Zulu Cannibal Giants - Reviving the Negro Leagues

During the 1930s, again with hopes of attracting white fans, black baseball games were often coupled with singing, dancing and comedy skits. The Ethiopian Clowns toured the south, playing their games with their hats on sideways and their faces painted like African tribesmen. The Zulu Cannibal Giants took it a step further. Not only did they paint their faces but they wore grass skirts, used bats resembling African war clubs and often played in bare feet. Underneath the paint and the ridiculous getups were some of the best athletes of that era.
© 1998 Information Please LLC

In 1938 Charlie Henry of Louisville,Kentucky, formed the Zulu Cannibal Giants...The idea generated from the war that was being fought in Ethiopia. Howard Easterling started with this novelty team in 1937..."The Negro Baseball League- A Photographic History"-Dixon,Hannigan.