Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience
SECTION 1
Cuban Giants season ticket, 1887
Courtesy of Larry Hogan Collection
National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Almost as soon as the game’s rules were codified, Americans played baseball so passionately that writers
of the time called it a mania. African Americans were no different, but in baseball, as in much of American
life, they played mostly in segregated settings, including southern plantations, as early as the 1850s. After
the Civil War, African Americans had the opportunity to play ball with white players, even professionally,
but those opportunities diminished as Reconstruction ended and segregation became entrenched as part of
American culture.
By the late 19th century, African Americans had developed baseball to its fullest potential on their own
sandlots and diamonds. Black communities took pride in these teams and their dynamic brand of the
National Pastime. It was here that black baseball became the seedbed for those talented players who
eventually paved the way to integrated baseball. Dozens of barnstorming black teams had developed and
were playing around the country by the time the first successful black league was formed in 1920.
As the number of black baseball leagues changed and grew, this form of segregated ball was embraced by
local towns and neighborhoods, with teams and players earning both legendary status as well as income for
their communities. Following World War II and the loyal service of more than one million segregated
African-American soldiers, the game itself finally became a testing ground for integrating American life.
Jackie Robinson’s “breaking of the color barrier” in 1947 eventually led to desegregation of the sport at
every level. Given new opportunity, many talented black players took the majors by storm, dominating the
most important awards and making their mark in the record books.
By 1959, every major league team’s roster was integrated, but questions concerning true equality at every
level of the sport, from the executive office to the locker room, remained. Despite progress on many fronts,
such issues continue in baseball today. African-American participation in the sport is at its lowest level in
almost 50 years, and limited opportunities for management and front office positions are still critical topics
for discussion.
Finding a Way in Hard Times 1860 – 1887
“The prejudices of race are rapidly disappearing. A week
or two ago we chronicled a game between the Pythian
(colored) and Olympics (white) clubs of Philadelphia.
This affair was a great success, financially and otherwise.”
––New York Clipper, 1869
Following the Civil War (1861-1865), Reconstruction was meant to establish freedom and fairness for
former slaves. It failed dismally, even in baseball, a game spread throughout the nation
by the war. In both the North and the South, opportunities for black players in organized baseball narrowed
as racial prejudice deepened. As black communities became worlds of their own within the larger
American society, African Americans established teams in clubs and schools. By the mid-1880s, they were
also forming their own professional teams.
African-American ballplayer and his wife,
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, c. 1880
Courtesy of Bob and Adelyn Mayer,
Spring Fever Memorabilia, Putnam Valley, New York
The Closing Door
Some journalists continued to fan the dying embers of hope for integration in the Reconstruction era, but
many Americans were already busy closing opportunity to African Americans. Black teams like the
Pythians of Philadelphia played all comers, including white teams, but opportunities for such interracial
contests quickly diminished. Ironically, Pythians captain and star player Octavius Catto was murdered
during riots in Philadelphia on the day of the first important election in which black men were legally
allowed to vote, October 10, 1871.
Octavius V. Catto, Philadelphia schoolteacher, civil rights
advocate and captain of the all-black Philadelphia
Pythians baseball team, c. 1867
Courtesy of the Urban Archives, Temple University,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Scorecard from a baseball match between the all-black Pythians of Philadelphia and the Washington Mutuals,
a famous amateur white team, June 28, 1867
Courtesy of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP), Leon Gardiner Collection
Integrated Ball in the 1800s
By the late 1880s, more than 30 African Americans played in the major and minor leagues. They were
confronted with the insults of teammates, rough play of opponents and threats and occasional violence of
locals. In 1887, at least nine African Americans appeared on teams in the International League. Despite
many obstacles, some of these black players succeeded, such as Bud Fowler, Grant Johnson, George
Stovey, Frank Grant and the Walker brothers. Fowler and Johnson would soon help found the Michiganbased Page Fence Giants, one of the most successful black baseball teams of the 1890s.
Not only did black teams face white teams on the field, but African-American players played on the same teams
with whites, including at the major league level. Moses Fleetwood Walker (back row, center) played on the
integrated minor league Toledo team in 1883. In 1884, Toledo joined the major league American Association,
making Fleet and his brother Weldy, who played on the same team, the last black major leaguers prior to Jackie
Robinson in 1947. As seen in the letter below, Walker and the Toledo team routinely faced the specter of
prejudice.
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Findlay, Ohio team with black players Grant Johnson
(second row, far left) and Bud Fowler (second row, far right), 1895
Courtesy of the Mae Huston Local History Resource Center,
Hancock Historical Museum, Findlay, Ohio
We the undersigned do hereby warn you not to put up Walker,
the negro catcher, the evenings that you play in Richmond, as we could mention the names of 75
determined men who have sworn to mob Walker if he comes on the ground in a suit. We hope you will
listen to our words of warning, so that there will be no trouble;
but if you do not there certainly will be. We only write this to
prevent much bloodshed, as you alone can prevent.
––Letter from the Richmond, Virginia team to the manager of Toledo team regarding Moses Fleetwood
Walker, 1883
Black Teams Become Professional
The first African-American professional teams formed in the 1880s. Among the earliest was the Cuban
Giants, who played baseball by day for the wealthy white patrons of the Argyle Hotel on Long Island, New
York. By night, they were waiters in the hotel’s restaurant. Such teams became attractions for a number of
resort hotels, especially in Florida and Arkansas. This team, formed in 1885 by combining players from
Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia teams, was not Cuban at all. The reason for choosing the
name “Cubans” is unknown.
The Cuban Giants, 1888
Courtesy of Lillian Dabney
“Printmaker to the People”
Currier and Ives, one of America's most popular pictorial records, cruelly ridiculed the ability of
African Americans to play baseball. Although no longer acceptable today, it was common for
remarks and images like these to appear in print during the 19th century. The following letter to
the editor of Sporting Life in 1887 echoed such prejudice.
A Foul Tip, Currier and Ives, 1882
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Good sherry has a fine nutty flavor and so perhaps we would then remark that the
colored club were darkhorses and that they played nobly and all that sort of thing, but please, Mr. Editor,
can't we say that a brunette manager in search of colored
players is on a grand coon hunt?
—T.T.T., The Sporting Life, 1887
Timeline: African-American History
1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford Decision
The Supreme Court allows slave owners to reclaim slaves who escaped to free states, stating slaves were property and
not citizens.
