The Memphis Red Sox formed the western anchor of Southern black baseball from the 1920s through the demise of the Negro Leagues. For the greater part of the 1920s, the club played in the Negro National League. At times the team played independently or in the Negro Southern League, but in 1937 the Red Sox became charter members of the new Negro American League.
Despite solid lineups that featured such stars as Verdell Mathis, Marlin Carter, Neil Robinson, and Larry Brown, the Red Sox never seemed to live up to their potential during the 1940s, consistently finishing in the league’s middle or lower division.
For the greater part of its history, the team was owned by J.B. Martin and B.B. Martin of Memphis, brothers who both maintained dental practices and other business enterprises. The brothers built Martin Park on Crump Boulevard for their club, making the Red Sox one of the few clubs in the Negro Leagues with their own ballpark.
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