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Downloaded from
YTS.MX
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[indistinct chatter]
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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[gentle music playing]
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Hank: I played
with a very good friend of mine.
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He and I used to pretend
like we were playing
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against eight other guys
and we played with anything
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that we could to pretend
like it was a baseball
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and we used broomsticks.
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[chuckling] I don't know
that you would call it baseball.
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[chuckling] But we did
the best we could.
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Monte: A baseball is round,
the bat's the same, you know?
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If you have talent,
no matter what color you are,
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and if you can play,
you can play.
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Baseball is the greatest game
that's ever been invented.
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Gerald: I think
there's always been
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in African American life
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a real appreciation
of improvisation.
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You figured out other ways
of being able to succeed.
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And a perfect example of that
is what they did with baseball.
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And that's the story
really of the Negro Leagues.
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[Audience cheering]
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- [indistinct chatter]
- [upbeat music playing]
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- [Audience cheering]
- [Umpire whistling]
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[Audience chuckling, cheering]
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"Prince" Joe: I hear
Black people talking
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about church,
I talk about the Negro Leagues.
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So much depth.
You had all kind of stars.
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There was a camaraderie, man.
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You finished playing
a baseball game?
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And, man, you go
to the nice places
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within the Black community,
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and all of your people
were there.
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They're so loving, you know?
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Greatest thing
that ever happened
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to me in my life.
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[Audience cheering]
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Andrew: Negroes didn't play ball
'cause they were making money.
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They played the ballgame
because they loved to play it.
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Mark: The Negro Leagues,
I think is a story
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about what Black Americans
were able to achieve
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at a time when they only had
themselves to rely on.
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Larry: They are a proud
bunch of men
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who play
between the white foul lines.
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They accepted their role
as a part of a movement
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before we coined the term
"Civil Rights Movement."
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Bob K: To go
to a Negro Leagues game,
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you could feel the immense pride
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that Black folks had
about this product
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known as the Negro Leagues.
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To a large degree
because they understood
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that it was something
that was inherently ours.
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Now, it was shared
with the rest of the world,
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but it was still ours.
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- [Audience cheering]
- Maya: The stories
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about the American Negro
Baseball League
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were always good news.
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People would say,
"Did you hear about the League?"
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And you always knew
that they meant
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the Negro Baseball League.
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- [music fades]
- [Audience cheering]
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[jazz music playing]
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♪ Yeah ♪
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Bob M: I wish you could have
seen all that I have seen.
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For over ten years,
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I was an umpire
in the Negro Leagues.
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When I first heard
about the leagues
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as a young man,
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I knew I wanted to be a part
of that world,
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closer to all of my heroes.
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♪ Yeah! ♪
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♪ Did you see Jackie Robinson
Hit that ball? ♪
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♪ It went zoomin'
Cross the left field wall ♪
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Bob M: Getting my dream job
as an umpire
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in the Negro Leagues
allowed me to see, firsthand,
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some of the best players
in the game.
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Some of the greats
never achieved renown,
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but there were quite a few
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celebrated Major League ballplayers
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who got their start
in the Negro Leagues.
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♪ Satchel Paige is mellow
So is Campanella ♪
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♪ Newcombe and Doby too ♪
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♪ But it's a natural fact
When Jackie comes to bat ♪
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♪ The other team is through ♪
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Bob M: We didn't realize it
at the time,
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but the great ballplayers
of the leagues
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would transform the game.
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James: Jackie Robinson
is recognized
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as the first professional
African American ballplayer
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to play in the Major Leagues.
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[upbeat soul music playing]
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James: Well,
we know that in 1884,
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Moses Fleetwood Walker
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played for a professional team,
the Toledo Blue Stockings.
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So there were African American
professional ballplayers
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in the 19th century.
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Andrea: African Americans
have been playing baseball
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for as long as White people
have been playing baseball.
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As the sport began
to take hold in popularity,
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post-Civil War,
Black people were there always.
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There were organized
Black teams,
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and they barnstormed.
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They played
against other Black teams.
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They played against White teams.
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Gerald: There were Blacks
who did play
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with Whites on teams.
But the team was majority White,
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it may have one
or two Black players on it
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and that seemed to be something
that was more acceptable
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to the White paying public.
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If they only have one
or two Black players
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as opposed to a team
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that might have
majority Black players
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and one or two White players.
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Andrea: But as we move forward
through history,
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we see that segregation
starts to tighten its hold.
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[melancholic music playing]
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Lawrence: In 1887,
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the character named
Adrian "Cap" Anson
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who's up in the Hall of Fame
right now,
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one of the fathers
of professional baseball,
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is scheduled to play in Newark
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against
the Newark Little Giants.
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Anson is a racist.
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There's no question
he's a racist
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because two Black players,
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one of them named George Stovey,
a pitcher,
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and the other
Moses Fleetwood Walker.
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Anson sends word ahead,
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"If those two so-and-so's..."
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and he uses a word stronger
than "so-and-so's,"
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"...are seen on
the field of play,
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my team is not gonna play."
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Andrea: Cap Anson, at the time,
is really popular,
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and the idea that Cap Anson
could potentially represent
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the beliefs and ideals
of White people
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throughout baseball,
throughout America in general,
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is something
that these executives
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really pay attention to.
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So when he says
that he's not willing
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to take the field
with Black players,
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they're like, "Okay."
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Reporter: The International
League directors
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held a secret meeting
at the Genesee House yesterday,
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and the question
of Colored players
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was freely discussed.
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Many of the best players
in the League are anxious
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to leave on account
of the Colored element,
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and the board finally directed
Secretary White to approve
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of no more contracts
with Colored men.
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James: African American
ballplayers were very good
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at this game,
and they were so good
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at the game
that the fear was that,
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you know,
they would consume the positions
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that White players
were vying for.
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[tense music playing]
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Andrea: In 1896, we have
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the Plessy
versus Ferguson decision
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that determines
that separate is equal.
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Now, it's not, and we know that.
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And so, it sets up, essentially,
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what we have going well
into the 20th century,
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which is this legal doctrine
that says,
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"It is okay
to keep everyone separate."
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What was happening there
is that a hand goes up
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with a stop sign on it,
and it's saying to Blacks
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outside of baseball,
but also inside of baseball,
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"You can't do this.
You can't do that.
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You can't go here.
You can't be this."
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Well, what do you do
when that comes at you?
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[uplifting music playing]
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Lawrence: You turn
back into yourself.
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You find resources
that are your own resources,
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and you establish things
for yourself
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that the larger world is saying
you can't do,
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et cetera, et cetera.
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Andrea: Really
all over the country
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Black people
were coming together
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and forming these
self-sustaining communities.
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It's okay if they never fully
bring us into society.
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We can do it ourselves.
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Junius: We enjoyed ourselves
because we were by ourselves.
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And nobody trying to tell us
what to do.
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So we learn how to do
with what we had.
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See, what do old ladies say?
"Got to use what you got"?
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So we had to use what we had.
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Lawrence: So Black businesses
come into being
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in that period of time,
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founded for themselves
out of their own resources,
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Black schools and baseball too.
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After the Plessy versus Ferguson decision,
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great Black professional
baseball teams come into being,
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and the players and the games
were ballyhooed by newspapers
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that were their own newspapers.
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And those newspapers knew
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the audience
that they had to play to.
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Maya: Everybody read
the Chicago Defender
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- and thePittsburgh Courier...
- [music fades]
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...the two leading
Black newspapers in the country.
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My grandmother,
in our little town,
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00:09:51,721 --> 00:09:55,029
wouldn't take
the weekly newspaper.
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She said it was written
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for Whites, by Whites,
and about Whites.
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Gerald: I mean, there were
several major Black newspapers,
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and Chicago Defender
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00:10:03,211 --> 00:10:05,561
was probably the major
Black newspaper.
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And lots of people read it.
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00:10:07,345 --> 00:10:08,651
Lots of Black people read it
in the South.
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00:10:09,173 --> 00:10:11,785
And the Chicago Defender
was a big promoter
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00:10:11,959 --> 00:10:14,004
of Black people
moving to the North.
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- [ominous music playing]
- [railway track rattling]
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Gerald:
It was a push-pull thing.
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You're being attracted
by the possibility
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00:10:20,358 --> 00:10:22,665
that life could be better
for you moving,
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00:10:22,839 --> 00:10:25,537
and you want to get away
from a situation that's bad.
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So something's pushing you out,
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00:10:27,235 --> 00:10:28,889
as well as something
is pulling you forward.
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Bob M: For Blacks
in the Jim Crow South,
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00:10:32,632 --> 00:10:33,763
life was a struggle.
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00:10:34,546 --> 00:10:36,157
Where I grew up in Alabama,
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00:10:36,592 --> 00:10:38,550
fear and violence
were commonplace.
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The Ku Klux Klan always did
its dirty work at night
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and would often drive
right past us on the way
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00:10:46,384 --> 00:10:48,822
to a lynching
or cross-burning ceremony.
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[indistinct chatter]
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00:10:50,737 --> 00:10:52,216
Bob M: Mama would shout,
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00:10:52,477 --> 00:10:54,262
"Y'all kids, hurry up,
and turn off the lights,
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00:10:54,436 --> 00:10:56,046
and lay down on the floor."
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With the house pitch black,
I could hear my heart pounding
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00:10:59,180 --> 00:11:00,616
with terror as I lay there.
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00:11:01,182 --> 00:11:02,705
If rifles were shooting
in the air...
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00:11:02,879 --> 00:11:03,793
- [gunshot]
- ...then we knew
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00:11:03,967 --> 00:11:05,403
some poor Black soul
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00:11:05,577 --> 00:11:07,362
had been lynched
just over the hill.
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My brother had written me
several times,
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00:11:13,890 --> 00:11:15,936
encouraging me to join him
in the North.
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I longed to go.
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00:11:18,503 --> 00:11:22,159
So on a chilly October day,
I hopped aboard a freight train.
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00:11:23,073 --> 00:11:24,858
As the train chugged forward,
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00:11:25,032 --> 00:11:27,077
I could feel the weight
of Southern oppression
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00:11:27,251 --> 00:11:28,775
lifted off my shoulders,
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00:11:29,123 --> 00:11:31,560
on our way
to a promised land of jobs,
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00:11:31,734 --> 00:11:33,257
- independence...
- [gentle music playing]
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00:11:33,431 --> 00:11:36,217
...and a better life
for a Colored man in America.
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00:11:37,087 --> 00:11:38,610
Donald: We had a dream.
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00:11:39,481 --> 00:11:41,178
People felt that
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00:11:41,483 --> 00:11:44,268
this is a land of opportunity.
Okay, so I will move North,
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00:11:44,616 --> 00:11:47,054
I will move West, et cetera.
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00:11:47,228 --> 00:11:52,189
All of these areas where we hope
to find the real America.
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00:11:52,363 --> 00:11:55,584
America that allows us
to be all we can be,
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00:11:55,976 --> 00:11:57,412
all we can become.
251
00:11:58,239 --> 00:12:00,937
Lawrence: And it's a flood tide,
that immigration.
252
00:12:01,329 --> 00:12:03,157
Over a million Blacks come up
253
00:12:03,331 --> 00:12:06,464
out of the South to settle in
urban centers in the North.
254
00:12:07,857 --> 00:12:10,817
Gerald: So it's no surprise
that Black baseball
255
00:12:10,991 --> 00:12:13,994
would develop as Black people
moved out of the South
256
00:12:14,211 --> 00:12:16,387
and into cities
where the segregation
257
00:12:16,561 --> 00:12:20,130
was a little less rigid
and they had transportation
258
00:12:20,304 --> 00:12:22,480
to get people to go
to a ballgame.
259
00:12:22,785 --> 00:12:24,918
These kinds of things
made a huge difference
260
00:12:25,092 --> 00:12:26,484
in making it possible
for Black people
261
00:12:26,658 --> 00:12:28,835
to have an array
of teams in cities.
262
00:12:32,099 --> 00:12:33,883
Rob: So now, you see
263
00:12:34,492 --> 00:12:37,887
a few entrepreneurs trying
to make a go of it in baseball.
