Before the days that Major League Baseball produced great players including the likes of Reggie Jackson, Dwight Gooden, Derek Jeter, Rickey Henderson, Gary Sheffield, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey, Jr., there were the Negro Leagues. The Negro Leagues were leagues formed by all-Black teams prior to the integration of professional baseball in 1947. The main Negro Leagues were the Negro National League, the Eastern Colored League and the Negro American League.
In the 1800s, a good number of Black ballplayers were able to play in the minor leagues, "outlaw" leagues and independent barnstorming clubs. Some played on the few integrated teams in the nation or were forced to adopt false identities as either foreigners or Native Americans. However, in the 1890 season, that changed abruptly. Owners of baseball clubs made a gentlemen's agreement that would bar Black players from the minor and major leagues for nearly sixty years. By the turn of the century, Black baseball had become perhaps the #1 entertainment attraction for urban Black populations as powerful Black baseball clubs had emerged over the years. It was at that time that the Negro National League was formed when star pitcher Andrew "Rube" Foster, co-owner of the Chicago American Giants, convinced the owners of seven other Northeastern and Midwestern teams to join him in establishing an organized and stable league for Black ballplayers and fans.
Pay was low. Traveling conditions were poor. Players, who usually played in rented stadiums while white teams were on the road, were not allowed to use the dressing rooms. The leagues struggled during the Great Depression but again prospered in the 1940s. Some teams dissolved due to financial pressures and other teams floated between leagues over the years. Despite those difficulties, the Negro Leagues weathered the storm, as did the nation, and steadily built what was to become one of the largest and most successful Black-owned enterprises in America. The existence and success of these leagues stood as a testament to the determination and resolve of Black America to forge ahead in the face of racial segregation and social disadvantage.
The Negro Leagues played short seasons compared to white leagues, allowing teams time to barnstorm. That is, they would play - and often win - exhibition games against major league white players. After one exhibition game, a young Joe DiMaggio said, "Now I know I can make it with the Yankees. I finally got a hit off Ol' Satch." He was referring to Satchel Paige, a legendary pitcher who left the Negro Leagues when he signed with the Cleveland Indians and helped them win their first World Series in 28 years.
A number of baseball's finest players were forged in the Negro Leagues. There was Josh Gibson whose career statistics include over 900 home runs and a lifetime batting average of .423. Mentioned earlier, Satchel Paige was famous for his "bee ball" ("because it be where I want it to be") and his hesitation pitch which was banned when no one could hit it. Delivering a perfect season (13-0) for the Newark Eagles, Leon Day was inducted in to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995. Others include James "Cool Papa" Bell, Lorenzo "Piper" Davis, Wild Bill Wright, Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, and Wilber "Bullet Joe" Rogan.
In 1946, shortstop Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and debuted with the Montreal Royals as the first Black player in organized baseball in half a century. He began playing in the major league and won the National League Rookie Of The Year Award in 1947. This marked a major turning point in US racial history. As the color barrier was being broken, the Negro Leagues' best talent and black fans turned to the integrated major leagues. By 1962, the last Negro League closed its doors for good.
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