Do you know who was the first African American major league baseball player was? Well, it’s Jackie Robinson. Most people know him as the first African to play in the MLB, but most do not realize that he first played in the negro league. In fact, all most all of the African Americans that played in the MLB during the mid to late 1900’s were once apart of the negro league. Jackie Robinson was on the Kansas City Monarchs. It’s the 1920’s and segregation is all but a myth. Because of it, almost all of the United States, including the North were segregated.
It was very common to see different restaurants, schools, and playgrounds for African Americans. It was deemed socially inappropriate for a white person to be with African American’s. In fact, the term “Separate but Equal” was coined to try and push off segregation. Segregation was so apparent that they even seperated sports and sporting events. Basketball, football and even baseball were some of the most segregated sports around. In baseball there were two leagues: the major leagues and the negro leagues. The negro league of baseball designed to make a separate league of baseball for African Americans.
To begin with, the negro league was created to separate colors. During the early 1900’s segregation was a huge problem. Even the simplest things including sports were separated. One account of the segregation is ” As Jim Crow grew in strength, however, American beliefs about black and white athletes playing together shifted towards further separation” (Heaphy 11). This quote gives a statement on how people were wanting segregation in sports. The Negro Leagues were be created in 1920 and consisted of African Americans only. There wasn’t a single African in the MLB at this time.
Like I previously said, theMajor League Baseball was for white men only. During baseball season which was a huge thing to do in the 1900’s, it was almost a sin for a black man to even be at a white baseball game. One problem was the K. K. K going to the baseball fields and hanging any black man, woman, or child for being there. A more horrifying statement is, “Once at a baseball game, I seen a black man and his family get hung and burned by members of the Klu Klux Klan” (Nelson 3). This quote shows how separated sb ome people wanted their lives to be and how ruthless they would be to make it come true.
So for vigorous reasons, they were separated. In addition, many people thought that it was immoral or unethical to have a team of both races. Many white people would go out of their way to get away from the blacks at all costs. It was deemed socially inappropriate for a black and white to be in the same place, let alone on the same team. Some African Americans did try to join a team with white people but were usually killed by someone. As many people thought it was punishable by death, one man in particular thought “It was a horrifying sight. Blacks would lay dead in the streets by the fields”(Nelson 64).
Some people agreed that the blacks who tried to watch the games should be killed, but some thought it was wrong. There are over 218 confirmed executions made by the Klu Klux Klan at baseball and other sporting events. Therefore, the best solution was to make a separate league created for African Americans, called the Negro leagues. Most people in this time period thought that blacks should be thankful for a league, but they weren’t. Their league consisted of all blacks with or without training. Their coaches couldn’t train the team because the coaches didn’t even have training. The negro league was also dissed on.
Very few people would go to the games do to the conditions. The conditions were horrible as a L. A man stated ” It stunk of feces and it was poorly maintained”(Cotrell 26). This quote shows how African Americans still weren’t equal. Once again, the Negro League was an act of segregation. Not only could African Americans not play with white people, but they couldn’t even watch them play. If black people came to the white people’s game they would be killed by the K. K. K. Although killing is illegal, many people wouldn’t say or do anything for the fear of their life and their family’s life.
Some teams would allow African Americans to watch them play, but in designated places. These places are usually far away from the white people and by bad places. By bad places I mean bathrooms and quite possibly on the road. Many African Americans didn’t care where they stood but a select few Africans who would actually say something and take a stand. They were always killed one way or another. Usually they were tarred and feathered until they died. Here is an example of how they were separated ” It was common to see two sets of water fountains, one for whites and one for s”(Cotrell 19).
This quote shows that blacks couldn’t even drink out of the same fountain. Everything was segregated from bathrooms, fountains and even benches. Another problem was that the segregated areas were not properly maintained. Water fountains would be broken, bathrooms wouldn’t be cleaned and even the public black buildings were not built the right way with safety precautions. Most people think that it’s okay because they had places to watch the games, but they couldn’t even see the games. One black man said ” You would be lucky if you could even see the fields” (Cotrell 20).
This quote shows how far they would have to sit away from the other people who are white. In continuation, the Negro League will dissipate slowly because of civil right movements. Eventually black people will be considered equal and the negro league will come to an end. In the mid 1900’s the Negro League will be ended because of the effort of many people such as Martin Luther King Jr. With that being said, the Negro league will tie into the Major League Baseball and the first African American will play on the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was considered one of the best African Americans in the whole league.
The Major League Baseball will plummet the first year with a black player due to all the racists and still the KKK. “There was a $44,617 drop in all profits” (Lanctot 6). That quote shows how the MLB was effected by having a black player. Also, the Negro League will help get African Americans more involved with professional sports that were considered “white only”. That created a problem because nobody wanted to watch a team that had a black person playing for them. Also, the teammates would be rude, nasty and would neglect to be on their team. There are countless stories on how Jackie Robinson and other African Americans are treated badly.
Another quote is as follows, “A man could not allow a colored man an to play on his team, or he was not a man”(Lanctot 19). That quote shows that even though they played on the same team, they weren’t teammates. As well as, the Negro League changed American sports. Now everyone is getting used to seeing African Americans playing sports with white people so racism is a lot lower. Just about every home is now a fan of the Major League Baseball because of the newfound respect towards African Americans. The daily lives of Americans have been dramastically changed due to African Americans being able to play sports (baseball) with white men.
As Major League Baseball grew, so did the profits. One owner said “The event would become a high-class social affair that attracted sellout crowds and celebrities like Joe Louis and Lena Horne”(Nelson 3). This quote proves that many people want to come and watch the baseball games in person. Another thing is it boosted the U. S economy because sports started making more money and that’s a good thing. During the 1920’s there are a lot of new “hip” things like automobiles, radios and fashion but the biggest hit was Major League Baseball.
It literally changed how more than half of the United States would spend their money and free time. For various reasons it boosted the daily happiness of Americans. Baseball was so important Franklin D. Roosevelt asked “Baseball owners to work to keep baseball alive as a way to help the nation’s morale stay strong”(Leonard 7). This quote shows how the president knew baseball was a major role in the daily lives of Americans. Furthermore, the Negro League was needed to help aid African Americans get to the Major League’s.
The Negro League only lasted about 40 years or so, but did so much good that many people have researched this topic. If we keep separating social events such as sports, movies and anything public it leads to people thinking that segregation is a good thing and should be considered normal. A big problem with that is that we can not be a whole nation if we continue to segregate people based on their skin. Many efforts have been made to slow and eventually stop racism. It will take a while, but if we as a nation keep pursuing the topic, then we can end racism.
