Black Spiders" seems like a title better suited for October and Halloween than for June and the coming summer. June and summer though means baseball season and the Longview Cannibals & Mineola Black Spiders were two teams that helped write Texas baseball history. In a time when baseball was seen in black and white, not only in pictures but also segregated on the field, the Cannibals and Black Spiders traveled on parallel paths. They were playing the same game but in different worlds.
The Longview Cannibals were an all-white team that existed intermittently from 1895 to 1939. The Cannibals played in multiple leagues in their short existence; the South Central League, the East Texas League, the Lone Star League, the Texas League, the Dixie League and the West Dixie League.
While the Mineola Black Spiders, formed in the late 1920's, were an African American team that would evolve over the years first becoming the Fort Worth Black Spiders and finally the Texas Black Spiders. The Spiders found they could make more money barnstorming across the country than playing in an established league.
In Part 2 of "Early East Texas Baseball" we will look at the cross country travels of the Black Spiders. Then Part 3 will explore the Longview Cannibals successes and how they acquired their unique nickname.
