Baseball's Influence On American Culture

Another impressive aspect of Rogosin’s book is the way he ties the hardships that African American’s faced and baseball together in a seemingly smooth connection. Rogosin realized that although he was writing a book on The Negro Leagues, he also couldn’t neglect the background information that came along with that time period. Rogosin includes stories of how teams remained afloat by scheduling exhibition games whenever possible to make money for the team. Rogosin goes on to say “it was pure economics: white people had more money.”2 Another aspect that is appealing in the book is Rogosin often draws comparisons to The Major Leagues on how the leagues differed and how they were similar. The disparities between the leagues really shocks the reader, and challenges their perspective of the time period the book acknowledges.

In 1947 if you were any race other than white could not play in major league baseball. “Jackie Robinson, took the first steps toward integrating the sport's major league teams when he signed a contract to play with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947” (Smith para 1). Jackie Robinson was the first African-American player in the major league baseball. If Jackie Robinson didn’t sign to the Dodgers then who knows how segregated baseball or the world in general would be. The Brooklyn Dodgers were the first to sign an African-American on there team. The Brooklyn Dodger coach ask for Jackie Robinson to come out and talk to him.

Like the bald eagle, baseball has become an icon for the term “American”. It was the nation’s first major sport and quickly was coined America’s pastime. It was created from a combination of other games during the 1840’s and became increasingly popular during the years of the Civil War (Brinkley 392). In their

Yankee Stadium was said to have profited hundreds of thousands of dollars a year just by renting out the stadium to the Negro Leagues. Shadow-Ball further illustrates the substantial differences in funding between the MLB, and the Negro Leagues. Because they Negro Leagues didn't have the money to buy supplies such as baseballs in some instances, they created Shadow-Ball. In this process, the "players would actually practice hitting the ball and catching a ball that wasn't actually there. In fact, they would go full practices without even having a ball, which further enhanced their discipline and focus." (Conrads, pg. 6) but in some instances, when they couldn't play in Major League ballparks, they were simply left to play on the dilapidated fields various areas - wherever they could find a field. Other than this, the players in the Negro Leagues did not make as much money as their counterparts who played in the MLB. For example, in Jackie Robinson's case, he "signed his contract with the Dodgers…for the Major League minimum salary: $5,000…for the year." (Rampersad, pg. 167) Furthermore, in general, "Negro leaguers made about a quarter of what their counterparts in the major leagues were making," but they kept their spirits alive, obliterated the negative energy, and kept playing the sport they loved…baseball. (Conrads, pg. 2)

When the topic of baseball comes up in a conversation, what do you think of? The field, a bat, the ball, or amazing plays, crucial games, and game winning performances. What about American history? Does World War II come to mind; most likely not. According to an article called “Food for Thought: Baseball and American History,” John P. Rossi quotes Jacques Barzun saying, “Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.” Negro League Baseball can be used to shed light on the historical experience of African American’s in the United States.

Negro baseball leagues have a deep historical significance. Racism and “Jim Crow” laws encouraged segregation of African-Americans and whites. Arguably, the players on the negro baseball leagues were some of the best ever. Even today they are still being recognized and honored for their wonderful contribution to baseball as a whole. It started when major league owners had made a “gentleman’s agreement” to keep blacks from playing in the game. The barrier that went up was finally broken with a few black players being signed into white teams in the 1940s. It was once said by Martin Luther King Jr., “[Segregation] gives the segregator a false sense of superiority, it gives the segregated a false sense of inferiority.” While that is true of

In Buck O’Neil’s book, I Was Right on Time, he mentions a phrase that was common for Negro League ball players to hear back in the day. O’Neil writes, “John McGraw said he’d give 50,000 dollars for Donaldson if he’d been white…we heard that a lot about a lot of players through the years” (O’Neil 78). But unfortunately for many of the ballplayers at that time, they weren’t white. And as a result of their skin color and the Jim Crow laws of the time, African American, including ballplayers like Buck O’Neil, had to endure troubling times and unjust hardships. On the surface, I Was Right on Time is a memoir, a story about O’Neil’s time spent navigating through black baseball and his stories of some of the greatest to play the game, but underneath the tales of a great American sport, is a great American travesty; a real look into the days of segregation and the harshness of racial problems in 20th century America.