1860 Frederick Douglass Returns to America from Europe
The great abolitionist, author and orator returns to his homeland from abroad. He influences many political decisions
regarding African Americans from the Civil War until his death in 1895.
(Frederick Douglass, c. 1879
Courtesy of Library of Congress)
1861–1865 Civil War
Approximately 180,000 African-American soldiers comprising 163 segregated units serve in the Union army during the
Civil War.
(Battery A, Second Colored U.S. Artillery
Courtesy of Chicago History Museum)
1863 Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln frees slaves in all states “in rebellion” and declares they “will be received into the armed service.”
(Abraham Lincoln
Courtesy of Chicago History Museum)
1865 Thirteenth Amendment
Abolishes slavery within the U.S.
1865–72 Freedman’s Bureau
A federal agency responsible for improving education and attaining other civil rights is created to help freed slaves.
(First schoolhouse built for the education of Freedmen, Port Hudson, Louisiana
Courtesy of Chicago History Museum)
1865–77 Reconstruction
Federal troops are stationed in the South to help re-establish those states back into the Union.
1866 African-American Regiments
Called “Buffalo Soldiers” by Native Americans, African-American soldiers are recruited to serve in Army units in the
West.
Civil Rights Act
Forbids discriminatory state laws or Black Codes, giving equal rights to all male citizens
Ku Klux Klan
Groups such as the KKK begin subjecting African Americans to a reign of terror, a campaign of intimidation and
violence that would continue for more than 100 years.
1868 Fourteenth Amendment
Grants citizenship to all people born on U.S. soil, affording them equal protection and due process of law regardless of
race
1870 Fifteenth Amendment
Makes it illegal to prevent voting based on race
1877 Segregation Expands
Following the contested 1876 Hayes-Tilden presidential election and the official end to Reconstruction, many state
governments begin passing Jim Crow laws to deny equal rights to African Americans.
1881 Tuskegee Institute
Booker T. Washington serves as the first principal of Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute, one of the nation’s first black
colleges. His influential autobiography entitled Up from Slavery was later published in 1901
Timeline: Baseball History
1845 Knickerbocker Rules
The Knickerbocker Base Ball Club establishes modern baseball’s rules.
1850s Plantation Baseball
As revealed by former slaves in testimony given to the Works Progress Administration 80 years later, many slaves play
baseball on plantations in the pre-Civil War South.
1857 National Association of Base Ball Players Founded
An association of amateur clubs, primarily from the New York City area, organizes.
1859 Matchup of Black Ballclubs
In the earliest recorded matchup of two black ballclubs, the Henson Base Ball Club of Jamaica, New York defeats the
Weeksville Unknowns of Brooklyn.
1867 The Pythian Baseball Club
The Pythian Club, an amateur African-American baseball club from Philadelphia, is denied membership in the National
Association of Base Ball Players because of its members’ race.
1869 The Cincinnati Red Stockings
Cincinnati becomes baseball’s first openly all-professional team.
(Cincinnati Red Stockings, 1869 Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1871 First Professional League
Though plagued by financially weak franchises and players jumping from team to team, baseball’s first professional
league, the National Association, operates for five seasons.
(Troy Haymakers of the National Association, 1871
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1876 National League
With tougher player contracts, the National League begins play with eight teams, including the four strongest
franchises from the defunct National Association.
1878 First African-American Professional Player
Bud Fowler plays for pay in Lynn, Massachusetts, on a team in the minor league International Association.
Reserve Clause
National League teams agree to abide by the reserve clause, allowing them to continually hold a player’s rights and
preventing players from voluntarily switching teams.
1882 American Association
Competing with the National League, a new major league begins its 10-year run.
1883 The National Agreement
The National League and American Association agree to respect each other’s contracts, solidifying the reserve clause.
1884 Last African-American Major Leaguers
Catcher Moses Fleetwood Walker plays the 1884 season with Toledo’s American Association team. His brother,
Weldy, also plays briefly for Toledo. William Edward White, another ballplayer of African-American descent, played
one major league game for the Providence Greys five years earlier.
(Moses Fleetwood Walker, 1884
Courtesy of National
Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1886 Southern League of Colored Base Ballists
This segregated league in five southern states folds after only two months.
SECTION 2
Broadside featuring the Belmont
Colored Giants of Harlem, 1908
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Barnstorming on the Open Road 1887–1919
By 1887, some black players were on organized baseball rosters, mainly in the minor leagues. But during
that season, the International League owners agreed to make no new contracts with African-American
players. In unspoken agreement, other leagues adopted similar policies over the next 15 years. Black
players, in response, started their own professional teams. They barnstormed throughout many of the
nation’s towns and cities, playing against all comers and building a reputation for great baseball. By 1910,
more than 60 teams were on the road. Some were so good that no amount of prejudice could deny their
talent. Even with the advent of organized black baseball in 1920, many black teams continued to
barnstorm all the way up through the 1950s.
Proclaiming themselves the “Colored World Champions” of 1909,
the barnstorming St. Paul (Minn.) Gophers were one of several
independent all-black teams trumpeting that title.
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
The Mohawk Giants of Schenectady, New York, reached prominence in
the period 1913 to 1915. Their roster during that time included George “Chappie” Johnson (front row, second
from right) at catcher and Frank Wickware (back row, second from left) as pitcher. Johnson is credited as being
one of the first ballplayers, black or white, to line his catcher's mitt with goose feathers for increased padding.
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Tremendous Philadelphia Giants team with Hall of
Fame inductees Sol White (standing, third from right),
Rube Foster (standing, second from left), and Pete Hill
(sitting, second from left), 1904
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Sol White
Hall of Famer Sol White, historian of early black baseball and player-manager for the Philadelphia Giants,
blamed Adrian “Cap” Anson for racism in major league baseball because the powerful Chicago White
Stockings manager often refused to play teams with black players. Anson was not unusual in voicing the
widespread racism of the 1880s.
Sol White’s History of Colored Base Ball, printed in 1907, recorded much history of African-American baseball
that might otherwise have been forgotten.
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Land of Giants
Many black barnstorming teams took the name “Giants” arguably because of the prominence of the
National League’s New York Giants, who were managed by John McGraw. These black teams, among
them the Mohawk Giants of Schenectady, the Union Giants of Chicago and the Lincoln Giants of New
York City, became giants in their own communities.