264
00:12:38,453 --> 00:12:42,805
And people like Rube Foster,
in Chicago, is able to see
265
00:12:42,979 --> 00:12:44,981
that a Black club can be
266
00:12:45,199 --> 00:12:47,201
a successful
business enterprise.
267
00:12:47,462 --> 00:12:50,160
[upbeat music playing]
268
00:12:50,421 --> 00:12:54,774
Bob K: Andrew Rube Foster owned
the Chicago American Giants,
269
00:12:54,948 --> 00:12:57,733
and he managed
the Chicago American Giants.
270
00:12:58,212 --> 00:13:01,128
And Rube Foster,
in my own estimation,
271
00:13:01,302 --> 00:13:05,915
is the greatest baseball mind
this sport has ever seen.
272
00:13:06,350 --> 00:13:09,397
Rube Foster was light-years
ahead of his time.
273
00:13:10,398 --> 00:13:12,095
Larry: He was better known
as a pitcher,
274
00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:15,969
he pitched seven no-hitters
in his brilliant career.
275
00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:18,667
Phil: Quite frankly,
by 1905, he might have been
276
00:13:18,841 --> 00:13:20,930
the greatest pitcher
in the world.
277
00:13:21,452 --> 00:13:23,411
Bob K: He is credited
with having invented
278
00:13:23,585 --> 00:13:26,544
what we now know
to be the screwball.
279
00:13:26,980 --> 00:13:29,025
Back then, it was called
a "fade away,"
280
00:13:29,547 --> 00:13:32,072
and ol' Rube perfected
this pitch.
281
00:13:32,812 --> 00:13:35,162
So much so that the great
282
00:13:35,336 --> 00:13:37,904
Major League manager,
John McGraw,
283
00:13:38,469 --> 00:13:43,648
would sneak Rube into his camp
so that Rube Foster could teach
284
00:13:43,866 --> 00:13:47,043
Christy Mathewson how to throw
the screwball.
285
00:13:47,565 --> 00:13:49,741
Christy Mathewson threw
the pitch all the way
286
00:13:49,916 --> 00:13:52,005
into the National Baseball
Hall of Fame,
287
00:13:52,179 --> 00:13:54,268
that he learned
from Rube Foster.
288
00:13:55,791 --> 00:14:01,057
Lawrence: Rube's greatest asset
was his genius as a manager
289
00:14:01,231 --> 00:14:02,885
and as an executive.
290
00:14:03,059 --> 00:14:05,888
He's the founder
of the Chicago American Giants,
291
00:14:06,106 --> 00:14:10,501
1910 or thereabouts
and through the next decade,
292
00:14:10,675 --> 00:14:13,722
Rube Foster makes that team
into the greatest Black team
293
00:14:13,896 --> 00:14:16,116
up to that point in time
that there was.
294
00:14:16,812 --> 00:14:19,423
Junius: Mr. Foster
was a pretty smart dude, now.
295
00:14:19,815 --> 00:14:22,209
You would thought he went
to school somewhere,
296
00:14:22,687 --> 00:14:24,211
but he didn't.
297
00:14:24,559 --> 00:14:27,692
He would go down South
to the Negro colleges in Texas,
298
00:14:27,867 --> 00:14:30,521
and he would get
a lot of the ballplayers
299
00:14:30,957 --> 00:14:32,045
out of the schools.
300
00:14:33,046 --> 00:14:36,353
If he was a fast man,
a good runner, he'd say,
301
00:14:36,527 --> 00:14:39,443
"Would you put on
some football pads?
302
00:14:39,835 --> 00:14:41,184
I want you to learn
303
00:14:41,358 --> 00:14:43,056
- how to steal bases."
- [Audience cheering]
304
00:14:43,230 --> 00:14:44,753
Junius: And Mr. Foster taught
them all the tricks.
305
00:14:46,015 --> 00:14:49,801
He exploited the rules
to his maximum benefit.
306
00:14:50,106 --> 00:14:51,803
We're looking
at a bunt-and-run...
307
00:14:51,978 --> 00:14:53,980
- [Audience cheering]
- ...drag bunting...
308
00:14:56,025 --> 00:14:57,113
double steals...
309
00:14:59,028 --> 00:15:01,465
a suicide squeeze play
at home plate.
310
00:15:01,726 --> 00:15:03,206
He made the game more up tempo.
311
00:15:03,772 --> 00:15:06,383
You see, he was adamant
about the style of play
312
00:15:06,949 --> 00:15:09,909
that would become signature
Negro Leagues Baseball.
313
00:15:10,126 --> 00:15:13,390
Fast, aggressive, daring.
314
00:15:13,564 --> 00:15:14,957
They bunt their way up.
315
00:15:15,175 --> 00:15:17,133
They steal second,
they steal third.
316
00:15:17,307 --> 00:15:19,005
And, man,
if you weren't too smart,
317
00:15:19,179 --> 00:15:20,528
they were stealing home.
318
00:15:22,617 --> 00:15:23,835
[music fades]
319
00:15:24,010 --> 00:15:27,317
[dramatic music playing]
320
00:15:30,712 --> 00:15:32,235
Gerald: During World War I,
321
00:15:32,409 --> 00:15:34,977
W.E.B. Du Bois wrote
a very famous editorial
322
00:15:35,151 --> 00:15:37,110
in the crisis
called "Close Ranks."
323
00:15:37,327 --> 00:15:40,461
He told Black people,
"We need to set aside
324
00:15:40,722 --> 00:15:45,031
our grievances and go join
with the country to go fight
325
00:15:45,205 --> 00:15:46,467
to save democracy."
326
00:15:46,641 --> 00:15:47,816
[explosions]
327
00:15:48,773 --> 00:15:50,297
[melancholic music playing]
328
00:15:50,601 --> 00:15:51,820
News reporter: Fighting
with the eighth Illinois
329
00:15:52,038 --> 00:15:53,430
on the Swanson Front...
330
00:15:53,604 --> 00:15:54,954
[gunshots]
331
00:15:55,302 --> 00:15:57,652
...372nd on the plains
of Mons-En-Chaussée.
332
00:15:59,567 --> 00:16:01,047
But he thought that doing this,
333
00:16:01,221 --> 00:16:03,049
Black people would show
their loyalty,
334
00:16:03,223 --> 00:16:05,399
and Black people would show
they were American citizens,
335
00:16:05,573 --> 00:16:07,357
and Black people would show
that they were putting
336
00:16:07,531 --> 00:16:08,968
being American
337
00:16:09,359 --> 00:16:11,883
above being Black,
and that this would get them
338
00:16:12,058 --> 00:16:14,147
some degree of acceptance.
This would get them some degree
339
00:16:14,321 --> 00:16:16,714
of White people listening
to their grievances
340
00:16:16,888 --> 00:16:18,107
and responding
to their grievances.
341
00:16:18,281 --> 00:16:19,282
He turned out
to be totally wrong.
342
00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:22,416
Lawrence: What happens is that
they come back
343
00:16:22,982 --> 00:16:26,376
into a racial world
that is terribly negative.
344
00:16:26,594 --> 00:16:30,293
In a couple of instances,
the Chicago Defender prints
345
00:16:30,467 --> 00:16:35,037
a Black soldier in his uniform
being hanged, being lynched.
346
00:16:35,211 --> 00:16:37,692
[foreboding music playing]
347
00:16:37,866 --> 00:16:41,261
Gerald: The Red Summer of 1919
was one of the worst summers
348
00:16:41,435 --> 00:16:44,742
of White terroristic violence
in history of this country.
349
00:16:44,916 --> 00:16:49,399
From the late winter
up until the following fall,
350
00:16:49,573 --> 00:16:52,707
there was violence all over,
and it was, almost all of it
351
00:16:52,881 --> 00:16:55,014
was White violence
against Blacks.
352
00:17:11,465 --> 00:17:13,554
Gerald: The most noted
was Chicago.
353
00:17:13,858 --> 00:17:16,992
There was also terrible blow up
in Washington, DC,
354
00:17:17,166 --> 00:17:19,690
Wilmington, Delaware,
Elaine, Arkansas.
355
00:17:19,864 --> 00:17:21,257
It happened all over.
356
00:17:22,128 --> 00:17:27,350
And part of it was White people
wanting to tell Black people
357
00:17:27,568 --> 00:17:31,963
the war doesn't change anything,
and we're still in charge.
358
00:17:34,444 --> 00:17:36,968
But it convinced
a lot of Black people,
359
00:17:37,317 --> 00:17:41,408
all the more,
that we need to close ranks
360
00:17:41,582 --> 00:17:44,498
in another kind of way
to build our own institutions.
361
00:17:44,672 --> 00:17:45,673
[uplifting music playing]
362
00:17:54,682 --> 00:17:55,683
Gerald: You had the rise
363
00:17:55,857 --> 00:17:57,293
of someone like Marcus Garvey.
364
00:17:57,467 --> 00:17:59,904
You had people
who were telling Black people,
365
00:18:00,079 --> 00:18:02,385
in essence,
that they had a destiny.
366
00:18:02,646 --> 00:18:04,692
Larry: Soon after,
we got Alain Locke writing
367
00:18:04,866 --> 00:18:06,824
his great book called,
The New Negro.
368
00:18:07,042 --> 00:18:09,044
The New Negro had a new voice.
369
00:18:09,349 --> 00:18:11,133
The New Negro was not going
370
00:18:11,307 --> 00:18:15,268
to sit back and accept these
segregated sanctions anymore.
371
00:18:15,485 --> 00:18:17,270
And so we got a new mindset.
372
00:18:17,574 --> 00:18:20,838
This is the perfect time
in America to start
373
00:18:21,100 --> 00:18:23,798
an organized league in 1920.
374
00:18:25,321 --> 00:18:27,541
Andrea: Rube Foster
certainly has to be aware
375
00:18:27,715 --> 00:18:30,021
of all these people
trying to figure out
376
00:18:30,196 --> 00:18:32,633
how to move Black people forward
377
00:18:32,807 --> 00:18:35,853
in a society that has constantly
ostracized them,
378
00:18:36,027 --> 00:18:37,594
that has kept them
on the margins
379
00:18:37,768 --> 00:18:39,640
and doesn't appear
to be changing.
380
00:18:40,162 --> 00:18:44,949
Shakeia: So Rube Foster wrote
a series of op-eds called,
381
00:18:45,124 --> 00:18:48,388
"The Pitfalls of Baseball"
for the Chicago Defender,
382
00:18:48,562 --> 00:18:50,912
and he talked
about the importance
383
00:18:51,086 --> 00:18:54,133
of organizing Black baseball.
384
00:18:54,785 --> 00:18:56,439
How it would benefit,
385
00:18:56,613 --> 00:18:59,964
not just the players,
but the owners of each team,
386
00:19:00,139 --> 00:19:02,967
for them to form
this connected league
387
00:19:03,229 --> 00:19:06,014
and to have scheduled games
and play against each other
388
00:19:06,188 --> 00:19:08,495
and build a fan base.
389
00:19:09,539 --> 00:19:11,889
Rube: "I have fought against
delivering Colored baseball
390
00:19:12,063 --> 00:19:13,543
into the control of Whites,
391
00:19:14,065 --> 00:19:16,590
thinking that with a show
of patronage from the fans
392
00:19:16,851 --> 00:19:18,287
we would get together."
393
00:19:20,463 --> 00:19:24,554
Shakeia: So he gets paperwork
done in the state of Illinois
394
00:19:24,728 --> 00:19:27,078
to incorporate
this non-existent league
395
00:19:27,253 --> 00:19:29,646
that no one has even agreed
to do yet.
396
00:19:30,125 --> 00:19:33,128
And he gets these
other team owners to agree,
397
00:19:33,302 --> 00:19:36,175
and they meet
in Kansas City at the Y.
398
00:19:37,872 --> 00:19:39,917
Bob K: You know,
I wish I could have been
399
00:19:40,091 --> 00:19:42,920
a fly on the wall in that room
because Rube Foster had to be
400
00:19:43,094 --> 00:19:44,357
a master salesman.
