A Brief History of the Negro Leagues
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NEGRO LEAGUES A DISCUSSION GUIDE TO PROMOTE FURTHER CONVERSATION AMONG YOUNG BALLPLAYERS By 1890, racism and “Jim Crow” laws promoted segregation between African Americans and Whites. Baseball team owners made a “gentleman’s agreement” not to hire any African Americans, causing many Black players to form their own teams. As times have changed, it is often asked why “African American” has not been substituted for the term “Negro.” As the Negro League Baseball Museum states, “To change from Negro to African American would negate the inequalities that were taking place at the time – a time of intense racism, segregation, and discrimination.” During this era, the word Negro was not considered derogatory and was even used in the official business names for some teams and leagues. The term is now archaic and not appropriate when referring to African Americans. By the 1900s, African Americans had formed their own baseball leagues. In 1910, Andrew “Rube” Foster, a former player and manager, became the owner of the all-Black Chicago American Giants. In 1920, he helped organize the Negro National League. Determined to be successful, he controlled all the operations from equipment to scheduling to selling tickets. The love of baseball grew so much that soon other rival leagues formed across the country, and many became the pride of Black communities. Life in the Negro Leagues was not easy. Teams struggled to make a profit. Players had to travel long distances, often in broken-down buses. They were paid very little, sometimes only $100 a month. White ballplayers made three to four times more in the Major Leagues. Black players were not allowed to go to restaurants or hotels that served White customers. Gas stations closed their restrooms to them. The players did not let these challenges stop them. They played for the love of the game and were determined to do their best. Negro League players included some of the greatest players in the history of the sport. Leroy “Satchel” Paige recorded 300 shutouts throughout his professional playing career. Josh Gibson belted nearly 800 career home runs. Buck O’Neil had a successful Negro League career and later became the first African American to coach a Major League team, the Chicago Cubs. Hank Aaron debuted in the Negro Leagues and went on to play 23 years in MLB, amassing an amazing 755 home runs. Willie Mays’ Negro League prowess continued throughout 22 years in MLB achieving Hall-of-Fame-worthy stats including more than 3,000 hits and 600 home runs. Ernie Banks debuted for the Kansas City Monarchs prior to joining the Chicago Cubs. To this day, he is the Cubs all-time leader in games played, at-bats, total bases, and extra-base hits. Jackie Robinson began his professional career with the Kansas City Monarchs and was a pioneer that broke baseball’s color barrier when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. His Major League debut opened opportunities for other Black players, but as Negro League player Joseph Black stated, “He carried on his shoulders the burden of 21 million Black Americans, and that’s where his pressure came from…it wasn’t from the guy pitching the baseball.” With the integration of baseball, two factors brought about the decline of the Negro Leagues 1) the best Black athletes were signed by the Major League organizations, and 2) the interests of Black fans moved away from the Negro Leagues: as they focused their attention on Jackie Robinson and other Black athletes who were participating in Major League Baseball. The notion that baseball is the “National Pastime” is true in that it was invented here, flourished here, and has been exported on a global scale. It strives to reflect American values such as fairness, honesty, innovation, sacrifice, teamwork, and democracy. Those who love the game of baseball, especially those who play it, should reflect on whether they as individuals and whether the civic institution we consider baseball is doing everything possible to continue the fight against inequities and racism in our country. QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUNG BALLPLAYERS FOR REFLECTION: • What is it like to be left out of something that was important to you? •What are some characteristics of a good role model? • How do you think Black soldiers felt knowing they could go to war with White soldiers, but they could not play baseball with them? • What freedoms do we have today that the men who played in the Negro Baseball Leagues did not have? • What legacy did the Negro League Baseball players leave on Black and White Americans? • Are there players of different ethnicities on your favorite baseball team? • How would you feel about going to a place that used to tell your grandma/grandpa that she/he was not welcome or could not play? • What baseball jersey number is displayed in every MLB stadium and why? THE NATIONALS INVITE YOU TO VISIT WWW.NLBM.COM/DONATIONS TO DONATE AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RICH HISTORY AND 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF NEGRO LEAGUE BASEBALL. SOURCES http://www.nlbemuseum.com/resource/guide.html https://www.scholastic.com/breakingbarriers/pdfs/negro_leagues.pdf READING RESOURCES – NEGRO LEAGUES AND RACE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM LIBRARY SYSTEMS IN THE DMV FOR KIDS 8-12: Books About The Negro Leagues: • We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson • A Negro League Scrapbook by Carole Boston Weatherford • What Were the Negro Leagues by Varian Johnson • Down to the Last Out, The Journal of Biddy Owens: The Negro Leagues by Walter Dean Myers • Who Was Jackie Robinson by Gail Herman • Mamie on the Mound: A Woman in Baseball’s Negro Leagues by Leah Henderson • Stars in the Shadows: The Negro League All-Star Game of 1934 by Charles R. Smith Books About Race: • What’s Racism? by Amy B. Rogers • This Book Is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell • Not My Idea: A Book about Whiteness by Anastasia Higginbotham • The Power Book by Claire Saunders • The March Against Fear by Ann Bausum • Can I Touch Your Hair by Irene Latham • The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis • Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson • A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee • Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson • Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes • One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia • New Kid by Jerry Craft • Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper FOR ADULTS: Books About The Negro Leagues: • The Complete History of the Negro Leagues by Mark Ribowsky • Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution by Neil Lanctot • The Negro Leagues by Leslie A. Heaphy • Shades of Glory: The Negro Leagues and the Story of African-American Baseball by Lawrence B. Hogan • Color Blind: The Forgotten Team that Broke Baseball’s Color Line by Tom Dunkel • Invisible Men: Life in Baseball’s Negro Leagues by Donn Rogosin • Willie’s Boys: The 1948 Birmingham Black Barons, the Last Negro League World Series, and the Making of a Baseball Legend by John Klima • Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend by Larry Tye • Oscar Charleston: The Life and Legend of Baseball’s Greatest Forgotten Player by Jeremy Beer Books About Race: • White Fragility by Robin J. Diangelo • So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo • How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi • Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi OTHER BOOKS AND RESOURCES: DC Public Library Race Reads Database https://www.dclibrary.org/node/53883 Fairfax County Public Library Race Reads Database https://fairfax.overdrive.com/collection/1090162 THE NATIONALS INVITE YOU TO VISIT WWW.NLBM.COM/DONATIONS TO DONATE AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RICH HISTORY AND 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF NEGRO LEAGUE BASEBALL..