SEAHO Report - Holiday 2020 - 21

FEATURE ARTICLES

Remembering the Negro
Baseball Leagues
Gary Kimble, University of Southern Mississippi
At an ACUHO-I Annual Conference and Exhibition in
the mid-1990s, I participated in a silent auction to
benefit the ACUHO-I Foundation. I had the winning bid
on a baseball bat (donated by my good friend Renardo
Hall from Bowie State University, a public historically
black university) that was signed by 20 different
former players from the Negro Baseball Leagues. The
bat had 23 signatures, as three former players signed
it twice. The Negro Leagues were not a subject I was
fully aware of, so the bat became the incentive for me
to learn more. In 2001, when the Annual Conference
was held in Kansas City, I had the opportunity to
visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Over the
years, while working in residence life, the bat and
the story of the Negro Baseball Leagues became the
subject of a number of programs I conducted for staff,
both throughout the year and as featured programs
for Black History Month. Being able to pass the bat
around to participants to see the signatures always
seemed to infuse the program with more reality. With
my pandemic isolation free time, and the knowledge
of the passing of Ollie Brantley in April 2020, the last
surviving man who had signed the bat, I decided to
update the information and share. This is a period of
American history unknown to many and it is my hope
that it will be appreciated by those who read about it.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NEGRO LEAGUES

African Americans began to play baseball in the
late 1800s on military teams, college teams, rival
athletic clubs and company teams for recreation.
They eventually found their way to professional
teams with white players. Moses Fleetwood Walker
and Bud Fowler were among the first to participate.
Baseball's popularity increased following the Civil War
in 1865. There were white teams, black teams, and
integrated teams. In what was called " A Gentleman's
Agreement " (though not written), on December 11,
1868, integrated baseball teams were abolished. The
National Association of Baseball Players barred black
players from participation. The following year, 1869,
baseball achieved professional status. The amateur
association's ruling did not restrict professional
teams and thus integrated teams existed, however,
racism and " Jim Crow " laws would force players from
these teams. By the 1890s, African Americans were
increasingly excluded from professional teams and by

the start of the 20th century, no black players were in
professional baseball. Thus, black players formed their
own teams, " barnstorming " around the country to
play anyone who would challenge them.
In 1920, an organized league structure was formed
under the guidance of Andrew " Rube " Foster-a
former player, manager, and owner for the Chicago
American Giants. In a meeting held at the Paseo YMCA
in Kansas City, MO, Foster and a few other midwestern
team owners joined to form the Negro National League.
Soon, rival leagues formed in Eastern and Southern
states, bringing the thrills and innovative play of black
baseball to major urban centers and rural countrysides
in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. The Leagues
maintained a high level of professional skill and
became centerpieces for economic development in
many black communities. (It was in 1885 that the first
black professional baseball team, the Cuban Giants,
was created. They played as an independent ball club
until the organization of the first black league in 1920
when Rube Foster, known as the " father of black
baseball " , founded the Negro National League.)
In 1923, Ed Bolden formed the Easter Colored League.
These two leagues thrived for several years but
eventually declined because of financial difficulties.
In 1933 a new Negro National League was formed,
and the Negro American League was chartered in
1937. These two leagues prospered until the color
line was broken. At their height, the Negro Baseball
Leagues held World Series and All-Star games. They
were especially successful during WWII when black
urbanites, flush with cash from well-paid defense jobs,
crowded into stadiums across the nation. The Negro
Baseball Leagues provided African Americans their own
American pastime.
The end of Negro League Baseball came quickly
following World War II. In 1947, the re-integration of
the baseball leagues started with the signing of Jackie
Robinson by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson became
the first 20th century black baseball player allowed in
the all-white professional leagues. After that signing,
the signing of other leading Negro League players
soon followed. The Negro Leagues quickly and quietly
folded.

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SEAHO Report - Holiday 2020

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