401
00:19:44,531 --> 00:19:46,185
He had to be
because he had pulled
402
00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:48,099
these independent
Black baseball team owners.
403
00:19:48,274 --> 00:19:49,884
So they were already
making money.
404
00:19:50,058 --> 00:19:53,235
And now he had to convince them
that they could be
405
00:19:53,409 --> 00:19:57,065
even more successful
if we organize
406
00:19:57,370 --> 00:19:59,937
and we now share
a piece of the pie
407
00:20:00,199 --> 00:20:02,201
by creating our own league.
408
00:20:02,897 --> 00:20:04,986
And so, you know Rube
was a great salesman
409
00:20:05,247 --> 00:20:07,249
because he was able to do that.
410
00:20:08,032 --> 00:20:11,775
And on February 13th, 1920,
they walked out having signed
411
00:20:11,949 --> 00:20:14,256
the documents to start
the Negro National League.
412
00:20:14,430 --> 00:20:16,432
[uplifting music playing]
413
00:20:16,606 --> 00:20:18,478
Larry: His motto for the League
414
00:20:18,826 --> 00:20:21,002
he stole from abolitionist
Frederick Douglass.
415
00:20:21,872 --> 00:20:23,091
"We are the ship..."
416
00:20:23,265 --> 00:20:24,788
- "...and all else..."
- "...the sea."
417
00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:28,618
Bob K:
Yeah, he was serving notice
418
00:20:28,792 --> 00:20:30,185
to Major League Baseball
419
00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:32,405
that a new player had arrived
on the scene
420
00:20:32,579 --> 00:20:33,797
to be reckoned with.
421
00:20:35,364 --> 00:20:36,844
[music fades]
422
00:20:37,279 --> 00:20:39,542
- [Audience cheering]
- [indistinct chatter]
423
00:20:39,716 --> 00:20:41,762
[upbeat jazz music playing]
424
00:20:41,936 --> 00:20:44,547
[indistinct chatter continues]
425
00:20:44,721 --> 00:20:46,288
Bob M: When it came
to promoting a game,
426
00:20:46,549 --> 00:20:49,160
no one did it better
than the Negro Leagues.
427
00:20:49,726 --> 00:20:51,989
Window placards,
newspaper advertisements,
428
00:20:52,338 --> 00:20:53,817
and word-of-mouth
were in the works,
429
00:20:53,991 --> 00:20:56,080
well in advance for most games.
430
00:20:57,299 --> 00:20:59,910
Sometimes I spent the ten cents
to buy a ticket.
431
00:21:00,650 --> 00:21:02,739
Other times,
I'd peer through the knotholes
432
00:21:02,913 --> 00:21:05,176
in the wooden fence
outside the stadium.
433
00:21:08,179 --> 00:21:10,965
Pitchers zipped balls
with such speed across the plate
434
00:21:11,226 --> 00:21:12,880
that it was hard
to follow the pitch.
435
00:21:13,968 --> 00:21:15,491
Batters stretched singles
436
00:21:15,665 --> 00:21:16,971
into doubles,
and doubles into triples,
437
00:21:17,188 --> 00:21:18,451
with lightning speed.
438
00:21:19,539 --> 00:21:21,584
It was obvious the fans
didn't want the celebration
439
00:21:21,758 --> 00:21:23,847
to end, and neither did I.
440
00:21:25,501 --> 00:21:28,591
Negro Leagues baseball
was so popular
441
00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:35,337
that Black churches would move
their service time up an hour
442
00:21:36,164 --> 00:21:37,861
so fans could go to the game.
443
00:21:38,253 --> 00:21:41,648
If you know anything
about the Black church,
444
00:21:42,039 --> 00:21:43,606
you don't mess
with service time.
445
00:21:43,824 --> 00:21:45,652
But when the great Kansas City
Monarchs are playing,
446
00:21:45,826 --> 00:21:47,480
any of those great Black teams,
447
00:21:47,828 --> 00:21:50,439
service time would move up
to ten o'clock,
448
00:21:50,657 --> 00:21:53,529
and everybody filed out
going to that
449
00:21:53,703 --> 00:21:56,140
Sunday doubleheader
looking good.
450
00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:58,621
Richard: When they went
to baseball games,
451
00:21:58,795 --> 00:22:01,363
men would dress very sharply.
452
00:22:01,755 --> 00:22:05,628
Ladies wore dresses
and big hats, beautiful hats,
453
00:22:06,194 --> 00:22:08,370
with flowers
and whatnot on them.
454
00:22:08,849 --> 00:22:13,549
You would buy the fanciest
clothing in the world.
455
00:22:14,811 --> 00:22:16,378
Gerald: The age
of the 20th century,
456
00:22:16,552 --> 00:22:18,946
the Harlem Renaissance,
New Negro Renaissance,
457
00:22:19,207 --> 00:22:21,688
was the age of the rise
of the Black professional.
458
00:22:21,862 --> 00:22:24,299
You know, you got
a new kind of presentation
459
00:22:24,473 --> 00:22:25,953
of the Black
professional musician.
460
00:22:26,127 --> 00:22:27,781
You got a new kind
of presentation
461
00:22:28,042 --> 00:22:29,696
of the Black
professional athlete
462
00:22:29,870 --> 00:22:31,045
with Negro League Baseball.
463
00:22:31,654 --> 00:22:34,875
These were professional men,
sometimes women,
464
00:22:35,223 --> 00:22:38,052
who were doing something
at a very, very high level
465
00:22:38,531 --> 00:22:40,054
and had a tremendous virtuosity.
466
00:22:40,271 --> 00:22:42,230
Any time you saw
Black people doing something
467
00:22:42,404 --> 00:22:45,364
that was virtuosic,
you always... You felt like,
468
00:22:45,538 --> 00:22:47,191
"Okay, I can go on
469
00:22:47,366 --> 00:22:48,845
and deal
with the rest of my week...
470
00:22:49,019 --> 00:22:50,586
[chuckles] ...'cause I saw
some Black people doing
471
00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:52,240
something
that's really excellent."
472
00:22:52,414 --> 00:22:53,720
[music fades]
473
00:22:54,155 --> 00:22:57,376
- [jovial music playing]
- [Audience cheering]
474
00:22:58,377 --> 00:23:00,770
Announcer: That's a home run
in the right field
475
00:23:00,944 --> 00:23:03,860
into the stands!
First home run of the series!
476
00:23:06,036 --> 00:23:07,603
Rob: Meanwhile,
477
00:23:08,038 --> 00:23:10,650
White baseball will soon become
a station-to-station game.
478
00:23:11,390 --> 00:23:15,916
You don't run. You don't steal.
You don't bunt. No hit and run.
479
00:23:16,438 --> 00:23:18,658
You try to hit it out
of the park.
480
00:23:19,398 --> 00:23:23,271
And I think that's a reflection
of Babe Ruth's influence.
481
00:23:23,619 --> 00:23:25,491
But it's, in many ways,
the antithesis
482
00:23:25,708 --> 00:23:27,231
- of the Black game.
- [Audience cheering]
483
00:23:28,102 --> 00:23:30,104
Bob K: If a guy went
into the hole,
484
00:23:30,539 --> 00:23:33,412
flipped it behind his back,
start the double play...
485
00:23:35,109 --> 00:23:37,241
well, we see that now
every night of the week
486
00:23:37,416 --> 00:23:40,549
as a top-ten highlight
on some network.
487
00:23:42,421 --> 00:23:44,510
Back then, the Major Leaguers
would say
488
00:23:44,684 --> 00:23:46,599
that they were "showboating."
489
00:23:47,556 --> 00:23:49,732
But what the Major Leaguers
were trying to say then
490
00:23:49,906 --> 00:23:51,255
that the Negro Leagues
didn't play the game
491
00:23:51,430 --> 00:23:52,648
the right way.
492
00:23:53,301 --> 00:23:56,826
But really that was a code word
to say they didn't play the game
493
00:23:57,044 --> 00:23:58,306
the White way.
494
00:24:00,700 --> 00:24:01,962
[music fades]
495
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,836
Phil: But still,
it was a fabulous time
496
00:24:07,228 --> 00:24:08,838
for Black men in baseball
497
00:24:09,012 --> 00:24:11,450
because coming out
of World War I,
498
00:24:11,624 --> 00:24:14,365
there were lots of people
who were looking
499
00:24:14,844 --> 00:24:16,672
for that equality,
but now they have
500
00:24:16,846 --> 00:24:18,326
their own league.
How about that?
501
00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:23,070
So once Rube Foster organizes
the Negro National League,
502
00:24:23,462 --> 00:24:26,595
other people start to see that,
"Hey, there's a possibility."
503
00:24:27,248 --> 00:24:29,032
Layton: 1923 rolls around.
504
00:24:29,206 --> 00:24:31,687
There's a guy in Philadelphia
by the name of Ed Bolden,
505
00:24:32,209 --> 00:24:34,168
and he'd worked
for the post office for years.
506
00:24:34,342 --> 00:24:36,823
He was the owner
of the Hilldale team.
507
00:24:37,127 --> 00:24:38,868
He sees the writing on the wall,
508
00:24:39,042 --> 00:24:43,394
that Rube Foster's influence
is headed towards the East.
509
00:24:43,786 --> 00:24:45,571
So Ed Bolden gets
510
00:24:45,745 --> 00:24:48,225
all of the Eastern teams together,
511
00:24:48,399 --> 00:24:49,879
and they have a big meeting,
and they form
512
00:24:50,053 --> 00:24:52,534
the Eastern Colored League
in 1923.
513
00:24:53,056 --> 00:24:54,623
[upbeat music playing]
514
00:24:55,015 --> 00:24:57,060
Andrea: With the creation
of the Eastern Colored League
515
00:24:57,234 --> 00:24:59,585
on the East Coast,
the Negro National League,
516
00:24:59,759 --> 00:25:01,543
that was primarily based
in the Midwest,
517
00:25:01,848 --> 00:25:03,458
has a competitive league
518
00:25:03,632 --> 00:25:05,721
that now they can stage
a World Series against.
519
00:25:07,114 --> 00:25:10,378
So in 1924,
the Kansas City Monarchs
520
00:25:10,552 --> 00:25:13,424
of the Negro National League
played the Hilldale Daisies
521
00:25:13,599 --> 00:25:15,122
of the Eastern Colored League
522
00:25:15,296 --> 00:25:17,037
in the very first
Colored World Series.
523
00:25:17,951 --> 00:25:21,432
Larry: The World Series in 1924
was the best of nine,
524
00:25:21,998 --> 00:25:23,609
not seven like it is today.
525
00:25:24,740 --> 00:25:26,699
It turned out to be
a great series.
526
00:25:27,047 --> 00:25:28,744
Series is tied up
four games each.
527
00:25:28,918 --> 00:25:30,050
We're in Chicago now,
528
00:25:30,224 --> 00:25:31,486
the weather is
in the mid-fifties.
529
00:25:31,965 --> 00:25:34,576
José Méndez has a cold,
and Rube Foster says,
530
00:25:34,750 --> 00:25:36,099
"You have to pitch this game."
531
00:25:36,447 --> 00:25:38,493
Hilldale comes out
with Script Lee.
532
00:25:38,667 --> 00:25:40,364
Script Lee
is a submarine pitcher.
533
00:25:41,104 --> 00:25:42,671
Reporter: The Hilldale pitcher
had everything
534
00:25:42,932 --> 00:25:45,108
a pitcher could ask for
in the first seven innings.
535
00:25:46,414 --> 00:25:49,025
During that time,
only one man reached first.
536
00:25:49,591 --> 00:25:50,897
Then came the eighth.
537
00:25:51,550 --> 00:25:54,030
But he runs out of gas
and he starts to pitch overhand.
538
00:25:54,204 --> 00:25:55,989
Reporter: The bases were full.
539
00:25:56,206 --> 00:25:58,731
Allen looked over the ball,
then singled to right scoring.
540
00:25:58,905 --> 00:26:00,646
- Duncan slid into home plate...
- [Audience cheering]
541
00:26:00,820 --> 00:26:03,083
...half a second
ahead of Riggs' throw to Santop.
