Negro All Star Team – 1939

1. Men of The Negro Baseball LeagueWho Transformed Dilemmas into Opportunities Negro All Star Team – 1939 By: Anne-Marie Sbordone

2. Hilton Smith - Pitcher • “Makes you mad to hear players squawk about jet lag. Try sleeping in a car with your knees to your chest, crammed with eight other guys, only to play a game the next day. Players today don’t know how bad it could be. We look and wonder.” How did we do all of that? It’s simple. “We loved the game so much we just looked past everything else. We were ballplayers. There was nothing we would have rather spent our time doing.”

3. Origin of Baseball • Baseball invented by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, New York in the mid 1800’s • Baseball blossomed at this time in New York and Chicago • People of all types loved to play and watch the game • Mid 1860’s professional teams & organized leagues established and consisted of mostly White ballplayers

4. James “Cool Papa” Bell- Outfielder “We made baseball out of rags on balled up tin cans and we played with broomsticks for bats and hit bottle tops for practice”

5. Obstacles of The Negro League • Negros that played were verbally abused by fans • Other teams refused to play a game if a Negro was on the home team • Bud Fowler was the first Negro to play professional baseball • White players were ordered to slide feet first in order to do serious damage to the Negro players • Pitchers deliberately hit Negro batters in the head • Managers often gave Negro players the wrong direction to the ball fields so they would get lost and miss the game

6. White owners got together in secret and let go of all Negro ballplayers • 1887 - Negros were prohibited from playing professional baseball • This law lasted nearly 60 years

7. Negro League Formed “We loved to play baseball and a lot of guys had genuine talent. We could play semi pro teams which paid little or not at all. We could swallow our pride and work in a factory. Who wanted to do that? Especially after tasting the fruits of what professional baseball had to offer. We had no choice but to start our own professional teams, our own leagues.” - Josh Gibson

8. Background of Andrew “Rube” Foster • Father of Black Baseball • Pastor’s son who was an old time trick pitcher who came up from the Texas leagues • Landed in Chicago with the Leland Giants (who later became Chicago American Giants) • Brilliant man who was very knowledgeable of baseball and knew “how to win” games • Demanding manager • If a player did not follow his directions, he did not last long

9. Andrew “Rube” Foster – The Manager • February 20, 1920 - Rube along with owners of the Black baseball teams founded the Negro National League • Rube’s team known for its speed and famous bunt and run plays where the fastest runner would wind up at third base before the batter hit the ball • Ran the club like a major league team • Supplied the team with clean uniforms and balls, bats, helmets • Organized an entire Negro Baseball League that would exhibit a professional level of play equal or better than the majors • so when the time for integration, Negros would be ready • Gave Negro Baseball newfound dignity and set high standards for the future

10. “A Different Brand of Baseball” Negro Baseball • Fast - People would come early to see players practice • Flashy-They would whip the ball around the field with such precision the crowd would applaud • Funny- Some guys would clown around on the field (throw the ball behind their backs & still get the guy out at first base) • Daring- Players would use Rube Foster’s bunt & run rule which turned singles into doubles & doubles into triples

11. Different Brand of Baseball (cont.) • “We played tricky baseball” – Cool Papa Bell • To a lot of players baseball was a serious business & put food on the table • Everything was legal • very few rules • whatever it took to win the game • Pitchers threw anything & everything • Spitters, shineballs, emery balls, cut balls • Pitchers would hit batters on the head and not be penalized

12. How The Negro Leagues were Different • Spring training was non existent • Teams played 80-120 games during the regular season • Players would barnstorm which meant they would play additional games against any professional or semipro team all over the North, South, West and Midwest • Games would last two hours • Players were expected to participate in up to 4 games a day • Players would earn $15 per player/ per game • Teams consisted of 15-19 Negro league guys and 6 pitchers – (25 players in the major league) • If hurt during a game a player was still expected to play • Rule: If paid for 9 innings, you must play 9 innings

13. Life In The Negro League • “It’s a hurtful thing when you’re starving and have a pocket full of money but can’t find a place to eat because they don’t serve Negros” • Buck Leonard - Infielder

