Black Ball

By Kathleen Landis

In a stunning, 12th inning, final-game victory, the Washington Senators triumphed over the New York Giants to win the 1924 World Series. A less-heralded series that ran almost simultaneously pitted the Negro Leagues Kansas City Monarchs and Hilldale Daisies. At its thrilling conclusion, the Monarchs reigned victorious, making them the winners of the first Negro World Series, held in 1924.

Don't know the Negro Leagues, or the Negro World Series? You'll find this amazing baseball story at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, in Kansas City, Mo., where the Negro Leagues began.

Passage through antique turnstiles - the same type that admitted spectators to the Negro League games played between 1920 and 1960 - starts the journey toward the "Field of Legends" the museum's signature exhibit. On this mock baseball diamond, ten life-size bronze sculptures of Negro Leagues stars seem engaged in contest. Among them are Josh Gibson, the only man to hit a ball completely out of Yankee Stadium, James "Cool Papa" Bell, believed to be the game's fastest runner, and power-hitter Walter "Buck" Leonard. Old timers said that sneaking a fast ball past Leonard was like trying to sneak sunrise past a rooster. The sculptures represent 10 of the first group of Negro Leaguers inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Though vistors want to get closer, they come upon a chicken wire backstop that prevents field access. The barrier hints at black players' exclusion from Major League baseball, and sets the stage for understanding the history of black baseball that visitors are about to see.

They Were All Stars, a 15-minute film, runs in the nearby Grand Stand Theater. Footage and commentary cover the Civil War through the 1960s and prepare visitors to enter the chronologically-divided gallery.

The first exhibits highlight black baseball's early days, explain the "gentleman's agreement" that banned black players from professional teams, and chronicle the independent teams that formed between 1901 and 1919.

The next sections cover the years from 1920 to 1946, when black teams began to compete in a way that mirrored professional baseball. In 1920 Andrew "Rube" Foster founded the Negro National League, the first successful black professional baseball league, and once the third largest black-owned business in the country. Over 40 years, 80 teams played in six leagues, making a tremendous impact on their communities.

Further into the gallery, a photo wall celebrates the League's most recognized player, pitcher Leroy, "Satchel" Paige; the collection contains Paige's original tombstone. The museum also recognizes John "Buck" O'Neil, its current chairman. O'Neil made his mark as a Kansas City Monarch first baseman and manager in the Negro Leagues, from 1937 to 1955. Lucky visitors might find him on site, recounting baseball memories.

A rookie Monarch named Jackie Robinson changed baseball forever. In 1945, Robinson signed with the Montreal Royals, a Brooklyn Dodgers farm team, and played his first year with the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1947. A photo wall honors the first black player to start in the Major Leagues.

Eventually, black baseball history comes full circle in the final exhibits, dedicated to players in the Major League, and the former Negro Leaguers inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Major League section chronicles the careers of such players as Willie Mays, Roy Campanella and Ernie Banks, who started their careers in the Negro Leagues. Glass-fronted lockers showcase uniforms of the 18 former Negro League stars, now Hall of Famers.

In a sense, reaching the last of the formal exhibits is like rounding third and heading toward home, when visitors reach the Field of Legends' accessible side. After learning the Negro Leagues story, they can finally step onto the field, and know how it feels to break the barrier too.