SIOUX CITY GHOSTS, 1920s-1983
#634

(.5 Cubic feet: 1 flat box, 1 Oversize folder)

by: Cathy Keen, May 2001

The Sioux City Ghosts were an all-black fast-pitch softball team that toured the country in the 1920s and 1930s. For their pranks and antics on the field, they were often compared to basketball's Harlem Globetrotters. The team formed in 1925 as a boys' club which gathered to play softball. In 1931 they began touring. They gained a reputation and quickly drew large crowds. The team also played in Mexico and Canada. The team disbanded when World War II began, and many members served in the armed forces. After the war, few members rejoined, but the team kept going until 1956.

The archival collection was donated, along with several artifacts, to the Museum's Division of Cultural History, which later transferred the archival collection to the Archives Center.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of one scrapbook, one photograph album and five posters and a certificate. The scrapbook and album were compiled by Reggie Williams, one of the Ghosts' players. The scrapbook chronicles the day-to-day lives of the team while they were touring in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The scrapbook contains items such as restaurant menus, ferry schedules, greeting cards, tickets to attractions, and especially news clippings and box scores from the Ghosts' games. The photograph album contains snapshots of the players on the field, ballparks, family members, vehicles, street scenes, and sightseeing attractions in the places the Ghosts toured. The posters advertise upcoming games of the Ghosts. Also included is a 1983 certificate issued to Franklin Williams by the Iowa Amateur Softball Association, recognizing him as a member of the Sioux City Ghosts.

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