542
00:26:03,344 --> 00:26:04,954
Larry: Monarchs score five runs
543
00:26:05,302 --> 00:26:09,263
and José Méndez, on three hits,
shuts out the Hilldale Club,
544
00:26:09,872 --> 00:26:12,483
and the Monarchs take
the most dramatic World Series
545
00:26:12,658 --> 00:26:13,789
ever played.
546
00:26:18,925 --> 00:26:21,667
It really kind of
established Black baseball.
547
00:26:21,841 --> 00:26:24,539
It was saying to White baseball,
"Look, we're the same.
548
00:26:24,713 --> 00:26:27,673
We have the same end of the year
championship series,
549
00:26:27,847 --> 00:26:29,283
the same way you do.
550
00:26:29,457 --> 00:26:30,937
We've got
our two separate leagues,
551
00:26:31,111 --> 00:26:32,634
like the National
and American League,
552
00:26:32,808 --> 00:26:35,115
the same way you do."
And that was important.
553
00:26:35,289 --> 00:26:39,423
As much as Rube Foster
and other executives wanted to,
554
00:26:39,598 --> 00:26:41,904
you know, get into baseball,
and have successful teams,
555
00:26:42,078 --> 00:26:43,645
so they could make
their own money
556
00:26:43,819 --> 00:26:45,734
and so that they could do this
incredible thing for
557
00:26:45,908 --> 00:26:47,301
and within the Black community.
558
00:26:47,475 --> 00:26:50,086
There was also
this constant effort
559
00:26:50,434 --> 00:26:53,350
to show White baseball
that Black baseball
560
00:26:53,524 --> 00:26:55,788
was good enough,
with the hopes that, ultimately,
561
00:26:56,005 --> 00:26:58,617
Black baseball could become one
with White baseball,
562
00:26:58,791 --> 00:26:59,792
that they could join forces.
563
00:26:59,966 --> 00:27:00,967
[Audience cheering]
564
00:27:01,141 --> 00:27:02,838
Bob K: And Rube's initial vision
565
00:27:03,099 --> 00:27:06,712
was that he would create
a league that was so dynamic,
566
00:27:07,103 --> 00:27:10,933
that he would force Major League
Baseball's hand to expand.
567
00:27:11,586 --> 00:27:15,155
So if we were looking at it
in a more modern-day context,
568
00:27:16,025 --> 00:27:19,899
think football with the NFL
and the AFL merger,
569
00:27:20,116 --> 00:27:22,075
or for those
who are basketball fans,
570
00:27:22,249 --> 00:27:24,817
the merger of the NBA
and the ABA.
571
00:27:25,208 --> 00:27:28,647
Now, this was Rube Foster
in the 1920s.
572
00:27:28,864 --> 00:27:32,651
That's how forward-thinking
and how much a visionary
573
00:27:32,825 --> 00:27:34,391
this man was.
574
00:27:34,783 --> 00:27:36,480
[melancholic music playing]
575
00:27:38,700 --> 00:27:41,747
Larry: Well, Rube Foster
was in Indianapolis for a game
576
00:27:41,921 --> 00:27:44,401
in May of 1925,
577
00:27:45,185 --> 00:27:46,926
and unfortunately,
he was subjected
578
00:27:47,100 --> 00:27:51,278
to carbon monoxide poisoning
from a leaky gas heater.
579
00:27:51,974 --> 00:27:54,020
Oh, he was rescued
by his teammates
580
00:27:54,194 --> 00:27:57,240
who came to his room
to deliver a telegram.
581
00:27:57,937 --> 00:28:01,810
Some newspaper accounts said
he was in serious condition.
582
00:28:02,506 --> 00:28:03,899
He was rushed to the hospital.
583
00:28:04,204 --> 00:28:06,641
I don't think
he ever fully recovered.
584
00:28:06,815 --> 00:28:09,339
By September
of the following year, in 1926,
585
00:28:09,513 --> 00:28:11,646
he was admitted to a sanitarium.
586
00:28:36,105 --> 00:28:40,066
Larry: Rube Foster died
on December the 9th, 1930.
587
00:28:42,111 --> 00:28:44,592
Bob K: And Rube Foster,
when he dies,
588
00:28:45,332 --> 00:28:48,509
the fans of Chicago lined
the streets for three days
589
00:28:49,031 --> 00:28:52,121
to pay their respect
to their beloved Rube Foster.
590
00:28:53,601 --> 00:28:55,429
Larry: Thousands of people
came from afar
591
00:28:55,603 --> 00:28:57,561
to celebrate this great legend.
592
00:28:58,606 --> 00:29:00,651
Rube Foster's death
was a great loss
593
00:29:00,956 --> 00:29:02,741
to baseball and Black America.
594
00:29:04,307 --> 00:29:06,527
Leslie:
And the Negro National League
595
00:29:06,701 --> 00:29:08,442
began to struggle.
596
00:29:08,921 --> 00:29:11,750
And then, of course,
not only do they lose Foster,
597
00:29:11,924 --> 00:29:13,534
the Great Depression hits.
598
00:29:13,752 --> 00:29:16,232
And so the combination, I think,
of the two of those things
599
00:29:16,406 --> 00:29:17,843
really brings about the demise
600
00:29:18,017 --> 00:29:19,583
of that first
Negro National League.
601
00:29:19,801 --> 00:29:21,890
[bell ringing]
602
00:29:22,064 --> 00:29:24,588
[indistinct chatter]
603
00:29:24,850 --> 00:29:27,766
[melancholic jazz music playing]
604
00:29:30,246 --> 00:29:32,031
Rob: As bad
as the Great Depression was
605
00:29:32,205 --> 00:29:35,121
for most White Americans,
it was a heck of a lot worse
606
00:29:35,338 --> 00:29:36,818
for Black Americans.
607
00:29:38,037 --> 00:29:40,604
Lawrence: When it comes
to Blacks, it's the old phrase,
608
00:29:40,779 --> 00:29:43,172
"Last hired, first fired."
609
00:29:43,346 --> 00:29:44,739
That's what faced Blacks.
610
00:29:45,609 --> 00:29:48,221
Rob: So the Black community,
which had enjoyed
611
00:29:48,395 --> 00:29:52,486
a certain measure
of economic success in the '20s,
612
00:29:52,660 --> 00:29:55,402
is once again facing hard times.
613
00:29:57,752 --> 00:30:00,537
Harold: And that was a bad time
for this country for,
614
00:30:00,711 --> 00:30:02,148
not only the Blacks,
615
00:30:02,583 --> 00:30:05,020
but for the majority
of poor people. It was bad.
616
00:30:05,325 --> 00:30:07,675
I know. They could come
to a baseball game,
617
00:30:07,849 --> 00:30:09,242
forget about all their woes.
618
00:30:09,808 --> 00:30:12,201
And I was just as proud
of making them happy.
619
00:30:12,375 --> 00:30:13,550
And when I'd come in,
620
00:30:13,724 --> 00:30:15,204
you'd think
I had a million dollars.
621
00:30:15,683 --> 00:30:17,859
That's how much baseball
meant to them.
622
00:30:18,686 --> 00:30:22,342
[upbeat music playing]
623
00:30:22,516 --> 00:30:24,213
Bob M: All I wanted to do
was talk baseball.
624
00:30:24,387 --> 00:30:25,780
[Audience cheering]
625
00:30:26,302 --> 00:30:27,869
Bob M: The older folks
who hung out at the barbershops
626
00:30:28,043 --> 00:30:29,610
were more than happy to share
their wisdom with me.
627
00:30:30,350 --> 00:30:33,222
Stories of seeing greats
like Oscar Charleston,
628
00:30:33,570 --> 00:30:35,877
"Cool Papa" Bell,
and Josh Gibson.
629
00:30:36,486 --> 00:30:38,662
And legendary teams
like the Pittsburgh Crawfords
630
00:30:38,837 --> 00:30:42,014
and Homestead Grays rolled out
of the mouths of old men
631
00:30:42,188 --> 00:30:44,712
as if they knew
each player personally.
632
00:30:46,714 --> 00:30:49,021
Rob: Back in the '30s,
Pittsburgh becomes
633
00:30:49,195 --> 00:30:51,458
the crossroads
of Black baseball in America.
634
00:30:52,241 --> 00:30:55,679
It wasn't the largest
Black community by far,
635
00:30:56,332 --> 00:30:58,639
but it was situated geographically
636
00:30:59,161 --> 00:31:00,989
on the East-West rail lines,
637
00:31:01,511 --> 00:31:03,774
which meant
that any Black intellectual,
638
00:31:03,992 --> 00:31:08,475
politician, figure of note,
or ballclub that's traveling
639
00:31:08,649 --> 00:31:10,956
from New York to Chicago,
or anywhere else,
640
00:31:11,130 --> 00:31:13,045
is going to stop
and play in Pittsburgh.
641
00:31:13,697 --> 00:31:18,354
Pittsburgh becomes the home to,
along with the Chicago Defender,
642
00:31:18,572 --> 00:31:21,662
the most influential
Black newspaper in the country,
643
00:31:21,923 --> 00:31:23,533
the Pittsburgh Courier.
644
00:31:23,707 --> 00:31:25,971
Some of the greatest
jazz musicians of the era
645
00:31:26,536 --> 00:31:28,930
made their fortunes
in Pittsburgh.
646
00:31:29,148 --> 00:31:30,801
And in the world of sports,
647
00:31:30,976 --> 00:31:33,195
you have clearly
the two greatest
648
00:31:33,369 --> 00:31:35,806
Negro League dynasties
of the 1930s...
649
00:31:37,156 --> 00:31:39,549
the Homestead Grays
and the Pittsburgh Crawfords.
650
00:31:39,767 --> 00:31:42,074
And those teams had two owners,
651
00:31:42,291 --> 00:31:44,076
who were both
intensely competitive,
652
00:31:44,424 --> 00:31:48,123
Gus Greenlee
and Cumberland Posey Jr.
653
00:31:48,645 --> 00:31:50,430
Rob: They were men
of different temperaments.
654
00:31:50,821 --> 00:31:52,301
They had different styles.
655
00:31:52,475 --> 00:31:55,565
I think they knew
that their rivalry was something
656
00:31:55,739 --> 00:31:57,089
that was good for both of them
657
00:31:57,263 --> 00:31:59,308
and good for Black baseball
as a whole.
658
00:32:03,530 --> 00:32:05,358
[music fades]
659
00:32:05,619 --> 00:32:07,751
Mal: Cum Posey, who lived
a block and a half from me,
660
00:32:08,100 --> 00:32:10,580
was a great basketball player
at Penn State.
661
00:32:11,103 --> 00:32:12,887
His father was a fairly
well-to-do man,
662
00:32:13,061 --> 00:32:14,628
and so he had the time.
663
00:32:14,802 --> 00:32:18,197
Most Black kids in those days
had worked after school
664
00:32:18,371 --> 00:32:19,938
and on Saturdays and Sundays...
665
00:32:20,982 --> 00:32:22,766
to supplement
your family's income.
666
00:32:22,941 --> 00:32:26,945
But Cum had the time to deal
with a hobby.
667
00:32:27,119 --> 00:32:30,252
And he took some
of these Black baseball players
668
00:32:30,426 --> 00:32:32,167
and made up a team.
669
00:32:32,341 --> 00:32:33,734
[country music playing]
670
00:32:33,908 --> 00:32:36,302
Mal: It was just
a great experience
671
00:32:36,519 --> 00:32:37,868
to have been in Homestead
672
00:32:38,043 --> 00:32:41,089
at that time and tied in
with that great ballclub
673
00:32:41,263 --> 00:32:42,656
called the Homestead Grays.
674
00:32:45,311 --> 00:32:48,792
Bob K: In 1931, Cumberland Posey
introduces the world
675
00:32:48,967 --> 00:32:50,620
to a young phenom
676
00:32:50,881 --> 00:32:52,883
by the name of Joshua Gibson.