The New York Lincoln Giants featuring Hall of Fame catcher and
power hitter Louis Santop (second row, seated far right), 1912
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Cuban X Giants
Partially made up of players from the earlier Cuban Giants team in Long Island, New York, the Cuban X
Giants roster illustrated the frailty of contracts on African-American teams. In general, pay was scarce and
traveling and playing conditions were usually marginal during the barnstorming era. Players would “jump”
their contracts to play with more financially successful teams. It was difficult for teams to make a profit
based on attendance at games because so many other costs, such as rental of a baseball field, decreased
their revenues. Black teams scrambled regularly to make ends meet and to keep their best
players throughout the era of segregated baseball.
Cuban X Giants, c. 1895
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Timeline: African-American History
1896 Plessy v. Ferguson Decision
In a test of Jim Crow laws, the Supreme Court allows “separate but equal” schools and public accommodations for
African Americans, thereby supporting segregation of schools and commerce throughout the country.
1898 Battle of San Juan Hill
African-American troops play a critical role in the Spanish-American War.
1903 The Souls of Black Folk
W.E.B. DuBois publishes his essays on African-American life. Two years later he helps organize the Niagara
Movement, created to promote African-American rights and racial equality.
(W.E.B. DuBois
Courtesy of Library of Congress)
1905 African-American Newspapers
The Chicago Defender begins publication, followed in two years by the Pittsburgh Courier. The papers soon have
nationwide audiences and become strong vocal opponents against racial inequality.
(Chicago Defender masthead
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1910 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Six activists, including W.E.B. DuBois and Henry Moscowitz, found the interracial NAACP to fight for equal rights
and black integration.
(Early cover of The Crisis, magazine of the NAACP
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1914-19 World War I
After the U.S. enters the war in 1917, more than 350,000 African Americans serve in the military.
1916-19 Great Migration
With many factory jobs available, the first mass migration of African Americans from the rural South to the industrial
North begins.
(New arrivals to Newark, New Jersey, 1918
Courtesy of Newark Public Library)
1919 “Back to Africa” Movement
Publisher and journalist Marcus Garvey starts his Black Star shipping line. Since 1914, Garvey had promoted uniting
people of African ancestry through his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).
(Marcus Garvey
Courtesy of Library of Congress)
Timeline: Baseball History
1887 Gentlemen’s Agreement
Midway through the season, International League owners agree to sign no new contracts with African-American
baseball players, sparking the tradition of barring black players from pro ball. Other leagues follow
and the era of integrated baseball soon ends.
National Colored Base Ball League
With teams from Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Cincinnati, Washington, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Louisville, this
league fails within three weeks of its May opener.
1891 American Association Folds
Financially weakened by long years of competition with the
National League, the American Association fails.
1901 American League
AL President Ban Johnson declares the American League a major league, challenging the 25-year-old National League.
(Byron “Ban” Johnson
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1903 First Modern World Series
Boston defeats Pittsburgh in the first postseason meeting between the champions of the American and National leagues.
1907 Sol White’s History of Colored Base Ball
Black baseball pioneer Solomon White’s History of Colored Base Ball records much history of African-American
baseball that might otherwise have been forgotten.
SECTION 3
Separate Leagues, Parallel Lives 1920 – 1932
Jersey worn by outfielder James “Cool Papa” Bell, who played for the St. Louis Stars from
1922 to 1931
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball
Hall of Fame and Museum
Ball autographed by the Kansas City Monarchs, winners
of the 1924 World’s Colored Championship
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Newark Eagles Pennant, c. 1940s
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The first of the Negro leagues, the Negro National League, was formed in 1920 by black owner-managers
Rube Foster of the Chicago American Giants and C.I. Taylor of the Indianapolis ABCs. They hoped to
lessen the effects of discriminatory practices of white-run booking agencies and to enhance opportunities
for black players. A second league, the Eastern Colored League, formed for the 1923 season. These leagues
prospered in the boom years of the 1920s, as many southern rural African Americans migrated to northern
and midwestern industrial cities.
Rube Foster (back row, center) and the Chicago American Giants, 1920
also featuring Hall of Famer Cristóbal Torriente (back row, far left)
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Rube Foster and the First Successful Pro League
Andrew “Rube” Foster played for numerous teams in the 1890s and early 1900s. By the 1910s, he had
shifted to managing, first with Chicago’s Leland Giants and then the Chicago American Giants.
In 1920, he pioneered the first successful professional black league, the Negro National League. This
league had teams from the midwestern cities of Chicago, Dayton, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Detroit and St.
Louis, as well as the Cuban Stars. Sadly, no matter how successful the Negro leagues became, they were
never considered equal to the white major and minor leagues as Foster had hoped.
“Organization is [black baseball’s] only hope. With the proper organization patterned after the men who
have made baseball a success, we will in three years be rated as other leagues.”
Rube Foster quoted in the Indianapolis Freeman, 1913
The Indianapolis ABCs
Charles Isham Taylor, known as C.I., began his baseball career in college like a number of other black
players. He and his two brothers, Jim (Candy) and Ben, all became important leaders and players in black
baseball during the early 20th century. C.I. organized several teams before finally settling with the ABCs in
Indianapolis. He was known for gentle, persuasive leadership, a style very different from the bluster and
force of Rube Foster. After C.I. Taylor's death in 1922, the Indianapolis team lost several of its best players
and faded from its earlier glory.
Indianapolis ABCs team featuring Hall of Fame outfielder Oscar Charleston (back row, center), early 1920s
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Indianapolis ABCs, 1915, with team leader C.I. Taylor (middle row,
center) and Hall of Famers Ben Taylor (back row, second from left)
and Oscar Charleston (middle row, far left)
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
The Eastern Colored League
Seeing the success of the Negro National League, Ed Bolden, manager and part owner of the Hilldale club
of suburban Philadelphia, joined Nat Strong, a powerful white booking agent who controlled two New
York black baseball teams, to build a second league. The Eastern Colored League opened for business in
1923 with teams in Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore and Atlantic City. Teams were added in
Washington, D.C. and Harrisburg the following year.
