African Americans and Baseball, 1900-1947
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2006 "They opened the door too late": African Americans and baseball, 1900-1947 Sarah L. Trembanis College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the African History Commons, American Studies Commons, Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Trembanis, Sarah L., ""They opened the door too late": African Americans and baseball, 1900-1947" (2006). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623506. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-srkh-wb23 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “THEY OPENED THE DOOR TOO LATE” African Americans and Baseball, 1900-1947 A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Lyon Gardiner Tyler Department of History The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Sarah Lorraine Trembanis 2006 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfdlment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sarah Lorraine Trembanis Approved by the Committee, August 2006 Kimberley L. PhillinsJPh.D. and Chair Frederick Comey, Ph.D. Cindy Hahamovitch, Ph.D. Charles McGovern, Ph.D eisa Meyer, Ph.D. Patnak B. Miller, Ph.D., Professor Northeastern Illinois University ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgments iv List of Illustrations viii Abstract x Introduction “A Jim-Crow Affair:” Negro League Baseball 2 Chapter I. The Church of Baseball: Sport and The Contest Over Space 26 Chapter II. “The Athlete First Thought of His Body:” Black Bodies, Baseball, and Regulation 101 Chapter III. Representing Race: Black Baseball and Visual Images 143 Chapter IV. Signifying Baseball: Tricksters, Nicknames, and Folklore in Black Baseball 212 Epilogue 260 References 267 Vita 293 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledgments have always been my favorite thing to read in any book or dissertation. I love how they serve as a glimpse into the author’s personality as well as a record of the creation of a piece of work. Yet, at the same time, I find myself struggling to write my own. One does not survive seven years of graduate study without amassing significant debts to a large number of people; however, traditional words of thanks do not seem sufficient repayment for the kindness that has been shown to me over th? years. That being said, I will do my best to do justice to the many colleagues, friends, and family to whom I am incredibly grateful. Unsurprisingly, I owe a great deal of thanks to my dissertation committee. Kimberley Phillips has served as my advisor from my first semester in graduate school. She directed my master’s thesis, my comprehensive examination, and my dissertation. She has been the epitome of a good advisor—encouraging, challenging, and supporting me each step of the way. Even though most of our communication during the writing and revising process was by email or phone, Kim served as an involved advisor, reading multiple drafts and providing invaluable critiques and suggestions. At my most unsure moments, Kim would enthusiastically champion my work and remind me of the value of my dissertation. For all of the above as well as her willingness to work around my daughter’s nap schedule, I will always be thankful. On my committee, my various readers contributed immeasurably to this dissertation. Cindy Hahamovitch read and commented on multiple drafts of this work. Her astute identification of some significant weaknesses in an early draft precipitated a major revision of the project; a revision that significantly improved the quality of the dissertation as a whole. Similarly, Fred Corney read an early draft of the dissertation and alerted me to the linguistic slips in my prose; correcting those problems forced me to sharpen my analysis and shore up my evidence. Charlie McGovern challenged me to consider larger issues of culture and reminded me of the centrality of business in the history of the Negro Leagues. Leisa Meyer enthusiastically agreed to join my committee at the last minute and brought her immense expertise on sexuality to bear on my dissertation. Moreover, Leisa has been an incredibly supportive professor throughout my stint at William and Mary. She has always been willing to help in any way, even if it adds to her own workload. I would also like to thank her for being so encouraging during the defense; anytime I felt I might falter, I could glance at Leisa and receive a smile or nod of agreement. Finally, Patrick Miller served as the ideal outside reader. He quickly read my dissertation and provided concise and prescient notes on my work. His kindness, interest, and participation made the defense even more pleasant and rewarding. Although Professor James Whittenburg did not serve on my dissertation committee, I would not have made it through graduate school without his assistance and support. Professor Whittenburg very kindly employed me every summer during my time in Williamsburg. He looked past my 20th century history bent, and found room for me to teach colonial history to groups of wonderfully motivated high school students. As an IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. instructor for Professor Whittenburg, I was able to see most of the important colonial history sites in Virginia, learn the difference between Flemish and English bond, and pay my rent during the summer months. The summers at NIAHD were some of the most rewarding and enjoyable teaching experiences I’ve ever had. On a related note, I owe thanks to my graduate student colleagues who served as instructors in the program with me. Dave Corlett, Andrea Westcott, Sharon Sauder, and Josh Beatty were witty, entertaining, and willing to help out a fellow instructor who was out of her area of expertise. I need to especially thank Tony Bly, who not only did all of the above, but also looked after me as I struggled to teach through the Virginia heat and humidity while pregnant. Thank you, Tony. To my cohort friends at William and Mary, especially Jeff Nickel, Scott Ebhardt, and Jeni Oast, thank you for listening, laughing, and commiserating-1 truly appreciate your friendship. To the rest of the Williamsburg gang, Liz Nickel, Becky Wrenn, and Matthew Kreydatus, thank you for putting up with boring shop talk and for providing many opportunities to forget all about dissertations and examinations. That leaves Beth Kreydatus and Melissa Ooten, and how can I ever thank the two of you? You are two of my very best friends and I am so grateful that we’ve gone through this long (and sometimes arduous) journey together. You’ve both been such an incredible source of advice, comfort, and support. It is a wonderful gift to have two people you can always rely on for information, for wisdom, and for sympathy when needed. Although we rarely exchanged chapters or critiqued each others’ work, when we did, I knew I could always count on an honest assessment couched in the most gentle and encouraging terms. Thank you for evenings of cookie dough and champagne, for long talks (and gossip sessions) at Beth’s kitchen table, for nights at the Green Leafe, and for weekend visits with plenty of wine. Beth and Matthew, thank you for being such willing and gracious hosts during our trips to Williamsburg. Melissa, thank you for hosting us at the Outer Banks—it was a much-needed vacation from dissertation stress. Before I thank my family, I would also like to acknowledge a variety of people and places that aided me in the dissertating process. The library staff (especially the interlibrary loan specialists) at William and Mary’s Swem library were incredibly helpful throughout the research process. Similarly, the staff at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum were extraordinarily welcoming and accommodating, alerting me to sources I might have otherwise missed. I owe a particular debt of gratitude to the Lyon G. Tyler History Department’s fabulous managers, Roz Stearns and Betty Flanigan. Roz has always been extremely helpful in every aspect of the graduate school experience and serves as a dependable source of information on all deadlines and requirements. Betty has kindly alerted me to various sources that have proven useful in both my research and teaching. I greatly appreciate their kindness and willingness to help. I would be remiss not to thank my students, particularly those students in my University of Delaware Black American Studies course in the summer of 2006. Their willingness to take a class based on my dissertation and their innovative analysis of the black sporting images informed and challenged my own understanding. These new perspectives were invaluable during my defense preparations. My students at Strayer v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. studied subjects far removed from my dissertation subject, but their encouragement and patience as I worked toward the defense were a wonderful gift. During my year of crafting a first complete draft, I lived in beautiful Falmouth on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. While there, I wrote every morning at Coffee Obsession in Woods Hole.