Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Encyclopedia
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.
History
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was founded in 1990 by a group of former Negro Leagues baseballNegro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
players
Baseball positions
There are 9 fielding positions in baseball. Each position conventionally has an associated number which is used to score putouts...
, including Kansas City Monarchs
Kansas City Monarchs
The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro Leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri and owned by J.L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1930. J.L. Wilkinson was the first Caucasian owner at the time...
outfielder, Alfred Surratt
Alfred Surratt
Alfred G. "Slick" Surratt was an American baseball outfielder in the Kansas City Monarchs, a Negro league baseball franchise based in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1947 until 1952. Surratt later co-founded the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City in 1990.Surratt was born in Danville, Arkansas...
, Buck O'Neil
Buck O'Neil
John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout, and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball...
, and Horace Peterson. It moved from a small, single-room office inside the Lincoln Building at historic 18th & Vine streets in Kansas City to a 2000 square feet (185.8 m²) space in 1994.
Three years later, in 1997, the museum relocated again, to a 10000 square feet (929 m²), purpose-built structure five times the previous size. The museum resides in the 18th and Vine District of Kansas City, the hub of African-American cultural activity in Kansas City during the first half of the 20th century. Within the same building is the American Jazz Museum
American Jazz Museum
The American Jazz Museum is a jazz museum in the United States. Located in the historic 18th and Vine district in Kansas City, Missouri, in a building also housing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, it preserves the history of the American music: jazz. The museum features exhibits on Charlie...
, celebrating Kansas City's likewise vibrant jazz scene during that same time period.
Exhibits
The museum chronologically charts the progress of the Negro leaguesNegro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
with informative placards and interactive exhibits. Its walls are lined with pictures of players, owners, and officials of Negro league baseball from the Negro National League of 1920 through the Negro American League, which lasted until 1960. As one progresses through the exhibit, one moves forward through the history of Black baseball. In one area of the museum, there are lockers set up for some of the legends of the Negro leagues. One can see game-worn uniforms, cleats, gloves, and other artifacts from stars such as Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson
Joshua Gibson was an American catcher in baseball's Negro leagues. He played for the Homestead Grays from 1930 to 1931, moved to the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1932 to 1936, and returned to the Grays from 1937 to 1939 and 1942 to 1946...
, the "Black Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
."
By far the most impressive aspect of the museum, however, is the Field of Legends. Separated from the visitor at the entrance by chicken wire, it is accessible only at the end of the tour. One can walk onto a field adorned by nearly life-sized bronze statues of twelve figures from Negro league history. Crouching behind the plate is Gibson, one of the most prolific hitters in baseball history, a man who allegedly hit over 80 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in one season. At first base is another Baseball Hall of Famer, Buck Leonard
Buck Leonard
Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard was an American first baseman in Negro league baseball. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in along with his long-time teammate Josh Gibson.-Biography:...
, a teammate of Gibson's with the Homestead Grays
Homestead Grays
The Homestead Grays were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 by Cumberland Posey, and would remain in continuous operation for 38 seasons. The team was based in Homestead, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Pittsburgh.-Franchise...
. At second base is Ray Dandridge
Ray Dandridge
Raymond Emmitt Dandridge was an American third baseman in baseball's Negro leagues. He was born in Richmond, Virginia. Dandridge was one of the greatest fielders in the history of baseball, and one of the sport's greatest hitters for average, but unfortunately his name is not familiar to the...
, Pop Lloyd monitors shortstop, while Judy Johnson
Judy Johnson
William Julius "Judy" Johnson was an American third baseman in Negro league baseball.Johnson was born in Snow Hill, Maryland. Although his father wanted him to be a boxer, Johnson, who was 5 ft 11 in and only 150 lb , was far better suited for a career in baseball...
holds down third base. In the outfield are Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston
Oscar Charleston
Oscar McKinley Charleston was an American center fielder and manager in baseball's Negro leagues from to ....
, and Leon Day
Leon Day
Leon Day was an American right-handed pitcher in the Negro leagues. He played for the Baltimore Black Sox, the Brooklyn & Newark Eagles, and the Baltimore Elite Giants.He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995....
. On the mound is perhaps the most famous Negro leaguer of all time, Satchel Paige
Satchel Paige
Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige was an American baseball player whose pitching in the Negro leagues and in Major League Baseball made him a legend in his own lifetime...
, who became a rookie in the Major Leagues at age 42 in 1948. At the plate is Martín Dihigo
Martín Dihigo
Martín Magdaleno Dihigo Llanos was a Cuban player in baseball's Negro leagues and Latin American leagues who excelled at several positions, primarily as a pitcher and second baseman...
, the only man to be inducted into the Halls of Fame in three countries: Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Other statues commemorate Rube Foster, the founder of the Negro National League
Negro National League (the first)
The Negro National League was one of the several Negro leagues which were established during the period in the United States in which organized baseball was segregated. Led by Rube Foster, owner and manager of the Chicago American Giants, the NNL was established on February 13, 1920 by a...
, and Buck O'Neil
Buck O'Neil
John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout, and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball...
, a former Kansas City Monarch
Kansas City Monarchs
The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro Leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri and owned by J.L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1930. J.L. Wilkinson was the first Caucasian owner at the time...
and a member of the board of the Museum until his October 6, 2006 death.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was a Founding Sports Partner of the Sports Museum of America
Sports Museum of America
The Sports Museum of America was the United States' first national sports museum dedicated to the history and cultural significance of sports in America. It opened on May 7, 2008 and closed February 20, 2009.-History:...
which opened in 2008 and closed in 2009 at 26 Broadway
26 Broadway
26 Broadway is a 31-story, 159 m, 520 ft New York City Designated Landmark at the southern tip of Manhattan at Bowling Green...
in New York City.
The Geddy Lee Collection
On June 5th, 2008, Geddy LeeGeddy Lee
Gary Lee Weinrib, OC, better known as Geddy Lee , is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush...
(of the Canadian band Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
), himself an avid baseball fan, donated nearly 200 autographed baseballs to the NLBM. The signatures on these baseballs include names such as Hank Aaron, Cool Papa Bell, and Lionel Hampton. At the time, Geddy Lee's gift was one of the largest single donations the NLBM had ever received.
External links
- Negro Leagues Baseball Museum website
- eMuseum home page. Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) and Kansas State University (KSU)
- Negro Leagues Baseball: A Brief History (with links to "Historical Timeline" (1860–1959); "Diamond Cuts"; "Team Profiles" (by state); and "Personal Profiles"). eMuseum website (NLBM and KSU)
- Research Library. eMuseum website (NLBM and KSU)