The Hilldales
Ed Bolden's Hilldales, already a professional club for six seasons, won the Eastern Colored League pennant
three straight years from 1923 to 1925. Typical of professional black teams, the Hilldales, based in Darby,
Pennsylvania, played a variety of clubs, including other league teams, white semi- pros and local teams.
During the peak season, one or two games a day, seven days a week, was not unusual. By the mid-1930s,
three games a day on weekends and holidays became common.
The Hilldale club, featuring Hall of Famers Louis Santop
(back row, far right) and Biz Mackey (back row,
third from left), 1924
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Ed Bolden, manager and part-owner
of the Hilldale baseball club
Courtesy of National
Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Belt buckle celebrating Hilldale’s Eastern Colored League championship, 1923
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Kansas City Monarchs Take to the Road
In the 1920s, the Kansas City Monarchs were among the first to travel in team owned vehicles instead of by
rail. The Monarchs' white owner, Hall of Fame executive J.L. Wilkinson, traveled with them in “Dr. Yak,”
the team bus. In the South, many restaurants often refused to serve black patrons. If the players could not
find black restaurants, they had to locate grocery stores. Sometimes they did not eat at all. In big cities, they
could find housing in segregated hotels, but in small towns they slept in people’s homes, barns, under the
stars or on their bus.
Kansas City Monarchs team members with their first bus and team owner J.L Wilkinson (standing, second from
left), 1934 Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Kansas City Monarchs, 1924
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
The First World’s Colored Championship
In 1924, the Kansas City Monarchs, champions of the Negro National League, and Hilldale of suburban
Philadelphia, champions of the Eastern Colored League, played the first World’s Colored Championship,
with games in four different cities to increase attendance. The Monarchs won in 1924; the following year
Hilldale captured the series.
Baseball watch fobs given to Hilldale’s Judy Johnson and the Kansas City Monarchs’ Newt Joseph for the 1925
and 1924 World’s Colored Championships, respectively
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame
and Museum
Program from the first “World’s Colored Championship,” played in 1924 between the
Negro National League’s Kansas City Monarchs
and the Eastern Colored League champion
Hilldales of Philadelphia
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
This broadside from 1925 advertises the Kansas City Monarchs’
victory in the 1924 World’s Colored Championship.
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
The Chicago American Giants
The Chicago American Giants enjoyed one of the longest histories of any African-American baseball team.
Organized by Rube Foster and John Schorling in 1911, the American Giants were a dominant team
throughout the teens and the Negro league era from 1920 onward. “Gentleman” Dave Malarcher was the
soft-spoken and fleet-footed third baseman, who later became manager of the club.
Chicago American Giants with Dave Malarcher
(front row, third from left), 1927
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Chicago American Giants jersey belonging to “Gentleman” Dave Malarcher,
whose Giants career spanned 1920 to 1934
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The St. Louis Stars
The St. Louis Stars were one of the most consistent teams in the Negro National League during the 1920s.
They almost always finished in the first division and sometimes took the championship. Lightning fast
James “Cool Papa” Bell was among the best-known ballplayers. Black teams tended to play a very fast
running game, a strategy they kept while adding power hitting in the 1920s. In contrast, white major league
teams began to adopt a slower-paced, slugging brand of ball during the same era.
St. Louis Stars with Cool Papa Bell
(sitting, third from left), 1928
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Jersey, cap, bat and sunglasses belonging to outfielder
James “Cool Papa” Bell, who played for the St. Louis Stars from 1922 to 1931
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Ball autographed by the Kansas City Monarchs, winners of the
1924 World’s Colored Championship
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Timeline: African-American History
1920s
Harlem Renaissance Age of the “New Negro”
African-American music, art and literature flourish in New York City. Bandleader Duke Ellington, stage
actor Paul Robeson, and poets Langston Hughes and Claude McKay figure prominently.
1925 Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
A. Philip Randolph organizes this influential African-American labor union, the first of its kind.
1929 -1939 Great Depression
The stock market crashes; many banks, farms and businesses fail; and the unemployment rate soars.
(Soup kitchen for the unemployed, 1930
Courtesy of Chicago History Museum)
Timeline: Baseball History
1920 Baseball’s First Commissioner
Following the Black Sox Scandal of 1919, the National and American leagues agree to appoint one person, federal
judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, to oversee the major leagues.
Negro National League
Eight team owners create the first successful league of African-American teams. As president and booking secretary,
Rube Foster is its most powerful individual owner. His Chicago American Giants win the first three pennants. The
NNL folds in 1931.
(Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1923 Eastern Colored League
The Eastern Colored League forms an eastern circuit of teams to compete with the Negro National League. The ECL
folds in 1928.
1924 First World’s Colored Championship
With two African-American leagues, the first “World’s Colored Championship” is played between Kansas City and
Hilldale (Philadelphia), with Kansas City winning five of nine games. The series is played irregularly until 1948.
1929 American Negro League
The Eastern Colored League revives itself as the American Negro League, but lasts only one season.
1932 East-West League
After both the Negro National League and the Eastern Colored League fold, some owners start the East-West League,
which has a statistics bureau, black umpires, and a full 80-game schedule. It folds in midseason.
SECTION 4
Paving the Way 1933–1946
Warm-up jacket worn by pitcher Chet Brewer for the
Kansas City Royals, an African-American barnstorming team of the 1940s
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Glove used by Dave Barnhill, a pitcher for
the New York Cubans from 1941 to 1948
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Estrellas Importadas jersey worn by Hall of Famer Buck Leonard
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Glove belonging to outfielder Jimmy Crutchfield, who played for such teams as the Pittsburgh Crawfords and
Newark Eagles during a long career (1930–1945)
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Jersey from the Pittsburgh Crawfords, a fixture of Pittsburgh’s Hill District through the 1920s and 1930s
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The Great Depression of the 1930s hit hard in the many new and vibrant, but relatively poor, black
neighborhoods of industrialized America, where spending power was already limited. Attendance at black
baseball games plummeted. By 1931, both the Negro National and Eastern Colored leagues had folded. But
black baseball reorganized with two new leagues, the second Negro National League and the Negro
American League, forming in 1933 and 1937, respectively. Eventually Negro league baseball grew into
a multi-million dollar enterprise, one of the largest in the African-American community and a focus of
pride. The teams of these revived leagues paved the way to major league integration.