677
00:32:53,145 --> 00:32:57,845
♪ Before ol' Henry Aaron
Before ol' Willie Mays ♪
678
00:32:58,019 --> 00:33:00,195
♪ A brown-skin man
Hit homers ♪
679
00:33:00,369 --> 00:33:02,850
♪ Over every wall
They raised... ♪
680
00:33:03,068 --> 00:33:04,983
Bill: He was one
of the few people...
681
00:33:06,114 --> 00:33:07,333
that was as good
682
00:33:08,116 --> 00:33:10,989
the first year as he was
the last year he played.
683
00:33:11,163 --> 00:33:13,034
He was actually a natural.
684
00:33:13,208 --> 00:33:16,820
♪ Ooh, Josh Gibson... ♪
685
00:33:19,998 --> 00:33:22,609
Rob: Joshua Gibson came North
in the Great Migration
686
00:33:22,783 --> 00:33:24,132
after World War I.
687
00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:26,308
His father, Mark,
left sharecropping
688
00:33:26,482 --> 00:33:28,571
to become a steelworker
in Pittsburgh.
689
00:33:29,181 --> 00:33:31,313
Josh left school
after the ninth grade
690
00:33:31,487 --> 00:33:33,011
and then was discovered
691
00:33:33,185 --> 00:33:37,058
on the sandlots when Gibson
was about 16 years old.
692
00:33:37,363 --> 00:33:40,627
Harold: I saw a young man
playing, very muscular,
693
00:33:40,801 --> 00:33:42,324
very young.
694
00:33:42,629 --> 00:33:43,891
Near the end of the game,
he hit a home run
695
00:33:44,065 --> 00:33:45,849
and he hit the ball
out of existence,
696
00:33:46,024 --> 00:33:47,677
it looked like.
They didn't even go after it.
697
00:33:47,851 --> 00:33:49,244
It went up over a mountain.
698
00:33:49,636 --> 00:33:52,073
And from that day on, they just
loved Josh, all of 'em.
699
00:33:52,943 --> 00:33:55,729
Rob: Josh was not pretentious.
He was amiable,
700
00:33:55,903 --> 00:33:58,819
and he treated everybody
the same, and he could play.
701
00:33:59,602 --> 00:34:02,257
And you knew if you had Josh
in the lineup,
702
00:34:02,431 --> 00:34:03,954
you were going to be
a winning club.
703
00:34:04,216 --> 00:34:05,782
Perhaps a championship club.
704
00:34:05,956 --> 00:34:08,785
♪ Ooh, Josh Gibson ♪
705
00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:12,224
[music fades]
706
00:34:12,398 --> 00:34:14,530
[upbeat music playing]
707
00:34:14,704 --> 00:34:16,402
Larry: Josh Gibson
made a name for himself
708
00:34:16,576 --> 00:34:17,751
with the Homestead Grays.
709
00:34:18,795 --> 00:34:22,451
When we look at his numbers,
his home run at-bat ratio
710
00:34:23,148 --> 00:34:26,107
is between Hank Aaron
and Barry Bonds.
711
00:34:26,542 --> 00:34:28,588
We're looking
at a Gibson home run
712
00:34:28,762 --> 00:34:30,590
every 14 times at bat.
713
00:34:31,982 --> 00:34:33,332
Monte: He always led
714
00:34:33,506 --> 00:34:35,160
every league
that he ever played in,
715
00:34:35,334 --> 00:34:36,509
in batting average.
716
00:34:36,857 --> 00:34:40,600
He might go, you know,
get eight for ten,
717
00:34:40,774 --> 00:34:43,994
you know, a 13 for 15.
You know, like that.
718
00:34:44,473 --> 00:34:45,692
Yeah. He was tough to get out.
719
00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:47,520
Wilmer: Griffith Stadium,
720
00:34:47,737 --> 00:34:49,478
there was 405 feet down
the left of the line
721
00:34:49,652 --> 00:34:52,002
and behind that,
there was a scoreboard
722
00:34:52,481 --> 00:34:54,788
that had a big hotdog on it
with mustard on it.
723
00:34:55,528 --> 00:34:58,531
And Josh hit the ball
over the 400 feet,
724
00:34:58,705 --> 00:35:00,185
up over the back
above the stands,
725
00:35:00,359 --> 00:35:02,012
and hit
that advertisement board
726
00:35:02,709 --> 00:35:04,232
and peeled the paper
right off it.
727
00:35:04,406 --> 00:35:05,973
So we used to tease
and say that he knocked
728
00:35:06,147 --> 00:35:07,366
the mustard off the hotdog.
729
00:35:07,801 --> 00:35:09,237
Chet: I remember one time
730
00:35:09,411 --> 00:35:11,196
I was walking up the ramp
with Josh,
731
00:35:11,718 --> 00:35:14,199
and one little kid ran up,
said, "Mr. Gibson, Mr. Gibson,
732
00:35:14,373 --> 00:35:16,375
will you give me
one of your broken bats?"
733
00:35:16,549 --> 00:35:17,854
Josh says,
734
00:35:18,159 --> 00:35:20,596
"Son, I don't break bats.
I wear them out."
735
00:35:21,684 --> 00:35:25,340
Odile: Now, that Josh Gibson,
he was the type of person
736
00:35:25,601 --> 00:35:27,690
that just liked everybody.
737
00:35:28,604 --> 00:35:31,912
And always with a smile,
like a big overgrown kid.
738
00:35:33,087 --> 00:35:37,483
If I step on the bus, he'd say,
"Why, oh, my, Ms. Posey."
739
00:35:37,657 --> 00:35:40,486
And he'd run
and he'd almost pick me up
740
00:35:40,660 --> 00:35:42,401
and put me in the bus
and everything
741
00:35:42,575 --> 00:35:44,098
he'd see that I had there
and say.
742
00:35:44,272 --> 00:35:46,535
And the first thing he'd say
to the boys is...
743
00:35:47,580 --> 00:35:48,624
And that was it.
744
00:35:51,149 --> 00:35:52,802
Bob K: Cumberland Posey,
745
00:35:52,976 --> 00:35:56,371
of course, had built
the great Homestead Grays,
746
00:35:57,111 --> 00:36:01,420
and Cumberland Posey
had financial wherewithal.
747
00:36:01,985 --> 00:36:04,031
And so he was able to pluck
748
00:36:04,205 --> 00:36:07,817
star players away
from other Black baseball teams.
749
00:36:08,166 --> 00:36:10,559
And he would do
that with regularity.
750
00:36:11,734 --> 00:36:13,649
And then here comes
Gus Greenlee.
751
00:36:14,172 --> 00:36:18,263
Gus Greenlee would build
the great Pittsburgh Crawfords,
752
00:36:18,785 --> 00:36:23,050
as now a rival to Cumberland
Posey's Homestead Grays.
753
00:36:24,269 --> 00:36:25,879
Jim: He was in
a lot of businesses.
754
00:36:26,184 --> 00:36:30,188
He ran a very popular restaurant
called Crawford Grill,
755
00:36:30,536 --> 00:36:32,886
and he was the leading entrepreneur
756
00:36:33,060 --> 00:36:35,280
in the Black numbers
gambling business.
757
00:36:36,194 --> 00:36:37,543
Mark: Well, the numbers, essentially,
758
00:36:37,717 --> 00:36:39,414
were what we now know
as the lottery.
759
00:36:40,154 --> 00:36:41,808
They would base
the winning number
760
00:36:41,982 --> 00:36:45,028
usually on a number
in the stock tables that day,
761
00:36:45,507 --> 00:36:47,988
and every day,
everybody played the numbers.
762
00:36:48,162 --> 00:36:49,468
My grandmother... [chuckles]
763
00:36:49,642 --> 00:36:51,209
...who, you know,
and my grandparents
764
00:36:51,383 --> 00:36:53,994
who ran a funeral home,
played the numbers every day.
765
00:36:55,256 --> 00:36:58,303
Harold: Gus Greenlee was as fine
a man as you would want to know.
766
00:36:58,477 --> 00:37:01,871
And I found that Gus would do
anything for anybody
767
00:37:02,045 --> 00:37:03,699
who was a friend of his.
768
00:37:04,526 --> 00:37:07,007
If he didn't even know them,
and they got in trouble,
769
00:37:07,964 --> 00:37:10,010
if there was anything
he could do to help them
770
00:37:10,184 --> 00:37:12,230
out of trouble, he would do it.
771
00:37:15,407 --> 00:37:16,712
Andrea:
Gus Greenlee was approached
772
00:37:16,886 --> 00:37:18,366
by a couple members
773
00:37:18,540 --> 00:37:20,455
of the Pittsburgh Crawfords
baseball team,
774
00:37:20,629 --> 00:37:23,502
and at the time they were
like a semi-pro sandlot team
775
00:37:23,676 --> 00:37:25,417
and, you know,
said that they needed money,
776
00:37:25,591 --> 00:37:29,072
they needed an investor.
And Gus jumped in headfirst.
777
00:37:29,247 --> 00:37:30,552
[dramatic music playing]
778
00:37:30,726 --> 00:37:32,162
Harold: When he took
the ball team,
779
00:37:32,598 --> 00:37:36,602
he let us know that when he took
it that he was going to the top
780
00:37:36,776 --> 00:37:39,126
and he's gonna do
and get the best he could.
781
00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:43,739
Mark: I think his top motivation
was he looked across town
782
00:37:43,913 --> 00:37:46,742
and he saw Cum Posey,
the son of the biggest
783
00:37:46,916 --> 00:37:49,919
and wealthiest Black family
in town, and said,
784
00:37:50,093 --> 00:37:52,748
"If I can build the Crawfords
into a team
785
00:37:53,096 --> 00:37:54,794
that can beat the Grays,
786
00:37:55,273 --> 00:37:56,970
I'll be the top man
in Pittsburgh."
787
00:37:57,971 --> 00:37:59,886
Bob K: He did
to Cumberland Posey,
788
00:38:00,147 --> 00:38:02,628
what Posey had done
to other teams.
789
00:38:02,802 --> 00:38:06,632
He outbidded Cumberland Posey
for his star players.
790
00:38:06,806 --> 00:38:08,416
Mark: He convinces
Oscar Charleston
791
00:38:08,590 --> 00:38:11,201
to cross town
and join the Crawfords.
792
00:38:11,463 --> 00:38:13,073
Then he sets his sight
on Josh Gibson.
793
00:38:14,466 --> 00:38:18,774
So now, Josh Gibson is playing
for the Crawfords.
794
00:38:19,732 --> 00:38:21,821
And so he steals
every good player
795
00:38:21,995 --> 00:38:24,563
that Cumberland Posey
ever developed.
796
00:38:25,128 --> 00:38:27,870
But then the Crawfords are able
to pick up Satchel Paige.
797
00:38:28,044 --> 00:38:32,614
[dramatic music playing]
798
00:38:32,788 --> 00:38:36,139
I just could pitch
and then the master just give me
799
00:38:36,314 --> 00:38:39,839
a home. And you just...
It was hard to beat me.
800
00:38:40,013 --> 00:38:41,319
You couldn't ought to beat me.
801
00:38:42,885 --> 00:38:46,628
I did some things in baseball
I've never seen anyone else do,
802
00:38:46,802 --> 00:38:48,369
and I didn't know
what I was doing
803
00:38:48,543 --> 00:38:50,719
one half of the time.
But still, I did it.
804
00:38:52,025 --> 00:38:55,071
Donald: Satchel Paige is born
in Mobile, Alabama.
805
00:38:55,333 --> 00:38:56,638
He's dirt poor.
806
00:38:56,943 --> 00:39:00,729
He has to go out
and hunt game with rocks,
807
00:39:00,903 --> 00:39:02,862
and he gets his name, Satchel
808
00:39:03,253 --> 00:39:06,866
because later on,
after he's nine or older,
809
00:39:07,257 --> 00:39:10,435
he's able to work
at the railroad depot
810
00:39:10,696 --> 00:39:13,960
carrying bags, luggage, satchels.
811
00:39:14,308 --> 00:39:15,570
He learned how to pitch
812
00:39:15,744 --> 00:39:18,573
at the Mount Meigs
Reform school.
