US History

The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)

African Americans

This collection uses primary sources to explore Negro League Baseball.

Teaching Guide: Exploring Negro League Baseball

A photo of the crowd at Schorling's baseball park, home of Rube Foster's American Giants, on Chicago’s South Side, 1925.

The World War I draft registration card for Andrew Rube Foster.

A photograph of a group of baseball players and businessmen, including Rube Foster, circa 1929.

John Buck O’Neil’s “Foreword” to *Catching Dreams: My Life in the Negro Leagues* by Frazier “Slow” Robinson, 1999. 

A team photograph of the St. Louis Stars, World's Champions National Negro League World Series, 1928.

A medal of James "Cool Papa" Bell in Kansas City Monarchs uniform.

A photo of Satchel Paige, St. Louis Browns pitcher, reading a newspaper in his bullpen rocking chair during a baseball game, 1947.

A photo of Atlanta Braves coach Satchel Paige signing autographs in 1969.

A photograph of baseball player Jackie Robinson in his Kansas City Monarchs uniform, 1945.

A letter from Jackie Robinson to President Eisenhower, May 13, 1958. 

An excerpt from an oral history interview with baseball player Ernest Jones, 2008.

An excerpt from an oral history interview with James (“Red”) Moore, 1978.

A photograph of Cubs player Ernie Banks and Cardinals player Lou Brock.

A Congressional report on the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, 2006.

An exhibit on “Slow” Henry Frazier Robinson in King Mountain Historical Museum, 2002.

Resources

1. [Baseball: The National Pastime in the National Archives](http://www.archives.gov/publications/ebooks/baseball.html), the National Archives and Records Administration. 

2. [Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s](http://www.loc.gov/collections/jackie-robinson-baseball/about-this-collection/), the Library of Congress. 

3. [Negro Leagues Baseball: A Brief History](http://coe.k-state.edu/annex/nlbemuseum/history/overview.html), Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. 

Overview

Between the end of the Civil War and 1890, some African American baseball players played alongside white players in minor and major leagues. After 1890, Jim Crow segregation dominated the sport until Jackie Robinson integrated major league baseball in 1947. Consequently African Americans formed their own professional baseball leagues commonly and collectively known as Negro League baseball. During its heyday in the 1920s and 30s, the Negro Leagues drew large crowds and fielded over thirty teams throughout the East Coast and Midwest.In this primary source set, students will view original photographs, listen to oral history recordings, and read historical texts to gain a better understanding of of the lives and experiences of Negro League baseball players.

English

Negro League Baseball

negro-league-baseball_01_782ae237741d52c39262a3150fa385ce.jpg

Taitt, John, “A crowd at Schorling's baseball park enjoying the national pastime,” Digital Public Library of America, http://dp.la/item/782ae237741d52c39262a3150fa385ce.

A photo of the crowd at Schorling's baseball park, home of Rube Foster's American Giants, on Chicago’s South Side, 1925.

Cite this item

Tips for Students

Item 1 of 15 in the Primary Source Set Negro League Baseball