1945 Homestead Grays season

The 1945 Homestead Grays baseball team competed in the Negro National League (NNL) during the 1945 baseball season. The Grays compiled a 53–29–3 record (40–20–2 against NNL opponents) and won the NNL championship.^[1] The team played its home games at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. and at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Vic Harris was the team's manager and also played left field. The team included five players who have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame:

• Catcher Josh Gibson, at age 33, led the team with a .348 batting average, a .596 slugging percentage, a .459 on-base percentage, five triples, eight home runs, and 40 RBIs.^[1]
• First baseman Buck Leonard, at age 37, compiled a .341 batting average, a .516 slugging percentage, and a .430 on-base percentage.^[1]
• Left fielder Cool Papa Bell, at age 42, compiled a .279 batting average, a .341 slugging percentage, and a .400 on-base percentage, and led the team with 10 stolen bases.^[1]
• First baseman Jud Wilson, at age 51, compiled a .306 batting average, a .419 slugging percentage, and a .403 on-base percentage.^[1]
• Pitcher Ray Brown, at age 37, compiled a 3-3 record with a 4.35 earned run average (ERA).^[1]

The team's top pitchers were Roy Welmaker (12-2 win-loss record, 80 strikeouts, 2.59 ERA) and Garnett Blair (5-1 win-loss record, 0.96 ERA). Other regular players included center fielder Jerry Benjamin (.329 batting average), shortstop Sam Bankhead (.341 batting average), right fielder Dave Hoskins (.283 batting average), second baseman Jelly Jackson (.212 batting average), third baseman Ray Battle (.144 batting average), and pitchers R. T. Walker, Johnny Wright (1.44 ERA), Spoon Carter (3.09 ERA), and Dave Hoskins (3.41 ERA).^[1]