We were the ship
Toured coast to coast USA
Island hoppin’
The cari-bay
Mexico to Venezuela
Even the Japanese made us feel welcomed
Kings of the Diamond
Campeones del Pueblo
Bats always in hand
But still
Second class to Uncle Sam
Pittsburgh to NYC
St. Louis to DC
Maryland to Missouri
Alabama to Tennessee
We created fandom and business
We lived our wildest dreams in hard times
Kings of the Diamond
Campeones del Pueblo
Bats always in hand
But still
Second Class to Uncle Sam
No hotels or decent food
Never deterred us from the game we loved
We got to see the world
On the diamond
Nobody could tell us ANYTHING
We owned the game
Loved every moment, every cheer and every jeer
Off the diamond, they called us every name in the book
But
Our skin was thick, like the calluses on our hands
The love of the game was stronger than Jim Crow
Standing over us
The greatest insult of all was when they would say
“If only you were white”
Kings of the diamond
Campeones del Pueblo
Bats always in hand
But still
Second class to Uncle Sam