Negro Leagues Back in the Bronx

By Nile Gayle

Bronx Journal Staff

The Negro Leagues returned to the Bronx this month with an exhibit at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Bronxites and baseball fans had the chance to learn about the historic league and the legendary players. Also on display were uniforms, autographed bats and baseballs used by the athletes.

African Americans began playing baseball in the late 1800s, eventually joining professional teams with white players. Moses Fleetwood Walker and Bud Fowler were the first African Americans to join those teams. However Jim Crow laws later banned African American athletes from professional teams. In 1920, Andrew “Rube” Foster, the former manager and owner of the Chicago American Giants, established the Negro Leagues.

In addition to the African American baseball players from the United States, there were over 2,000 players from Latin American countries that participated in the Negro Leagues. The Negro League players were the first American athletes to play in several Latin American countries. They barnstormed through Canada and introduced baseball to Japan.

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson made history when he debuted as a first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African American player in the major leagues. This pivotal moment led to the gradual decline of the Negro Leagues because more professional leagues began recruiting African Americans. In addition to Robinson, Don Newcombe, Sam Jethroe, Willy Mays, Joe Black, Frank Robinson, Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey joined the major leagues and each won rookie of the year in their debut seasons. Frank Robinson, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Minnie Minnoso won Gold Glove awards after they departed the Negro Leagues and joined the major leagues. Newcombe also won a CY Young Award.

The last Negro League teams folded in the 1960’s. In 1990, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was founded in Kansas City, Missouri. It began as a one-room office and in 1997 grew to a 10,000 square foot exhibit.