Historical marker, throwback jerseys honor segregation-era Negro League team.
By Johannes Werner
Original Air Date: June 13, 2025
Host: During Segregation, the Bradenton Nine Devils played in the Florida Negro League, to little public acclaim. They have had little public recognition since, but now, the team is being honored with a game and a historical marker at the home of the Bradenton Marauders this Saturday.
Johannes Werner: Saturday night, 6:30, the Bradenton Marauders will be playing the Jupiter Hammerheads at LECOM Park. But this Minor League game will be a bit different: The Bradenton-based farm team of the Pittsburgh Pirates will sport white-and-red throwback jerseys honoring the Bradenton Nine Devils.
The historical marker at the main entrance of LECOM Park will be unveiled Saturday before the game. Photo courtesy Bradenton Marauders
The Bradenton Nine Devils played in the Florida Negro Leagues from 1937 to 1956, until desegregation allowed all black athletes to join other leagues.
A couple hours before the game, at 4 p.m, the Nine Devils will also be honored with the unveiling of a historical marker at the main entrance of the stadium near downtown Bradenton. Sarasota Judge Charles Williams explains the team’s history and significance.
Charles Williams
Charles Williams: That was the name: the Bradenton Nine Devils. They were in an organization called the Florida State Negro League, which existed from 1937 to 1956. The Bradenton Nine Devils were a team that was composed of everyday people who lived in Manatee and Sarasota County. They played about 70 to 75 games a year, and they played a circuit that involved going to Miami, to Daytona Beach, to West Palm Beach, to Orlando and Saint Petersburg. They barnstormed with All-Star teams from the other Negro leagues, including the Negro League that most everybody knows, where Josh Gibson and Larry Doby and people like that played. It was sort-of like a traveling circus—traveling All-Star team. They basically traveled around the state of Florida and played to a mostly, if not entirely, segregated crowd.
It’s well deserved to have a legacy memorial to them. People don’t know about the Nine Devils. People don’t know about the individuals that played there. This gives some historical context. Baseball is an All-American game. Even though these were the Jim Crow days, everyone enjoyed playing it, including African-Americans. They loved the sport so much that they supported these leagues and these teams. It’s important that we remember that.
It could not have been done without the cooperation of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball organization. They have allowed this mark to be placed on their property, and they’re very supportive of the project and have been very supportive throughout it.
JW: Williams is not aware of any history that has been recorded about the Nine Devils. It’s low-hanging fruit, though.
Annotated Nine Devils roster photo.
CW: Baseball is very records-conscious. Is probably the most records-conscious sport in the world. So there are records. I don’t have them. I’m sure they have batting average statistics. Somewhere, maybe even at the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, they probably have records. I don’t have access to them personally, but I’m sure some group or some organization or some individual has the individual records of people that played in that league.
JW: Charles Williams is a board member of the Boxser Diversity Initiative. Boxser and the Manatee County Foundation have joined forces to launch the African American Heritage Trail. Part of the trail will be a series of historical markers honoring local African American history, and the Nine Devils marker will be the first.
CW: The project just sort of came up through discussions that then Manatee Community Foundation CEO Susie Bowie had with members of the community. We just wanted to do something to preserve the legacy of early African American pioneers in Manatee County. The Heritage Trail is to point out significant places of interest, from a historical perspective, in the early African American communities in Manatee County. This marker is one of a series of markers that we hope to have throughout Manatee County that will designate certain historical spots, residences, businesses, places that are relevant to the history of African Americans in Manatee County.
JW: There are existing markers—such as for Lincoln Memorial High, the first high school for African Americans in Manatee County—which will form part of the Heritage Trail.
Reporting for WSLR News, Johannes Werner.
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