US History

The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)

African Americans

This collection uses primary sources to explore 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.

Original description reads: “Men standing behind home plate during a baseball game. Noted baseball pitcher, Rube Foster, is 2nd from right and the man crouching is wearing a ‘Hollywood’ baseball uniform.”

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.

The text on this picture reads: “Standing left to right: Mgr. Taylor, Trent, Suttles, J. Williams, Hensley, Wells, H. Williams, Creacy. Sitting: Bat Boy Jay Russell, Bell, B. Russell, Cannon, Davis, Redus, McDonald.”

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.

Robinson played shortstop for the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs in 1945. He became the first black man to play major league baseball in the twentieth century when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.

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

Written by one of the most famous Negro League and Major League baseball players, this letter demonstrates Jackie Robinson’s activism on behalf of the civil rights movement and the freedom and citizenship rights of African Americans.

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

This oral history interview with Mr. Ernest Jones details Jones’ schooling and athletic experiences growing up in Greenville County, South Carolina. He talks about playing for a Negro League baseball team, the Greenville Black Spinners.

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

This oral history interview with James “Red” Moore details his baseball playing career, which included playing for the Chattanooga Choo Choos (1935), Mohawk Giants (1936), Atlanta Black Crackers (1935, 1938), Newark Eagles (1936-1937, 1940), Indianapolis ABCs (1939), and the Baltimore Elite Giants (1939-1940).

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

In 1953, Ernie Banks became the first black player signed to the Chicago Cubs. Lou Brock signed with the Chicago Cubs in 1961 but then played left field for the St. Louis Cardinals.

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

This Senate report and resolution officially designates the Negro Leagues Baseball museum in Kansas City, Missouri as “America’s National Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.” 

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

Questions

1. Cite specific textual evidence from the items in this set to describe some of the positive and negative experiences of African American baseball players in the Negro leagues from 1890 to 1947.

2. Using the items in the set, explain how the former Negro League baseball players were treated in the 1960s. What do you think accounts for the change in treatment? 

3. Using the [letter from Jackie Robinson to President Eisenhower](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/negro-league-baseball/sources/189) to discuss whether professional athletes should take a stand on important issues in society.

4. Use the [foreword to *Catching Dreams*](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/negro-league-baseball/sources/183) and the [Congressional report](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/negro-league-baseball/sources/193) to discuss the significance of the Negro Leagues in US history.


Activity

Using the oral history interviews with [Ernest Jones](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/negro-league-baseball/sources/190) and [James "Red" Moore](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/negro-league-baseball/sources/191), write an essay arguing that the Negro Leagues had a beneficial effect on the civil rights movement.

Teaching Guide: Exploring Negro League Baseball

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_13_f37dce6111f3a4d3a27b55e1bca4b8d3.jpg

Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library via California Digital Library.

Ruebsamen, James, “Ernie Banks and Lou Brock,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/7505c90cbe08d765803f1dbbec39fe0a.

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

Cite this item

Tips for Students

Item 13 of 15 in the Primary Source Set Negro League Baseball