813
00:39:19,313 --> 00:39:21,881
And so, after that,
he comes out of there
814
00:39:22,055 --> 00:39:25,188
and begins his climb
to baseball fame.
815
00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:28,017
Satchel: A fellow by the name
of Bill Gatewood,
816
00:39:28,191 --> 00:39:31,151
I just love the way he went,
the way he pitched.
817
00:39:31,456 --> 00:39:34,241
He said, "You know the thing is,
if you listen to me,
818
00:39:34,981 --> 00:39:36,983
I'll make you
one of the greatest pitchers
819
00:39:37,462 --> 00:39:38,376
in the world."
820
00:39:39,202 --> 00:39:40,900
He said,
"Because you love to play,
821
00:39:41,074 --> 00:39:42,380
you love the game,
822
00:39:42,771 --> 00:39:44,599
and you try to do
what I tell you."
823
00:39:44,773 --> 00:39:46,209
He says, "You see
all the fellas out there?"
824
00:39:46,514 --> 00:39:49,299
He says,
"I have the devil with them
825
00:39:49,735 --> 00:39:51,476
trying to make them practice."
826
00:39:51,911 --> 00:39:54,217
He said, "You practice
without me asking you."
827
00:39:54,392 --> 00:39:55,741
[upbeat music playing]
828
00:39:55,915 --> 00:39:57,525
Satchel:
So he was gonna help me.
829
00:39:57,873 --> 00:39:59,614
But now, as far as me saying,
830
00:39:59,788 --> 00:40:01,573
"I am the greatest pitcher
in the world."
831
00:40:02,095 --> 00:40:04,402
I didn't say that.
It's other people saying it.
832
00:40:04,576 --> 00:40:06,752
[Audience cheering]
833
00:40:06,926 --> 00:40:08,928
Bob M: Once I became
an umpire in the leagues,
834
00:40:09,102 --> 00:40:11,974
I finally got my shot to go
behind the plate
835
00:40:12,148 --> 00:40:15,064
and call balls
and strikes for the legend.
836
00:40:15,848 --> 00:40:18,372
I had never seen a ball move
the way it did.
837
00:40:19,112 --> 00:40:21,854
I was stunned,
and so was the batter.
838
00:40:22,028 --> 00:40:25,423
Satchel throw balls
that looked small,
839
00:40:25,597 --> 00:40:27,903
throw the small ball,
which is true.
840
00:40:28,077 --> 00:40:29,296
It'd be turning so fast,
841
00:40:29,470 --> 00:40:31,037
it looks smaller
than the regular ball.
842
00:40:31,429 --> 00:40:34,649
"Prince" Joe: I weakly
grounded a ball back to him
843
00:40:34,823 --> 00:40:37,043
and I felt
like I'd hit a home run.
844
00:40:37,609 --> 00:40:40,002
Just to know that I had made
contact with the ball.
845
00:40:40,916 --> 00:40:43,049
Larry: Satchel Paige is,
without a doubt,
846
00:40:43,266 --> 00:40:45,530
the greatest pitcher
in Black baseball history.
847
00:40:45,921 --> 00:40:50,230
We can now show Satchel Paige's
strikeout rate per inning
848
00:40:50,404 --> 00:40:52,537
is very similar to Nolan Ryan's.
849
00:40:52,711 --> 00:40:54,277
Bob F: He would be
one of the top five
850
00:40:54,452 --> 00:40:56,149
or ten pitchers
in baseball history
851
00:40:56,323 --> 00:40:58,238
if he'd been in the big leagues
throughout his career.
852
00:40:58,412 --> 00:41:00,588
But I saw him pitch
and he threw
853
00:41:00,762 --> 00:41:04,026
with very little effort
whatsoever. And the hitters say,
854
00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:05,767
"Well, you can't throw
the next one by me."
855
00:41:05,941 --> 00:41:07,290
Boom. There it goes.
856
00:41:07,595 --> 00:41:09,162
And, well, you're not going
to get that one by me.
857
00:41:09,336 --> 00:41:10,685
Oop, oop! There it goes.
858
00:41:11,991 --> 00:41:15,124
Ted: He went out on that mound
and he looked up at the crowd.
859
00:41:16,212 --> 00:41:18,606
He said, "Duty,
the sun is shining,
860
00:41:18,780 --> 00:41:21,043
but I'm gonna make them
think it's nighttime."
861
00:41:21,304 --> 00:41:24,699
He struck out
21 of the 28 men he faced.
862
00:41:25,091 --> 00:41:26,919
Amiri: We knew when we saw
Satchel Paige pitch,
863
00:41:27,093 --> 00:41:29,008
when I saw Satchel Paige
and Satch could call in
864
00:41:29,182 --> 00:41:32,011
the whole team
and strike everybody out.
865
00:41:32,881 --> 00:41:35,144
You know, I saw that.
He'd call them all in.
866
00:41:35,623 --> 00:41:40,498
Buck: Here he is, seven of us,
kneeling around the mound.
867
00:41:41,107 --> 00:41:44,589
He threw nine pitches,
and the side was out.
868
00:41:45,459 --> 00:41:48,244
When he was in the backyard,
he just did amazing things.
869
00:41:48,462 --> 00:41:49,855
Like he'd say, "Look at that.
870
00:41:50,595 --> 00:41:52,858
Look at that berry hanging over
there on the bush.
871
00:41:53,032 --> 00:41:55,948
I bet I can hit it."
And I'd say, "No you can't."
872
00:41:56,122 --> 00:41:58,341
And he would pick up something
and... [exhales sharply]
873
00:41:58,516 --> 00:42:00,126
...hit it and I would say,
874
00:42:00,300 --> 00:42:03,129
"Oh, wow!" You know,
that's what little children do.
875
00:42:03,303 --> 00:42:06,393
They don't think, well,
it was 55 feet away
876
00:42:06,567 --> 00:42:08,264
and it was
the size of a quarter.
877
00:42:08,613 --> 00:42:10,615
You would have to be
a heck of a shot to make it.
878
00:42:12,834 --> 00:42:15,271
Mark: Before Gus Greenlee
hired Satchel,
879
00:42:15,533 --> 00:42:18,057
the initial Negro League,
880
00:42:18,231 --> 00:42:19,972
which was formed
by Rube Foster,
881
00:42:20,146 --> 00:42:22,801
- had essentially fallen apart.
- [upbeat music playing]
882
00:42:22,975 --> 00:42:27,109
Jim: So in 1933,
Greenlee and some others found
883
00:42:27,283 --> 00:42:29,329
the second
Negro National League.
884
00:42:31,244 --> 00:42:33,681
Phil: So they became
the Negro National League.
885
00:42:33,855 --> 00:42:39,034
But now it's all Eastern teams.
And in 1937, the Western teams
886
00:42:39,208 --> 00:42:41,820
organized the Negro American League.
887
00:42:42,342 --> 00:42:44,257
And so, Gus Greenlee
888
00:42:44,431 --> 00:42:48,914
starts to bankroll
a bunch of new... ideas.
889
00:42:49,088 --> 00:42:51,438
- [Audience cheering]
- Phil: And one of those people
890
00:42:51,830 --> 00:42:53,222
talk about is the East-West game.
891
00:42:53,396 --> 00:42:56,008
And it was going to be
the premier event.
892
00:42:56,530 --> 00:42:58,184
Gentleman Dave: They picked
the best of the teams,
893
00:42:58,358 --> 00:43:00,142
players from the East
894
00:43:00,403 --> 00:43:02,405
and the best of the players
from the West,
895
00:43:02,580 --> 00:43:04,973
and they rented Comiskey Park.
896
00:43:06,584 --> 00:43:13,068
Ted: We started playing in 1933.
It was only 22,000 that year.
897
00:43:13,503 --> 00:43:16,855
From that day on,
the crowd kept going and going,
898
00:43:17,551 --> 00:43:20,206
until the one time
we had 70,000.
899
00:43:20,902 --> 00:43:22,904
Larry: People came
from all over the country.
900
00:43:23,078 --> 00:43:26,516
You had all the entertainers
come in, you got Count Basie,
901
00:43:26,691 --> 00:43:30,433
Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton,
Lena Horne was there.
902
00:43:30,651 --> 00:43:33,785
Anybody who was anybody
was there at that game.
903
00:43:33,959 --> 00:43:36,788
♪ Keep on swingin'
Trying to get to second base ♪
904
00:43:37,092 --> 00:43:39,268
Bob K: This was
the crème de la crème
905
00:43:39,878 --> 00:43:40,835
of baseball.
906
00:43:41,662 --> 00:43:45,013
There's Satchel Paige.
There's Hilton Smith,
907
00:43:45,187 --> 00:43:48,321
there's Josh Gibson,
and Buck Leonard, Mule Suttles.
908
00:43:48,495 --> 00:43:51,324
All these great stars.
They're all there.
909
00:43:52,368 --> 00:43:55,937
Oh, man, you're talking
about a gala affair. A weekend.
910
00:43:56,329 --> 00:43:58,157
They start coming in
by Thursday.
911
00:43:58,984 --> 00:44:00,463
Didn't leave
until Monday morning.
912
00:44:01,682 --> 00:44:04,685
Mark: The real impact
of the East-West Classic
913
00:44:04,859 --> 00:44:08,515
was that White sportswriters
started to cover it,
914
00:44:09,037 --> 00:44:12,432
and once they did, some of them,
for the very first time,
915
00:44:12,606 --> 00:44:15,565
saw a kind of baseball
they had never seen before,
916
00:44:16,392 --> 00:44:18,003
- where games were won...
- [Audience cheering]
917
00:44:18,177 --> 00:44:20,962
...not just with hitting,
but with base stealing,
918
00:44:21,397 --> 00:44:24,009
with these incredibly
acrobatic catches
919
00:44:24,183 --> 00:44:27,403
in the outfield,
with just a level of speed
920
00:44:27,839 --> 00:44:29,754
that they had never seen
in baseball.
921
00:44:32,104 --> 00:44:34,280
And they started
to write about that,
922
00:44:34,672 --> 00:44:40,634
and the appeal that could have
for White fans, as well.
923
00:44:41,156 --> 00:44:44,290
So the East-West classic
is having a big impact
924
00:44:44,464 --> 00:44:47,162
on the vision of the future
for baseball.
925
00:44:47,336 --> 00:44:48,642
[music fades]
926
00:44:49,774 --> 00:44:53,299
♪ Well you may run on
For a long time ♪
927
00:44:53,473 --> 00:44:55,649
♪ Run on for a long time ♪
928
00:44:56,128 --> 00:44:59,087
♪ Run on for a long time
Let me tell you ♪
929
00:44:59,261 --> 00:45:01,133
♪ God Almighty
Is gonna cut you down ♪
930
00:45:01,307 --> 00:45:03,265
♪ Go tell
That long-tongued liar ♪
931
00:45:03,657 --> 00:45:05,833
♪ Go tell
That midnight rider... ♪
932
00:45:06,007 --> 00:45:08,053
Bob M: Before, during
and after the season,
933
00:45:08,227 --> 00:45:10,142
teams would travel
throughout the country
934
00:45:10,316 --> 00:45:13,319
and play in exhibition games
to enhance their income.
935
00:45:14,059 --> 00:45:15,756
I was given the chance
to go on the road
936
00:45:15,930 --> 00:45:16,975
with many different teams.
937
00:45:17,845 --> 00:45:19,804
We'd travel right after a game,
938
00:45:19,978 --> 00:45:24,504
sometimes driving all night long
to get to our next destination.
939
00:45:24,678 --> 00:45:27,159
♪ I thought I heard
The shuffle of angels' feet... ♪
940
00:45:27,637 --> 00:45:29,291
Max: It's 11 or 12 o'clock
at night,
941
00:45:29,465 --> 00:45:31,032
and you're just leaving
a ballgame,
942
00:45:31,206 --> 00:45:34,253
and you're on a hike
for 400 miles
943
00:45:34,427 --> 00:45:36,081
or more to the next stop.
944
00:45:36,255 --> 00:45:37,996
And you find ways, you know,
to amuse yourself.