When asked to describe a baseball the first word generally voiced is white, and before April 15, 1947 that is exactly what the game of baseball was, white. “There is no law against Negroes playing with white teams, or whites with colored clubs, but neither has invited the other for the obvious reason they prefer to draw their talent from their own ranks” (‘42’). These were the feelings of people living in 1947, that blacks and whites were not meant to play baseball together. Then, why decades earlier, had there been an African American in the league? In 1887, an African American Pitcher, George Stovey, was expected to pitch a game with Chicago, however, the first baseman, Cap Anson, would not play as long as Stovey was on the field. Other

Since the abolition of slavery in the USA in 1883 and through the first half of the 20th Century, African Americans had been in a constant struggle to try and gain an equal footing in society. Like many aspects of American life, black sportsmen were segregated, and no African American had played professional baseball since 1884. For this reason, the integration of Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers as the first African American to play Major League baseball in the modern era had a grand impact on the entire country. From the moment that Dodgers owner, Branch Rickey decided that Robinson would break the colour lone, the history of sport and the history of African Americans would not be the same again. The importance of his integration and the effect it had on civil rights can be looked at in many different ways. It had great effect on the African American community, instilling pride and belief once again in the American Dream for many who had once thought it impossible. It also had significant importance for civil rights groups, and brought about a figure who would fight his peoples quest for equal rights until the day he died. It was a significant risk taken by both Rickey and Robinson, professionally and personally. But it was a risk that both in the short term for African American sport, and in the long run for African American civil rights, was ultimately well worth taking.

The Negro National Leagues were founded in 1920 by Rube Foster. The NNL lasted through 1931, mostly in the midwest, accompanied by the major Eastern Colored League for several seasons to 1928. National and American leagues. Negro leagues were established in 1933 and 1937 which went on until integration. The Negro Southern League operated consecutively from 1920, usually at a lower level. None of them, were members of organized baseball, the system led by Commissioner Landis from 1921. Until 1946, professional baseball in the United States was played in two very racially segregated league systems, one on each side of the color line. Most of that time there were two high-level "Negro major leagues" with a championship playoff or all-star game, between the white major

Baseball was a segregated sport until the mid-1940s, when Jackie Robinson broke the game's color barrier, prompted by a daring baseball executive, Branch Rickey. Robinson endured many challenges to prove his prowess as an athlete, be accepted as an important contributor to the sport, and most important, to defend and uphold the dignity of his race. Robinson changed our nation profoundly and enabled the black players who followed him to enter the game with dignity. Robinson endured many challenges to prove his prowess as an athlete, be accepted as an important contributor to the sport, and most important, to defend and uphold the dignity of his race. Robinson clearly made the difference so that others could follow.

Baseball, “America’s pastime”, the most simple sport of the big 4, a sport where failing 7 times out of 10 will still land you among the greats of all time. Baseball has been played by all ages since the Mid-18th Century. It is a sport where 9 men have at least 27 chances to score more runs than the other 9 men. So simple, but yet so captivating. This simplicity, one would assume, would lead to an almost utopian atmosphere. But, for Troy Maxon, an ex-baseball player, the game of Baseball is anything but a utopia. You see, before Jackie Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, there were no African-American baseball players. So, African-Americans were relegated to the Negro Leagues to

Jackie Robinson, the first African American major league baseball (MLB) player, faced with the problem of racial discrimination. Almost no one thought that an African American person would be able to play baseball in the MLB. Robinson knew that his “teammates refused to accept me because I was black”(Robinson), but

The African Americans in the United States were still playing baseball beyond college at this time, but in their own collection of leagues called the “Negro Major Leagues.” African Americans were able to play in some of the integrated colleges around the country but the integration ended there. They were allowed to play in Major League Baseball but it just did not happen, the MLB commissioner of the time Judge Landis said, “there was no rule on the books prohibiting a black man from joining a major league team. It was up to the owners to hire whom they pleased” (Golenbock). Judge Landis had no problem stating the fact that they were allowed to play

Many of the men playing in the negro leagues were much better than white men playing in the professional league, the only thing stopping them from competing was the color barrier. This barrier was created by racist white men who believed white and African American men should not be mixed.