Black men werenÕt always allowed to play baseball just because
they were colored. Negroes made their own type of baseball game. In their game,
they started to steal bases and made baseball a real game, a hard game. The
first professional Negro baseball league was established in 1885. They were the
Cuban Giants. The first league was called the National Colored Base Ball
League. The first baseball game played by black teams was held on September 28,
1860 at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey. The Weeksville of New York beat
the Colored Union 11-0. After the Civil War, ex-soldiers and black police
officers started to play baseball. Many black baseball teams and players became
very famous and well known. By 1932, the Depression hit new lows. The Negro
leagues had barely any money. People like Gus Greenlee (a retired gangster)
helped revive the game. Slowly the game of shadow ball began to grow into a
game with big events like the World Series. Then came the death of Shadow Ball.
One of the famous players is
Jackie Robinson was born January 31, 1919 in Cairo, GA. He died October 24,1972, in Stamford,
CT. He first played for Kansas
City Monarchs (1945), then he played for Brooklyn Dodgers second base man
(1947-1956). James ÔÕCool PapaÔÕ
Bell was a center fielder and considered to be the fastest man to play
baseball.(May 17, 1903 –March 7, 1991 ) Charles ÔÕ Bullet ÔÕ Rogan was one of the best
pitchers. (July 28, 1889 – March 4, 1967)
There are many
different teams for Negro leagues all over America. Here are some of the teams
that are mentioned during the time of Negro league baseball.
Alabama: Montgomery Grey Sox
Arkansas: Little Rock Black Travelers
Delaware: Wilmington Potomacs
Florida: Jacksonville Red Caps
Georgia: Atlanta Black Crackers
Illinois: Leland Giants
Indiana: Indianapolis Clowns
Kentucky: Louisville Colonels
Louisiana: New Orleans Eagles
Maryland: Baltimore Black Sox
Michigan: Detroit Stars
Missouri: St. Louis Giants
New Jersey: Cuban X Giants
New York: Harlem Stars
Ohio: Toledo Rays
Pennsylvania: Hilldale Giants
Tennessee: Chattanooga Black Lookouts
Texas: Houston Eagles
Although this seems like a lot of teams back then, there are many
more than that. Some teams had very good players such as Jackie Robinson and
Satchel Paige. The bad thing about it is, they didnÕt last long. Today, in the
21st century, baseball is now equal with black and white or any
other race everywhere in the world.
In 1947,Jackie
Robinson had signed a contract with Branch Rickey, the general manager of the
Brooklyn Dodgers to join their team. That caused the shadow ball to separate.
After Jackie joined the American League, other African-Americans started to
join or attend a Negro League club or the Major League. The owners of the Negro players were
furious of this no-winning situation. The owners couldnÕt realize that the
Negro players are advanced to play for the Major Leagues. By 1948,
African-Americans players joined the Negro American League. Even though racism
was still unforgotten, they stood for themselves and played for the Major
Leagues. As more African -Americans started apply to join the Major Leagues,
the teams started to let African American people join as a team.
Negro Leagues: Negro League Baseball
Museum (2008, June 10,) Negro League Baseball Teams retrieved June 10, 2008 from http://www.nlbm.com/s/team.htm
Their History:
Wikipedia, (2008, June 10) Negro League Baseball retrieved June 10, 2008 from http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro_league_baseball
- wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_robinson
- Dodgers
Picture Credit:http://www.cnlbr.org/portals/0/allstars.jpg
- cn
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