Night Games
Playing under lights helped preserve black baseball during the Depression. The Negro leagues and the
minors pioneered night games in the early 1930s, before they were taken up by major league teams. Among
the first to hold night games were the Kansas City Monarchs and their innovative owner J.L. Wilkinson,
who traveled with their own generators and light stands. By moving contests to hours when more
people could go to games, management improved gate receipts many times over.
Broadside advertising the Kansas City Monarchs’
portable lighting system, c. 1930
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Tools of the Game
Equipment used by Negro leaguers is scarce today because players used their equipment until it was
beyond repair. Most Negro leaguers were outfitted at the beginning of the season with two uniforms,
sometimes second-hand, meant to survive a season of 200 to 300 games. Most players bought the rest of
their equipment. If a player returned to spring training without a glove or shoes or ready cash, he could
borrow against his first paycheck to buy equipment. The Negro leagues came to an end before the idea
of a baseball memorabilia market took hold, meaning the few objects that remained were often not saved.
Shoes belonging to pitcher Theolic “Fireball” Smith, who played for several teams,
including the Pittsburgh Crawfords and
St. Louis Stars, from 1936 to 1951
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball
Hall of Fame and Museum
All-Stars
Pioneered in 1933, the East-West Game put the best players of the Negro leagues in the spotlight at
Chicago’s Comiskey Park. It drew as many as 50,000 fans for one of the most important events in the
African-American community. Some fans came on specially chartered trains from all over the country.
The East-West Game also provided the venue where major league scouts and the white press saw many
of the best black players for the first time. Chicago hosted the last East-West contest in 1953.
The East squad from the 1939 East-West All-Star Game, featuring
Buck Leonard (back row, far left), Willie Wells (back row, second from left)
and Josh Gibson (back row, third from right)
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Ball signed by participants in the first East-West game, including Josh Gibson,
James “Cool Papa” Bell and Bingo DeMoss, 1933
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
A 1949 program for the East-West Game,
black baseball’s all-star game
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Ballparks for Rent
As Negro league crowds grew, team owners sometimes rented major league ballparks to increase their gate
receipts. Around New York City, black teams occasionally rented mammoth Yankee Stadium for Sunday.
The Homestead Grays split their home schedule between Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field and Washington’s
Griffith Stadium, which stood in a largely black neighborhood. The Brooklyn Eagles rented Ebbets Field
for homestands in 1935.
Program for the Philadelphia Stars vs. the New York
Black Yankees at Yankee Stadium, 1941
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
The Homestead Grays on the dugout steps at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., 1940
Courtesy of the Collection of Lawrence Hogan
The Latin Beat
From the early 1900s, African-American players and teams had strong ties with Latin America. The best
American players often played in winter leagues in Puerto Rico, Cuba and Mexico, where they were treated
like princes. A few, like Ray Dandridge, Josh Gibson and Willie Wells, ended up playing several summer
seasons there too.
The flow of players also went in the other direction. Unable to play in the majors because of the color of
their skin, many great Latino ballplayers came north to barnstorm and play with black teams in the U.S.
Early Latino stars included Cuban natives José Méndez, the Kansas City Monarchs’ pitching hero in the
1924 World’s Colored Championship, Cristóbal Torriente, the power-hitting outfielder who helped lead the
Chicago American Giants to three straight pennants (1920-1922), and Martín Dihigo, who played all nine
positions with skill during a distinguished Negro league career.
Mexico City team jersey worn by Ray Dandridge, c. 1946
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Bacardi Trophy awarded to the Brooklyn Eagles
for winning the Puerto Rican winter league, 1936
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball
Hall of Fame and Museum
The Pittsburgh Crawfords
Gus Greenlee created the professional Pittsburgh Crawfords team from an amateur club, first fielding the
pro team in 1932. He built Greenlee Field, making the Crawfords one of the few Negro league teams of the
1930s to own its home field. The new club provided strong competition for the powerful Homestead Grays,
another Pittsburgh team. This rivalry lasted until 1937, when the Crawfords were weakened as their best
players jumped their contracts to play for Rafael Trujillo, president-dictator of the baseball-mad Dominican
Republic.
President Rafael Trujillo’s team poses in the Dominican Republic in 1937. Among the players who left the
Pittsburgh Crawfords to play for Trujillo’s team were Satchel Paige (middle row, far right), Josh Gibson (back
row, far left), and James “Cool Papa” Bell (front row, center).
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Pittsburgh Crawfords in front of their bus at Greenlee Field, 1935
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
The Homestead Grays
Travel was the way of life in the Negro leagues of the 1930s. Beyond playing a league schedule, many
teams also barnstormed continuously, sometimes playing three games a day. Nearly all teams kept their
own vehicles, racking up thousands of miles criss-crossing North America. Led by Cumberland “Cum”
Posey, the Homestead Grays began as barnstormers before joining the short-lived American Negro League
in 1929. They returned to barnstorming, but by 1937 this legendary team was a dominant power in the
second Negro National League.
The Homestead Grays, c. 1931
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Max Manning, one of the Newark Eagles’ best pitchers during the 1940s, was awarded this Bulova watch for his
outstanding 1946 season, when the Eagles won the Colored World Series. This watch might be compared to
today’s Cy Young Award of the major leagues.
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Traveling bag used by Buck Leonard, backbone of the Homestead Grays for 17 seasons
Loaned by the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
League Champions
Like major league baseball, the Negro leagues awarded an annual championship to the strongest team in
each league. A season in the Negro leagues consisted of fewer games than in major league baseball. Only a
handful of teams owned their fields and, thus, controlled the booking of their games. This made it difficult
to stick with the schedule as the season progressed because most teams rented fields as they were available.
Negro National League trophy for 1940
season awarded to the Homestead Grays
Loaned by the Pittsburgh Pirates
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball
Hall of Fame and Museum
Timeline: African-American History
1933 New Deal
President Franklin Roosevelt designs far-reaching programs to improve the economy and provide publicly-funded jobs
during the Great Depression.
1939 Marian Anderson at Lincoln Memorial
Denied permission by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) to sing in Constitution Hall, Marian Anderson
is invited to perform at the Lincoln Memorial.
(Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial, 1939 Bettmann/CORBIS)
1939-1945 World War II
Over one million black soldiers serve and fight in segregated units.
1940 First Black General
Colonel Benjamin Davis Sr. becomes the first African-American officer promoted to a general’s rank in the American
military.