14. Life In The Negro Leagues (cont.) • Hotels and restaurants were segregated in North and South towns 1920’s – 1930’s • Restaurant owners would give players food through the back door because they were prohibited from eating inside • Money would have to be placed on a napkin so the owner did not touch the player’s hands • Teams slept at the local jail, funeral home, or YMCA • Players would stay at hotels that had bedbugs • They had to put newspapers between the mattress and the sheets so they would not get bit • If the Ku Klux Klan was having a rally close to a game the team would have to leave immediately for their own safety

15. Negro League Owners • “Baseball really is an expensive thing to operate.” • Effa Manley (Owner)

16. The Great Depression and Baseball • Great Depression - October 1929 the U.S. Stock Market crashed, businesses collapsed, banks closed, and people lost their jobs • People barely had money for food and heat • Depression hit White baseball hard • Rube Foster’s Negro National League fell apart after twelve seasons • Rube was committed to a mental institution and saw all his hard work go down the drain • He died within a short time of the end of his beloved Negro National League

17. How to Finance The Negro League Now? • During this time intelligent Black men became “numbers men” racketeers • As a result of segregation they were unable to become stock brokers and general managers • Illegal numbers men would take peoples’ penny bets on the games and use it to finance team expenses • Most owners did not make much money from their teams but betting was a vehicle to make their illegal money look legitimate

18. Gus Greenley • King of the numbers game in Pittsburg • Owned the bar where the big Negro stars performed including Lena Horne, Bill Bo Jangles Robinson and Heavy Weight Champ John Henry • 1930 - Reorganized the whole Negro National League • Many of the owners made their money in the numbers business and used it to support their teams • During this time Black doctors, celebrities, and entrepreneurs took over the ownership of Negro ball clubs (i.e. Louis Armstrong, Joe Louis, Cab Calloway)

19. The Greatest Players in The WorldNegro League All Stars • “The greatest untapped reservoir of raw material in the history of our game is the black race.” • Branch Richey (owner)

20. The Great Players and Their Contribution to Racial Equality • Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Oscar Charleston, and Cool Papa Bell were great athletes who played everyday with other Black athletes who threw just as hard, pitched just as fast and hit just as well as White players • These men could have written the record books if given a chance to play in the majors • They played hard and would do anything to win- even sustain racial prejudice and inequality • The world never had the luxury to view their talents and these events were not covered by the media • Negro players changed the country’s stereotypes of Blacks • The world gradually realized that these players were just as intelligent, gifted, and equal in every way to the White players

21. Leroy “Satchel” Paige - pitcher “We were worked. Worked like the mule that plows the field during the week and pulls the carriage to church on Sunday morning.”

22. Leadership of Leroy “Satchel” Paige • Pitcher threw so hard that catchers tried to use steaks to cushion their gloves • Had such control that he could knock a lit cigarette out of the mouths of teammates • Took the mound every night from January through December, tossed three games in a day and 2,500 games over 41 years • Relied on his skills, salaries were in the thousands not millions • Kept his own records • The league could not afford to keep the records so the players had to keep their own statistics • Symbol of athleticism and fun

23. Leadership of Leroy “Satchel” Paige • Quietly subversive against Jim Crow Laws • He refused to play in a town unless it supplied lodging and food to him and his teammates • His equality shown through on the field • Pitched so spectacularly at beating White major league teams that White sports writers turned out to watch Black baseball • Proved that Black fans would fill ballparks and White fans would turn out to see Black superstars • It was the courage and tenacity of Satchel Paige that cleared the path for new racial equality, allowing a new generation of Black players to enter the Majors

24. Jackie Robinson • Satchel Paige drew spotlight first to himself, then to his all Black KC Monarchs team members, particularly to the rookie Jackie Robinson • Jackie Robinson opened the door to the new reality of racial equality when he signed with Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945

25. Dilemmas and Opportunities of the Negro League Dilemmas • Discrimination • Segregation • Deplorable conditions • Low pay • Humiliation Opportunities • Gifted athletes • Determined owners • Overcame segregation • Deep love for the game • Changed minds and hearts of a nation • Led the way to racial equality both on and off the baseball field

26. Negro Baseball League Hall of Fame Induction of Satchel Paige – 1971: http://www.viddler.com/explore/expandedbooks/videos/90/