945
00:45:38,170 --> 00:45:39,606
And as you well know,
946
00:45:39,780 --> 00:45:41,608
singers have been
a part of our culture.
947
00:45:41,782 --> 00:45:44,393
And they have their quartets,
and you would hear one
948
00:45:44,567 --> 00:45:46,656
going down the road
in the middle of the night
949
00:45:46,874 --> 00:45:48,484
and hear them singing.
950
00:45:48,746 --> 00:45:50,791
♪ Run on for a long time
Let me tell you ♪
951
00:45:50,965 --> 00:45:52,837
♪ God Almighty
Is gonna cut you down... ♪
952
00:45:53,011 --> 00:45:55,796
Layton: Barnstorming
was a schedule that the teams
953
00:45:55,970 --> 00:45:58,364
would have playing
different teams.
954
00:45:58,756 --> 00:46:01,323
They may play
a league team one day,
955
00:46:01,497 --> 00:46:02,803
and then they'd play
956
00:46:02,977 --> 00:46:05,066
the local shoe factory
the next day.
957
00:46:05,284 --> 00:46:06,546
And just playing,
in most cases,
958
00:46:06,720 --> 00:46:07,895
as many games
as they could play.
959
00:46:08,069 --> 00:46:09,244
I mean, it wasn't uncommon
960
00:46:09,679 --> 00:46:11,812
for a team to play
three games in one day.
961
00:46:11,986 --> 00:46:13,509
- [Audience cheering]
- Chet: When I was playing
962
00:46:13,683 --> 00:46:15,816
baseball with the Philadelphia Stars
963
00:46:15,990 --> 00:46:18,950
on 4th of July,
we played four games.
964
00:46:19,124 --> 00:46:21,474
Play the game
at ten o'clock in the morning,
965
00:46:21,648 --> 00:46:24,738
doubleheader in the afternoon,
and then we'd get in the bus
966
00:46:24,912 --> 00:46:27,567
and ride over New York State
and play that night.
967
00:46:27,785 --> 00:46:29,699
We played so many doubleheaders
968
00:46:29,874 --> 00:46:31,876
that when we had
played one game,
969
00:46:32,050 --> 00:46:33,486
we'd call that an off day.
970
00:46:33,921 --> 00:46:36,228
Odile: They had to find
a way to get money
971
00:46:36,402 --> 00:46:38,273
turning over all the time.
972
00:46:38,447 --> 00:46:42,060
Their system was
to have a game every day.
973
00:46:42,321 --> 00:46:46,020
As long as they could play
somewhere every day
974
00:46:46,368 --> 00:46:50,285
in order to keep those payrolls
going to keep it afloat.
975
00:46:50,459 --> 00:46:51,983
♪ That's all, brother
You'll knock no more ♪
976
00:46:52,157 --> 00:46:55,290
♪ Well, run on
For a long time ♪
977
00:46:55,464 --> 00:46:56,857
Judy: We would get tired
when riding.
978
00:46:57,858 --> 00:47:00,208
We would fuss
like a bunch of chickens.
979
00:47:00,861 --> 00:47:03,777
But when you put the suit on,
well, it was different.
980
00:47:04,038 --> 00:47:05,692
You just,
you knew that was your job,
981
00:47:05,866 --> 00:47:07,650
and you just go to it.
982
00:47:07,825 --> 00:47:10,479
♪ Tell the gambler
Rambler, backbiter ♪
983
00:47:10,740 --> 00:47:13,743
♪ Tell 'em God Almighty
Is gonna cut 'em down ♪
984
00:47:13,961 --> 00:47:15,310
[music fades]
985
00:47:15,789 --> 00:47:17,051
Bob M: Players kept
their minds off their struggles
986
00:47:17,486 --> 00:47:19,793
playing cards
and sharing stories.
987
00:47:20,533 --> 00:47:22,709
Of course, we'd always run
into a few ignorant kooks
988
00:47:22,883 --> 00:47:24,363
who would call us names.
989
00:47:25,016 --> 00:47:27,583
In those moments,
responding to racism,
990
00:47:27,932 --> 00:47:30,195
we weren't players,
and umpires, and managers.
991
00:47:30,935 --> 00:47:32,110
We were brothers.
992
00:47:32,371 --> 00:47:34,373
[pensive music playing]
993
00:47:34,547 --> 00:47:36,636
Dorothy: They thought
that the Homestead Grays...
994
00:47:37,767 --> 00:47:38,856
was a White team.
995
00:47:39,900 --> 00:47:43,512
So they had us booked
into a very nice hotel.
996
00:47:43,904 --> 00:47:46,994
See, Posey
was the traveling secretary,
997
00:47:47,560 --> 00:47:50,258
and he was very fair skinned.
998
00:47:50,868 --> 00:47:52,782
So he went in,
and he got the rooms
999
00:47:52,957 --> 00:47:54,132
and everything.
1000
00:47:55,002 --> 00:47:57,787
So they started
to unload the bus... [chuckles]
1001
00:47:58,527 --> 00:48:01,095
...and when the players got off,
1002
00:48:01,269 --> 00:48:04,359
they said, "Oh, no, no,
you can't stay here.
1003
00:48:05,056 --> 00:48:07,058
This is a White hotel."
1004
00:48:07,797 --> 00:48:09,756
Richard: Black hotels
in the South,
1005
00:48:09,930 --> 00:48:12,977
even in major cities
like Birmingham, Memphis,
1006
00:48:13,151 --> 00:48:15,936
New Orleans, and whatnot,
they were very rare.
1007
00:48:16,545 --> 00:48:22,116
And usually the ballplayers
would find a rooming house,
1008
00:48:22,290 --> 00:48:24,945
a Black rooming house
in the town,
1009
00:48:25,163 --> 00:48:26,773
and that was where
they had to stay.
1010
00:48:27,339 --> 00:48:28,818
Ted: I can remember a town
1011
00:48:29,036 --> 00:48:33,040
where we put up
in a rooming house in Arkansas.
1012
00:48:33,475 --> 00:48:34,912
When you turn on the lights,
1013
00:48:35,260 --> 00:48:38,611
you see the bedbugs start
to go for cover.
1014
00:48:39,046 --> 00:48:40,439
You have to sleep
with the lights on
1015
00:48:40,613 --> 00:48:41,788
because if you don't,
1016
00:48:41,962 --> 00:48:43,398
those little gremlins
would come out
1017
00:48:43,572 --> 00:48:44,922
and you wouldn't get
any sleep anyhow.
1018
00:48:46,053 --> 00:48:47,446
Donald: Satchel Paige makes
1019
00:48:47,620 --> 00:48:49,622
the point one
of his first games.
1020
00:48:49,796 --> 00:48:51,102
They arrived at the park
1021
00:48:51,276 --> 00:48:52,842
and he said,
"Oh, I'm really tired.
1022
00:48:53,017 --> 00:48:55,976
I want to hurry up and get
to bed and get some rest."
1023
00:48:56,150 --> 00:48:59,153
And the manager said,
"What bed? What do you mean,
1024
00:48:59,327 --> 00:49:00,589
get to rest?
1025
00:49:00,763 --> 00:49:02,678
We're staying here
in the ballpark."
1026
00:49:02,852 --> 00:49:05,768
I mean, you... you had to sleep
on your suitcase
1027
00:49:06,291 --> 00:49:07,770
in the ballpark.
1028
00:49:08,771 --> 00:49:11,339
Chet: We didn't stop much
because they wouldn't feed us
1029
00:49:11,513 --> 00:49:12,645
in the restaurants.
1030
00:49:13,559 --> 00:49:15,430
So we had to eat out
of paper sacks
1031
00:49:15,604 --> 00:49:17,084
and go in a grocery store.
1032
00:49:17,302 --> 00:49:19,173
Hank: We got one dollar
a day meal money,
1033
00:49:19,826 --> 00:49:21,828
and we would buy
one loaf of bread
1034
00:49:22,568 --> 00:49:25,223
and we would buy a jar,
a big jar of peanut butter.
1035
00:49:26,615 --> 00:49:30,271
That's what we lived off
of for three or four days.
1036
00:49:30,837 --> 00:49:32,926
Peanut butter and bread.
1037
00:49:34,101 --> 00:49:36,016
Richard: Sometimes I'd wonder,
I'd talk. I'd say,
1038
00:49:36,190 --> 00:49:38,453
"Well, how in the world
do they expect you to play ball
1039
00:49:38,714 --> 00:49:40,151
and you can't even eat?"
1040
00:49:40,673 --> 00:49:42,501
You haven't had a bed
to sleep in.
1041
00:49:42,675 --> 00:49:44,068
You slept in a bus.
1042
00:49:44,807 --> 00:49:48,115
It wasn't healthy.
It wasn't comfortable at all.
1043
00:49:49,595 --> 00:49:54,730
How they could play two
and three games in two days
1044
00:49:54,992 --> 00:49:56,906
is really a mystery.
1045
00:50:00,214 --> 00:50:02,042
Bob M: On long bus rides,
I had overheard
1046
00:50:02,216 --> 00:50:03,696
Negro League players talk
1047
00:50:03,870 --> 00:50:05,480
about their incredible experiences
1048
00:50:05,654 --> 00:50:07,308
playing winter ball
in the Caribbean.
1049
00:50:08,440 --> 00:50:09,963
The players said
that a Black man
1050
00:50:10,137 --> 00:50:12,183
could just be a man
and not have to worry
1051
00:50:12,357 --> 00:50:14,402
about paying
the social consequences for it.
1052
00:50:14,576 --> 00:50:16,100
[Audience cheering, applauding]
1053
00:50:16,274 --> 00:50:18,232
Bob M: It sounded
about perfect to me.
1054
00:50:18,624 --> 00:50:20,060
[Latin music playing]
1055
00:50:20,234 --> 00:50:21,583
Monte: First,
I played in Puerto Rico,
1056
00:50:21,757 --> 00:50:24,064
then I played in Cuba,
and then Mexico.
1057
00:50:24,499 --> 00:50:26,110
It was a wonderful place
to play.
1058
00:50:26,545 --> 00:50:28,025
They give you a chance
to go down there,
1059
00:50:28,199 --> 00:50:30,549
and the salaries
were a little better.
1060
00:50:32,029 --> 00:50:33,508
The crowds were better.
1061
00:50:34,074 --> 00:50:36,250
Wilmer: The teams in those towns
were the kings of the towns,
1062
00:50:36,424 --> 00:50:37,643
it was like high school.
1063
00:50:37,860 --> 00:50:39,079
You can say that
1064
00:50:39,253 --> 00:50:41,777
when the game was played
on weekends
1065
00:50:42,213 --> 00:50:43,866
and the whole town
was at the game.
1066
00:50:44,650 --> 00:50:48,654
Larry: Fans were more like
football fans, you know,
1067
00:50:48,828 --> 00:50:52,049
"rah rah" cheering
and hit a home run
1068
00:50:52,223 --> 00:50:55,008
you'd take your cap around
and they'd put money in the cap.
1069
00:50:55,313 --> 00:50:58,055
And they had a company
called Don Q Rum.
1070
00:50:58,403 --> 00:51:01,058
Every home run you hit,
you'd get a case of Don Q Rum,
1071
00:51:01,232 --> 00:51:03,103
you know? [chuckles]
So it was fun.
1072
00:51:06,019 --> 00:51:07,803
Max: There little kids
run behind you
1073
00:51:07,977 --> 00:51:11,024
and after the ball game,
they want your autograph
1074
00:51:11,198 --> 00:51:14,332
and it makes you feel
a part of something,
1075
00:51:14,506 --> 00:51:18,597
instead of being something
separate unto itself.
1076
00:51:20,251 --> 00:51:22,079
But when you are out
of your own country,
1077
00:51:22,514 --> 00:51:25,995
and you find everything
so much better...
1078
00:51:27,258 --> 00:51:30,304
you know,
it's a revelation in a way,
1079
00:51:30,478 --> 00:51:31,740
if you never experienced it.
1080
00:51:32,915 --> 00:51:36,136
But it's like heaven, you know?
1081
00:51:36,310 --> 00:51:38,530
I want to go back, you know,
I got to go back there.
