Remembering the Negro League

 

On Sunday, August 16, Major League Baseball celebrated the 100^th anniversary of the establishment of the Negro League. It wouldn’t be until 1947 that a Black man would be allowed to play in the MLB. This writing is not about support for any race or group supporting a movement. It’s about the fact that all people were created equal in the eyes of God. But we were all born with sin and the desire to not only discriminate but do many other evils. God doesn’t see us by the color of our skin but by the condition of our hearts. He sent His only Son to die on a cross for the forgiveness of our sin. We just need to ask for that forgiveness and know Jesus as our savior.

As a boy and into my teens, all I wanted to do was play baseball. If I had been told by someone I couldn’t play in one league or another because of the color of my skin, I would have been devastated. But that was not that uncommon when I was a young boy. This was the way it was for Blacks when it came to playing professional baseball. That is why Rube Foster started the Negro League. It gave young Black men the opportunity to play professional baseball. And it also gave this country the opportunity to see some great baseball players. Foster’s hope was that the MLB would eventually merge with the Negro League but that would never happen. The talent was certainly there but the color line was also there and it was bold. Eventually, the Negro players would have the opportunity to individually make their way into MLB. Of course, we are all aware of the Jackie Robinson story and how he broke that color barrier in 1947 with the Dodgers. But it wasn’t easy for him; he was harassed and threatened but he was the right person for that situation and he eventually proved himself as a very good player and closed the mouths of many racist players in the league. A few years later, Larry Doby was signed by the Cleveland Indians and he became the second Black player in MLB.

The racism didn’t end there. MLB players like Hank Aaron and Willie Stargell feared for their safety. Willie, while he was playing in the minors had to walk to the field for each game and feared he would be attacked because he was Black. He was called all those colorful names but never was attacked. When Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record in Atlanta in 1973, fans came onto the field as he was rounding the bases and he seriously thought they were coming to attack him for breaking the record held by white Babe Ruth. He was wrong; they were congratulating him.

When I was in my early teens, we had a neighbor who had been a big fan of the Negro League. He was older and would tell me and my brother many stories about the players and their accomplishments. He was the first to tell me how fast Cool Papa Bell was. He would tell us he was so fast he could turn off the light and be under the covers before the room was dark. I’m sure that was a line he picked up during the hey days of that league. He would tell us many stories about Satchel Paige and his great accomplishments as a pitcher. Of course, he always enhanced the facts to make it just a little more interesting. Paige was so good the facts didn’t need to be enhanced but that was always the way he told us these stories.

He told us about Josh Gibson and all his home runs. His total home runs for his career was over 800. But when my neighbor talked about him, he made Babe Ruth look like a singles hitter. My brother and I would sit for as long as he would talk and tell us these stories.

Then we would go home and my dad would give us the story without all the fluff. But even without the enhanced facts, these accounts still were amazing.

To have all that talent and have it not allowed at the highest level of play was a travesty. It was uncalled for and an extreme display of racism. Today, the league has any number of Black players. As a matter of fact, a few years ago, the league was concerned about the lack of American Black players in the league. MLB began to form alliances with youth baseball programs in inner cities to provide more opportunities for Black kids to play the game. Of course, it must be taken into consideration that more of them are opting instead for basketball and football.

A lot has changed in the last 100 years since the Negro League was formed. But as the MLB reminded us yesterday, these players and the effort of Rube Foster should never be forgotten. What they endured to play the game should not be forgotten. I still enjoy listening to the stories about the players and their skills. I will never forget them because of the love I have for the game to this day. The core topic is baseball but the bottom line is what they suffered to play it. I didn’t write this because of the situation in our country today. I wrote it because these players were human beings who should have been treated as equals. Their one desire was to play baseball and because of the color of their skin, they were told no. Yes, a lot has changed for the better in the last 100 years regardless of how people feel about another’s skin color.

 Bill Petite