(Colonel Benjamin Davis inspects troops, c. 1942
Courtesy of Library of Congress)
1945 Ebony Magazine
Publisher John Johnson begins this popular and enduring magazine geared towards African Americans.
(The first cover of Ebony magazine
Courtesy of Johnson Publishing)
Timeline: Baseball History
1933 The Second Negro National League
With teams from Chicago, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland, Nashville, Detroit and Columbus (Ohio), a new NNL is
formed. It lasts until 1948.
East-West Game
Beginning the same year as the first major league All-Star Game, the East-West All-Star Game in Chicago is the
highlight of the African-American baseball year. Played until 1953, it frequently outdraws the majors’ Midsummer
Classic.
(Ticket to the East-West All-Star Game, 1948
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1937 Negro American League
The new Negro American League brings several midwestern and southern
barnstorming teams, such as the Kansas City Monarchs and the Memphis
Red Sox, back into league baseball.
(Negro Baseball Pictorial Yearbook, 1945
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1942 Green Light Letter
In a letter to President Roosevelt, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis offers to cancel the 1942 season to help
with the war effort. President Roosevelt says baseball is important for national morale and should continue.
1943 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Philip K. Wrigley founds the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League to help fill ballparks during wartime.
The league lasts until 1954.
(The Rockford Peaches girls’ professional baseball team at the Savanna, Illinois, Ordinance Depot, 1945
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1946 Robinson Breaks Color Barrier
Jackie Robinson breaks the minor league color barrier when he debuts with the Montreal Royals, a Brooklyn Dodgers
farm club, on April 18.
(Jackie Robinson slides into base as a minor-leaguer with Montreal, 1946
Courtesy of the Photographs and Prints Division, The Schomburg Center
for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library)
SECTION 5
Jackie Robinson Breaks the Barrier – 1947
Jackie Robinson’s #42 Brooklyn Dodgers jersey
from the final year of his career, 1956
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Bat from Jackie Robinson’s 10-year major league career
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Glove from Jackie Robinson’s 10-year major league career
From the Barry Halper Collection
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
As World War II ended, many African Americans believed that “separate but equal” could no longer be
tolerated because while much was separate, little was equal. Highly decorated black regiments helped
foster the pride and impetus that demanded change in all parts of American life. Following the death of
commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Brooklyn Dodgers president Branch Rickey and Jackie
Robinson took the lead in testing America’s tolerance for integrated baseball. Under pressure, the major
and minor leagues began to desegregate, but slowly and on their own terms.
Jack the Soldier
Jackie Robinson served in the Army during World War II. Like many African Americans, he felt it was a
war to end prejudice as well as a war for democracy. Black soldiers served in segregated units until after
the war. Many were highly decorated for their service, and their example helped highlight their right to full
participation as citizens when peace came in 1945. Having been in the service made Robinson somewhat
older than the usual baseball recruit, but it was an important part of his past for Branch Rickey and baseball
fans.
Jackie Robinson in military uniform
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Branch Rickey
Branch Rickey assigned Dodgers scout Clyde Sukeforth to find an African American player with major
league talent and the courage to withstand harsh prejudicial treatment. Sukeforth found his man in Kansas
City Monarchs shortstop Jackie Robinson. Despite opposition from major league owners, Rickey signed
Robinson for the 1946 season with Brooklyn's farm team in Montreal.
Jackie Robinson played the 1946 season with the Montreal Royals, Brooklyn’s International League farm
team. Rickey hoped that Canada, a country with less racial prejudice, would provide Robinson with a
gentler introduction to the minors. Robinson’s strong season with the Royals laid the groundwork for his
promotion to the Dodgers in 1947.
Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
American Hero
Jackie Robinson became a hero to millions of Americans. He embodied the hope that one day the color of a
person's skin would no longer determine the limits of opportunity. Nearly everybody agreed that
Robinson’s ability to tolerate prejudice, and his ability to play, helped many accept that African Americans
belonged in the majors and in mainstream American life.
Jackie Robinson’s image appeared on the May 8, 1950, cover of LIFE magazine
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
“It is said on good authority that one of the leading players and a manager of the National League is
advocating the entrance of colored players in the National League with a view of signing Matthews, the
colored man, late of Harvard. It is not expected that he will succeed in his advocacy of such a move, but
when such actions come to notice, there are grounds for hoping that some day the bar will drop and some
good man will be chosen from out of the colored profession that will be a credit to all, and pave the way for
others to follow.”
––Sol White, History of Colored Base Ball, 190 In Jack Roosevelt Robinson, Branch Rickey found Sol
White’s “good man” to “pave the way.”
Many a Skill
Jackie Robinson burst onto the scene in 1947, breaking baseball’s color barrier and bringing the Negro
leagues’ electrifying style of play to the majors. With Robinson as the catalyst, the Brooklyn Dodgers won
six National League pennants and one World Series in his 10 seasons. On the field, Robinson excelled in
all aspects of the game. He dominated the base paths, stealing home 19 times while riling opposing pitchers
with his daring baserunning style. During his career, the six-time All-Star primarily played second base, but
also served multiple seasons at third base and first base. Robinson was named National League Rookie of
the Year in 1947 and captured the National League’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in 1949, leading
the league in hitting (.342) and steals (37) while knocking in 124 runs. His career batting average
(.311) ranks him in the top ten of all time at second base.
Jackie Robinson turns the double play at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Robinson steals home in the 1955 World Series against the New York Yankees.
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Encountering Hatred
Some Americans hated Robinson for crossing the color line and wrote vicious letters to him. Branch
Rickey asked Robinson to turn the other cheek during his early years with the Dodgers. Following his
major league career, Robinson discussed how difficult it had been to rise above the racial hatred he
encountered.
Example of hate mail received by Jackie Robinson when he broke into the majors
Courtesy of Rachel Robinson
Brooklyn Dodgers’ cap from Jackie Robinson’s 10-year major league career
From the Barry Halper Collection
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr. /National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Timeline: African-American History
1948 Military Desegregates
Despite objections by a few members of the officer corps, President Truman begins desegregation of the military via
Executive Order.
1950-53 Korean Conflict
U.S. combat units are integrated for the first time.
1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas Decision
In a case argued by lawyer Thurgood Marshall, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that “separate but equal” facilities are
unconstitutional. A year later the Court rules that school desegregation should proceed “with all deliberate speed.”
