When encountering the Negro Leagues, it’s hard to know
whether to embrace the talent of the
players or lament the conditions they were made to endure. Those are the feelings I grappled with while standing at the gravesite of
Thomas Altson, the first black player on the St. Louis
Cardinals. You can still see the field where Altson played as a member of the Greensboro Red Wings. In fact, you can see it about 100 feet from
his grave - next to a church on a rural North Carolina road. I grappled some more while listening to former player Levi “Champie” Drew talk about the Green Book, a
segregation-era guidebook that informed black motorists, including baseball
teams, of which hotels and restaurants would accommodate them – and which ones
would not. Perhaps the two sentiments are not mutually
exclusive. Maybe it’s the talent that
existed despite the conditions that make the players’ stories so remarkable.
The Negro Leagues
are an important part of baseball – and American – history. Visiting its sites will add depth and meaning
to your baseball road trips. Museums and exhibits are an excellent place to learn, but there's nothing like standing on the same field where Josh Gibson
hammered, Satchel Paige befuddled, or Judy Johnson dazzled. It's a little more work, and you'll need to do some research, but well worth the effort. Here are some tips.
There were teams that shared conveniently located stadiums with their white counter parts, but (in my experience) it's more likely you'll have to get off the highway to find old Negro Leagues fields. Sometimes, pretty far off the highway -- in out-of-the-way urban neighborhoods that were once more thriving parts of town, or on overgrown patches of land on a rural road. Some fields are still in use - such as West Field where the Homestead Grays played. The day I was there, I watched local students run drills with their high school teams -- on the same grounds where Josh Gibson might have played! I watched from an old set of bleachers while sitting in the shadow of the antiquated light towers, reminding me that Negro Leagues teams were playing night games years before the MLB.
2. Take in a museum:
In 1971, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in upstate New York began to induct Negro Leagues players. Since then, they've inducted over 30. Kansas City is home to the 10,000-square foot Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, visited by two U.S. presidents and thousands of other fans. Baltimore has a much smaller Negro Leagues Museum, operated by the wife of a former player, in the basement of a church (viewings by appointment only). A little further south, the Anacostia Community Museum, part of the Smithsonian, houses an exhibit on black baseball in the nation's capital. Occasionally, the museum invites former players to discuss their experiences. That's were I met Levi "Champie" Drew of the Indianapolis Clowns and learned about the infamous Green Book. Many major and minor league stadiums now incorporate memorials to Negro Leagues heroes, in recognition of their contributions the sport. Busch Stadium displays a statue of Cool Papa Bell, Nationals Park has one of Josh Gibson, and PNC Park has seven statues of Negro Leagues stars. So maybe I'll meet you next season at Frawley Stadium, home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks, for their annual Judy Johnson night!
3. Pay your respects:
Finding a baseball player gravesite in a large cemetery is a challenge worthy of its own blog post. I have literally spent hours combing over a metropolis of tombstones looking for the one I came to visit. It's a nice way to honor those to whom today's game owes such a heavy debt of gratitude. Every grave is different. Some are small stones with only a name and dates (Josh Gibson), while others are large and grab your attention immediately (Satchel Page). It's common for people to leave memorabilia, such as baseballs, newspaper clippings, or mini-bats. You don't need to be in a baseball city - or a city at all - to find a final resting place. There might be one within a few miles of you right now.
You can see more photos of my Negro Leagues encounters in my online photo album, Finding the Negro Leagues.
