Beginning in 1920 with the formation of the Negro National League, Black entrepreneurs led by Andrew “Rube” Foster developed Negro League baseball into one of the nation’s most successful and culturally significant Black enterprises. Operating within the confines of a racist system that excluded talented Black ballplayers from playing in the major leagues, these Black baseball magnates capitalized on the opportunity created by Jim Crow segregation and organized their own all-Black professional teams and leagues. These Negro League franchises not only became symbols of pride for the Black communities they represented in cities across the United States, but they also provided these same communities with employment opportunities and much needed entertainment. The Negro Leagues also set the stage for one of the most important symbolic victories of the civil rights movement, when Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color line on April 15, 1947. However, Jackie Robinson’s triumph also sounded the death knell of the Negro Leagues, as the gradual desegregation of baseball eroded the demand for separate Black leagues. This presentation will trace the history of Black baseball from its origins in the second half of the nineteenth century through the present day, emphasizing the important place of the Negro Leagues in American life.

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