1955 Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks refuses to move to the back of a city bus, triggering a boycott led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. ,
and energizing the civil rights movement.
(Rosa Parks, Montgomery, Alabama, 1956
Bettmann/CORBIS)
1957 Little Rock Nine
President Eisenhower mobilizes federal troops and the Arkansas National Guard to protect nine African-American
students at a previously all-white high school in Little Rock.
Timeline: Baseball History
1947 Major League Baseball Integrates
On April 15, Jackie Robinson is the first African American to play major league baseball in the 20th century. On July
5, the American League follows suit when Larry Doby takes the field for Cleveland.
Black Journalists and the BBWAA
Wendell Smith and Sam Lacy are the first black baseball writers admitted to the Baseball Writers’ Association of
America.
1948 Negro National League Folds
By the end of the 1948 season, many of the best Negro league players move to major or minor league teams. Fewer
people come to Negro league games, and several owners shut down operations rather than go bankrupt.
1949 Jackie Robinson Earns MVP Award
In a stellar season, Jackie Robinson garners a league-leading 37 stolen bases and a .342 batting average to become the
first black winner of the MVP award.
1951 All-Black Outfield
In Game One of the World Series against the Yankees, the New York Giants field the first all-black outfield in major
league history—Willie Mays, Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson.
1954 Women in the Negro Leagues
Toni Stone, Connie Morgan and Peanut Johnson all play for Negro American League teams.
(Program page featuring Toni Stone, Connie Morgan and Peanut Johnson
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1956 Don Newcombe
The Brooklyn Dodgers’ star pitcher becomes the first African American to win the Cy Young Award
(he wins the 1956 MVP Award, as well).
1959 All Major League Teams Integrate
With Pumpsie Green’s signing by the Boston Red Sox, all major league teams are finally integrated, but black
ballplayers still find it difficult to make big league rosters.
SECTION 6
Post Integration Era 1948–Present
Baseball cards honoring award-winning African-American players
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Between 1947 and 1959, every major league team’s roster was integrated, but in baseball, as in all parts of
American life, questions concerning true equality of opportunity remained unresolved. The presence of
black players, managers or team officials was not always fully accepted or welcomed. Despite progress on
many fronts in baseball, such issues continue to be discussed today.
During the 1972 World Series, Jackie Robinson called attention to the absence of African-American
managers in the majors. Not until 1975 did Frank Robinson break the manager’s color line, piloting the
Cleveland Indians for three years. Over the years, and often outside the public eye, integration of baseball’s
executive offices and related businesses has remained an issue.
Larry Doby and Satchel Paige
In July 1947, the American League began integrating when Bill Veeck and the Cleveland Indians signed
Larry Doby. Doby would go on to lead the American League in home runs with 32 in both 1952 and 1954.
Though legendary pitcher Satchel Paige was nearing 50 years old when integration began, he still enjoyed a
brief major league career, playing for both the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Browns. He also appeared
in one game for the Kansas City Athletics in 1965.
St. Louis Browns home jersey worn by Satchel Paige, 1952
Donated by Lee MacPhail
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Jersey worn by Cleveland Indians center fielder Larry Doby, 1948
Loaned by the National Museum of American History,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Integration Is Gradual
After Jackie Robinson's 1947 Dodgers debut, pressure mounted for the rest of the major league teams to
integrate. But progress was slow, and it would take more than a decade before every club had at least
one African-American player on its roster.
“Colored” entrance tickets for a minor league Eastman (Georgia)
Dodgers game, c. 1953
Donated by Hal M. Smith, Jr.
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Handbill urging integration of the New York Yankees,
distributed by the American Labor Party at Yankee Stadium, 1953
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
(Background Photo)
After Jackie Robinson integrated the ballfield itself, other areas of the game followed slowly. In some major
league cities, black and white teammates could not stay in the same hotels or eat in the same restaurants. In the
minors, fans remained segregated in the stands, as in this 1949 photo from Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Effa Manley
Several Negro league owners, including Hall of Famer Effa Manley, hoped that the Negro leagues would
become formal minor leagues within the majors’ organizational structure. Instead, the major leagues signed
only the strongest black players, leaving other players, experienced managers and black owners with no
role in the integrated game. Manley and her husband owned the Newark Eagles baseball franchise in the
Negro leagues from 1935 to 1946.
Effa Manley
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
League Leaders
In 1949, Roy Campanella, Larry Doby, Don Newcombe and Jackie Robinson made All-Star Game history
at Ebbets Field as the first African-American players on the roster. Former Negro leaguers Campanella and
Newcombe teamed with Robinson to make the Brooklyn Dodgers a perennial contender for the National
League pennant and, ultimately, the World Championship in 1955. Newcombe, a pitcher and an all-around
ballplayer, won 20 games in 1955 and batted .359 with seven home runs. In 1956 he won 27 games and
was awarded baseball’s first Cy Young Award. Sam Jethroe, National League Rookie of the Year in 1950,
led the league in stolen bases in his first two seasons, but injuries limited his major league career to just
three full seasons. Jethroe played for the Boston Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Sam Jethroe (in the uniform of the Boston Braves)
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Roy Campanella, Larry Doby, Don Newcombe and Jackie Robinson pose on the dugout steps at the 1949 AllStar Game at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York. This was the first All-Star Game to feature black players on
the roster.
Courtesy of United Press International
Mary Quinn, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
On Opening Day 2002, Hall of Famer Frank Robinson wore this jersey when he returned to the dugout as the
manager of the Montreal Expos. In 1975, Robinson had made baseball history when he was chosen by the
Cleveland Indians as the major leagues’ first African-American manager.
Donated by Frank Robinson
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Texas Rangers windbreaker jacket belonging to Comer Cottrell, Jr., the first African American to become a
major league team owner. Cottrell partnered with George W. Bush to buy the club in 1989.
Donated by Comer Cottrell, Jr.
Photo by Milo Stewart, Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
In 1975, Frank Robinson made baseball history when he was chosen by the Cleveland Indians as the major
leagues' first African-American manager. Robinson also excelled as a player in a 21-season career. He was the
only player to win the Most Valuable Player award in both the National and American leagues and ranks in the
top ten in career home runs. Robinson went on to manage the San Francisco Giants, the Baltimore Orioles, the
Montreal Expos and the Washington Nationals.
