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For almost a century, African American baseball players were barred from the major
leagues because of their skin color. In December 1867, the National Association of Ball
Players voted not to accept a team with black athletes. In those early days a few black
players did play on integrated minor league teams. But by the turn of the twentieth
century, black players were entirely shut out of white professional baseball until 1946
and the end of World War II. Then Jackie Robinson broke the ‘color line’ becoming the
first African American to play in the major leagues.
Black players played on black teams that represented black communities. The teams
were organized into black leagues, and competed for championships. In 1920, Rube
Foster founded the Negro National League in Kansas City, Kansas. It was joined by the
Eastern Colored League in 1923. In 1937 the Negro American League was formed.
Through the years, Negro leagues overcame hardships, were reformed and replaced,
grew and sometimes flourished. Players endured segregated, second-rate wages and
playing conditions . . . but their competition and play was first-rate, major league! In fact
when matched up against white major league opponents, the black teams won over sixty
percent of the games.
In the 1920s, a crowd of 5,000 spectators for a Sunday game was normal. The heart of
the leagues were the emerging Northern ghettos (Pittsburgh Crawfords, New York Black
Yankees, Newark Eagles, Chicago American Giants) with a smattering of Southern
teams (Birmingham Black Barons, Jacksonville Red Caps, Atlanta Black Crackers). By
the Thirties, a doubleheader night card could draw up to twenty thousand fans. Before
the breakdown of the segregated leagues, the Negro leagues were among the largest
black businesses in the U.S.
The last of the Negro leagues struggled on until 1960 with only a fraction of their
former support and prestige. By then the best African American players were in the
former white major leagues.
leagues because of their skin color. In December 1867, the National Association of Ball
Players voted not to accept a team with black athletes. In those early days a few black
players did play on integrated minor league teams. But by the turn of the twentieth
century, black players were entirely shut out of white professional baseball until 1946
and the end of World War II. Then Jackie Robinson broke the ‘color line’ becoming the
first African American to play in the major leagues.
Black players played on black teams that represented black communities. The teams
were organized into black leagues, and competed for championships. In 1920, Rube
Foster founded the Negro National League in Kansas City, Kansas. It was joined by the
Eastern Colored League in 1923. In 1937 the Negro American League was formed.
Through the years, Negro leagues overcame hardships, were reformed and replaced,
grew and sometimes flourished. Players endured segregated, second-rate wages and
playing conditions . . . but their competition and play was first-rate, major league! In fact
when matched up against white major league opponents, the black teams won over sixty
percent of the games.
In the 1920s, a crowd of 5,000 spectators for a Sunday game was normal. The heart of
the leagues were the emerging Northern ghettos (Pittsburgh Crawfords, New York Black
Yankees, Newark Eagles, Chicago American Giants) with a smattering of Southern
teams (Birmingham Black Barons, Jacksonville Red Caps, Atlanta Black Crackers). By
the Thirties, a doubleheader night card could draw up to twenty thousand fans. Before
the breakdown of the segregated leagues, the Negro leagues were among the largest
black businesses in the U.S.
The last of the Negro leagues struggled on until 1960 with only a fraction of their
former support and prestige. By then the best African American players were in the
former white major leagues.
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