Courtesy of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library
Timeline: African-American History
1960 Lunch Counter Sit-Ins
African-American students in North Carolina stage sit-ins at lunch counters where they are not allowed to eat.
1963 March on Washington
Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech to a massive protest rally of nearly 250,000 in front of the
Lincoln Memorial. The civil rights leader receives the
Nobel Peace Prize the following year.
1964 Civil Rights Act
Outlaws racial discrimination in all public accommodations and employment
Twenty-Fourth Amendment
Abolishes poll taxes in federal elections, which are required by some southern states in an effort to prevent African
Americans from voting
Voting Rights Act
Abolishes literacy-test requirements and other discriminatory practices traditionally used to keep black citizens from
registering to vote
Malcolm X Assassinated
Three gunmen kill the civil rights leader at a speaking engagement in Manhattan.
(Malcolm X
Courtesy of Library of Congress)
Affirmative Action
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs an Executive Order requiring all government contractors and subcontractors to take
“affirmative action” to expand job opportunities for minorities.
1966 First African-American Senator since Reconstruction
Edward Brooke is elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts. He is the first African-American senator since
Reconstruction.
Black Panther Party
Founded by black revolutionaries Huey Newton, Bobby Seale and Richard Aoki, the party promotes militant selfdefense and black liberation.
1967 Thurgood Marshall
The U.S. Senate approves President Lyndon Johnson’s nomination of
Thurgood Marshall, making him the first black Supreme Court justice.
(Thurgood Marshall
Courtesy of Library of Congress)
Civil Rights Protests Continue
Two years after riots erupted in the Watts section of Los Angeles,
civil rights protests spread to northern cities where they sometimes
turn violent. Newark and Detroit experience major riots in July.
1968 Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy Assassinated
Senator Kennedy is shot following the California Democratic Party primary for president just two months after the
killing of Dr. King, the civil rights leader.
Shirley Chisholm
The citizens of New York’s 12th District, located in Brooklyn, elect the first black woman to the U.S. Congress as a
member of the House of Representatives.
(Shirley Chisholm
Courtesy of Library of Congress)
1978 Affirmative Action Upheld
The U.S. Supreme Court upholds affirmative action policies in the Regents of the University of California V. Bakke
decision.
1983 Martin Luther King Jr. Day
New national holiday approved by the U.S. Congress, to begin in 1986
1992 Carol Moseley Braun
First African-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate
Los Angeles Riots
After four white police officers are found not guilty of using excessive force in the videotaped beating of AfricanAmerican Rodney King, riots erupt in Los Angeles.
1995 Million Man March
This Washington, D.C. rally seeks to strengthen the family and challenge negative images of African-American men.
2001 General Colin Powell
Colin Powell becomes U.S. Secretary of State, the first African American appointed to this high political office.
2005 Rosa Parks Dies
The civil rights pioneer is the first woman to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
Timeline: Baseball History
1960 Negro American League Folds
With the continuing integration of the white major leagues, the Negro American League can no longer support itself
with its remaining talent base.
1962 Buck O’Neil
First African-American major league coach, with the Chicago Cubs
(Buck O’Neil
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
(Emmett Ashford
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1966 Emmett Ashford
First African-American umpire in the major leagues
Ted Williams’ Induction Speech
During his Hall of Fame induction speech, Ted Williams calls for recognition of the great Negro league players and
hopes they will some day be elected to the Hall of Fame.
1970 Curt Flood
After refusing to play for Philadelphia following a 1969 trade, Flood sues Major League Baseball in an effort to abolish
the long-standing reserve clause, likening it to slavery. Though not successful, his lawsuit sparks the clause’s eventual
elimination and the beginning of free agency in 1975.
1971 First All-Black Lineup
On September 1, the Pittsburgh Pirates use the first all-black lineup in major league history.
Satchel Paige
Satchel Paige becomes the first player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame based solely on his
performance in the Negro leagues.
(Satchel Paige at his induction
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)
1974 Hank Aaron
Former Negro league player and Atlanta Braves star
Hank Aaron passes Babe Ruth as the career home run record holder in major league history.
MLB Participation
African Americans make up nearly one quarter of all
players on major league rosters, the height of black
participation in baseball history.
1975 Frank Robinson
The majors’ first African-American field manager works for the Cleveland Indians from 1975 through 1977. He goes
on to manage San Francisco, Baltimore, Montreal and Washington.
1984 In the Front Office
The Atlanta Braves promote Bill Lucas to vice president and director of player personnel, making him the first African
American to head up front office operations for a major league club.
1989 Bill White
A 13-year major league player, Bill White becomes president of the National League. Len Coleman, another African
American, succeeds him from 1994 to 1999.
(Bill White
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
Comer Cottrell Jr.
Comer Cottrell, Jr. becomes part-owner of the Texas Rangers, making him the first African American to partially
own a major league team.
1992 Cito Gaston
Toronto’s Cito Gaston is the first African-American manager to lead his team to a World Series victory.
(Cito Gaston
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1993 First Black General Manager
Bob Watson is promoted to GM by the Houston Astros, becoming the first black man to hold this post in the major
leagues. Three years later he wins a World Series as Yankees GM.
(Bob Watson
Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
1997 Jackie Robinson’s Number Retired
Robinson’s number “42” is retired throughout all levels of professional baseball, an honor never before bestowed on
any player.
2005 Black Participation Declines
African-American participation in the majors is down to nine percent, the lowest since the early 1960s.
Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience, a traveling exhibition for libraries,
was organized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, New York,
and the American Library Association Public Programs Office, Chicago. The traveling exhibition has been made
possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life.
The traveling exhibition is based on an exhibition of the same name on permanent display at the
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily reflect those of
the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum wishes to recognize the following for their
assistance in the development of this exhibit:
Dick Clark
Phil Dixon
Dr. Lawrence Hogan
John Holway
Larry Lester
Rachel Robinson
Gretchen S. Sorin
The Hall of Fame would also like to thank Major League Baseball
for funding the Museum’s study on African-American baseball from 1860 to 1960,
conducted by the Negro Leagues Researchers & Authors Group from 2001 to 2005.
Curator: Erik M. Strohl, Senior Director of Exhibitions and Collections
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Exhibit Design: Chester Design Associates, Chicago
Exhibit Tour Management: American Library Association Public Programs Office