1082
00:51:38,704 --> 00:51:39,835
I got to go back there.
1083
00:51:42,664 --> 00:51:44,666
Monte: There was
very little discrimination.
1084
00:51:44,840 --> 00:51:47,016
So you felt, you know, free.
1085
00:51:47,800 --> 00:51:49,149
The fact that, you know,
1086
00:51:49,410 --> 00:51:51,151
you were accepted
for your ability,
1087
00:51:51,325 --> 00:51:52,979
not from the color of your skin,
1088
00:51:53,545 --> 00:51:55,199
and that really
made you feel great.
1089
00:51:59,551 --> 00:52:01,292
Gerald: I think
from the very beginning,
1090
00:52:01,596 --> 00:52:05,426
there was a sense of a kind
of a solidarity or connection
1091
00:52:05,600 --> 00:52:08,821
between Black players here
and Latin players,
1092
00:52:08,995 --> 00:52:10,127
dark Latin players.
1093
00:52:10,518 --> 00:52:11,998
So in some ways,
1094
00:52:12,172 --> 00:52:14,783
baseball generated
a kind of diaspora,
1095
00:52:14,957 --> 00:52:17,264
'cause these Black Latin players
1096
00:52:17,438 --> 00:52:19,136
could not play
Major League Baseball either.
1097
00:52:19,310 --> 00:52:20,833
They had to play
in the Negro Leagues
1098
00:52:21,007 --> 00:52:22,878
that they were playing
in the United States.
1099
00:52:23,879 --> 00:52:27,056
Larry: And so Martín Dihigo
and José Méndez,
1100
00:52:27,231 --> 00:52:29,189
Cristóbal Torriente,
1101
00:52:29,668 --> 00:52:32,888
the game was just full
of Latino ballplayers.
1102
00:52:34,238 --> 00:52:36,762
Negro Leagues
was a rainbow coalition
1103
00:52:37,545 --> 00:52:38,938
of players of color,
1104
00:52:39,330 --> 00:52:41,114
everything from chalk
to charcoal.
1105
00:52:41,549 --> 00:52:42,942
[chuckles]
That was the pigmentation
1106
00:52:43,116 --> 00:52:44,335
that played
in the Negro Leagues.
1107
00:52:44,509 --> 00:52:46,598
[music fades]
1108
00:52:46,772 --> 00:52:50,602
[fanfare plays]
1109
00:52:51,951 --> 00:52:54,649
News reporter: Millions enjoy
a great year in American sports.
1110
00:52:54,823 --> 00:52:56,303
But Dizzy and Daffy Dean,
1111
00:52:56,477 --> 00:52:58,871
the Cardinal Ace's
new national heroes.
1112
00:53:00,829 --> 00:53:03,354
Phil: Dizzy Dean
pretty much saved baseball
1113
00:53:03,528 --> 00:53:04,833
during the Depression.
1114
00:53:05,225 --> 00:53:08,707
Babe Ruth was kind of fading out
for the Depression 1934,
1115
00:53:08,968 --> 00:53:10,970
and him and his brother
come in with the Cardinals.
1116
00:53:11,144 --> 00:53:12,537
Phil: They win the pennant,
1117
00:53:12,754 --> 00:53:14,147
and then they go
to the World Series.
1118
00:53:14,321 --> 00:53:16,062
So they're like
on top of the world.
1119
00:53:16,236 --> 00:53:19,457
And they could have gone home,
but they were gonna barnstorm.
1120
00:53:19,674 --> 00:53:22,851
And so they played
in that particular year, 1934.
1121
00:53:23,025 --> 00:53:25,463
They play six games
against Kansas City Monarchs,
1122
00:53:25,767 --> 00:53:27,769
two against
the Philadelphia Stars,
1123
00:53:28,030 --> 00:53:30,032
three against
the Pittsburgh Crawfords,
1124
00:53:30,294 --> 00:53:32,383
and two against
the New York Black Yankees.
1125
00:53:32,557 --> 00:53:34,298
And they tour all the way
across the country.
1126
00:53:34,472 --> 00:53:35,908
[upbeat music playing]
1127
00:53:36,256 --> 00:53:38,084
Jimmie: But people didn't,
hadn't seen Blacks
1128
00:53:38,258 --> 00:53:41,957
and Major League All-Star teams
mix too much in those days.
1129
00:53:42,567 --> 00:53:46,048
So we always had large crowds.
I think we played ten games.
1130
00:53:46,440 --> 00:53:47,876
Judy: We played against
1131
00:53:48,050 --> 00:53:49,965
Dizzy Dean and his brother
in Cleveland,
1132
00:53:50,227 --> 00:53:51,880
and they had a sellout crowd. And...
1133
00:53:52,838 --> 00:53:55,232
Satchel beat Dizzy two-one
in 12 innings.
1134
00:53:55,928 --> 00:53:59,801
Bob K: The record books bear out
that the Black teams
1135
00:53:59,975 --> 00:54:03,022
won the majority
of those head-to-head matchups.
1136
00:54:03,196 --> 00:54:06,155
What that tells me, number one,
is there was no doubt
1137
00:54:06,591 --> 00:54:08,767
in the minds
of those Major League athletes
1138
00:54:08,941 --> 00:54:10,247
that these guys could play.
1139
00:54:11,160 --> 00:54:12,553
Jimmie: Now,
1140
00:54:12,988 --> 00:54:14,773
we knew that we could play
baseball with anybody.
1141
00:54:15,077 --> 00:54:17,210
If you've got Satchel
on your team,
1142
00:54:17,384 --> 00:54:21,170
you can play our teams
that got nine devils on it.
1143
00:54:21,475 --> 00:54:23,216
Phil: Somebody asked
Dizzy Dean, they said,
1144
00:54:23,390 --> 00:54:25,131
"Who's the greatest pitcher
you ever saw?"
1145
00:54:25,305 --> 00:54:27,873
And Dizzy Dean was known
to be a little conceited,
1146
00:54:28,134 --> 00:54:30,484
and they figured he's gonna
start talking about himself.
1147
00:54:30,745 --> 00:54:32,181
He said, and he told them
1148
00:54:32,617 --> 00:54:33,705
that the greatest pitcher
he ever saw was a Colored boy
1149
00:54:33,879 --> 00:54:35,315
named Satchel Paige.
1150
00:54:35,576 --> 00:54:37,230
He said, "If you can get him
and me on the same team,
1151
00:54:37,404 --> 00:54:39,624
we could win the pennant
by the 4th of July
1152
00:54:39,798 --> 00:54:41,626
and go fishing
until the World Series started."
1153
00:54:41,800 --> 00:54:43,454
[music fades]
1154
00:54:43,802 --> 00:54:45,847
Buck: I remember
we were playing in California
1155
00:54:46,021 --> 00:54:47,414
in the winter league,
1156
00:54:47,632 --> 00:54:49,242
and I was with
Satchel Paige's All-Stars.
1157
00:54:49,808 --> 00:54:52,463
And we were playing
the Major Leagues All-Stars.
1158
00:54:52,811 --> 00:54:54,421
And we played three Sundays.
1159
00:54:54,682 --> 00:54:56,510
And then Judge Landis,
who was the commissioner
1160
00:54:56,684 --> 00:54:57,990
at that time,
1161
00:54:58,382 --> 00:54:59,992
sent a telegram out
and told the Major Leaguers
1162
00:55:00,166 --> 00:55:01,646
not to play us any more
1163
00:55:02,037 --> 00:55:04,823
because they had everything
to lose and nothing to gain.
1164
00:55:05,171 --> 00:55:07,434
We had everything to gain
and nothing to lose.
1165
00:55:08,043 --> 00:55:12,918
I can only be for the best team
in each league to win a pennant.
1166
00:55:13,397 --> 00:55:18,271
But to you fans, no heartaches
and not even a grouch.
1167
00:55:18,489 --> 00:55:19,794
May you all win.
1168
00:55:20,665 --> 00:55:22,319
Leslie: Kenesaw Mountain Landis
1169
00:55:22,580 --> 00:55:24,321
is brought in as the first
commissioner of baseball
1170
00:55:24,495 --> 00:55:27,062
after the Black Sox scandal
of 1919,
1171
00:55:27,759 --> 00:55:30,065
which was the throwing
of the World Series.
1172
00:55:30,849 --> 00:55:33,982
So the owners give
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
1173
00:55:34,156 --> 00:55:36,463
essentially almost
dictatorial powers,
1174
00:55:36,898 --> 00:55:39,161
because they needed to clean up
the image of baseball
1175
00:55:39,336 --> 00:55:40,685
after the Black Sox scandal.
1176
00:55:41,729 --> 00:55:45,603
Rob: Whatever views Landis had,
we know that by his actions,
1177
00:55:45,777 --> 00:55:50,347
he maintained segregation
in Major League Baseball
1178
00:55:50,608 --> 00:55:53,567
far longer than it needed
to be maintained.
1179
00:55:54,655 --> 00:55:59,791
Landis will soon prevent teams
of Major Leaguers
1180
00:55:59,965 --> 00:56:03,011
from barnstorming against teams
of Negro Leaguers
1181
00:56:03,229 --> 00:56:04,361
because he doesn't want
1182
00:56:04,970 --> 00:56:07,842
intact Major League teams
being defeated.
1183
00:56:08,190 --> 00:56:12,630
Whatever he says about,
"Oh, there's no law.
1184
00:56:12,847 --> 00:56:15,633
There's no rule
against integration."
1185
00:56:15,894 --> 00:56:22,291
The reality is, at every step,
he did nothing but block it.
1186
00:56:22,640 --> 00:56:24,163
News reporter: Today,
Destination Freedom
1187
00:56:24,424 --> 00:56:27,122
will play that chapter entitled
"The Ballad of Satchel Paige."
1188
00:56:30,299 --> 00:56:35,740
♪ Nobody knows when he first
Played on a baseball field ♪
1189
00:56:36,001 --> 00:56:37,872
♪ Some say he put out Caesar ♪
1190
00:56:38,046 --> 00:56:40,048
♪ When old Julius
Tried to steal... ♪
1191
00:56:40,222 --> 00:56:45,053
Donald: As his name recognition
grows as a tremendous winner,
1192
00:56:45,402 --> 00:56:48,883
other teams want him to come in,
pitch two or three innings,
1193
00:56:49,057 --> 00:56:53,192
and that's when the relationship
between him and Gus Greenlee
1194
00:56:53,366 --> 00:56:54,323
becomes...
1195
00:56:55,716 --> 00:56:57,457
strained.
1196
00:56:57,762 --> 00:57:01,156
Mark: By 1937, he had put in
two, like, really great seasons
1197
00:57:01,330 --> 00:57:02,767
for Gus Greenlee.
1198
00:57:03,028 --> 00:57:05,683
He was back with the Crawfords,
and all of a sudden,
1199
00:57:05,944 --> 00:57:10,601
these guys start
hanging around the stadium,
1200
00:57:11,079 --> 00:57:13,734
and it turns out
that they were emissaries
1201
00:57:13,995 --> 00:57:17,477
from the strong man
in the Dominican Republic,
1202
00:57:17,651 --> 00:57:19,348
- Trujillo.
- [indistinct chatter]
1203
00:57:19,523 --> 00:57:22,613
Mark: So he sent his emissary
with 30,000 dollars
1204
00:57:22,787 --> 00:57:24,571
to offer Satchel Paige
1205
00:57:24,745 --> 00:57:27,052
to play for him,
and then also carte blanche
1206
00:57:27,226 --> 00:57:30,316
to then bring as many players
as he could bring with him.
1207
00:57:31,273 --> 00:57:33,580
Donald: Paige then was able
to reach out
1208
00:57:33,754 --> 00:57:36,540
to other star
Negro League players,
1209
00:57:36,714 --> 00:57:38,585
particularly those
on the Crawfords.
1210
00:57:38,759 --> 00:57:42,110
"And yeah, I'll go with you.
Sure. For what? How much money?
1211
00:57:42,284 --> 00:57:45,723
Pay me a couple thousand.
Oh, yeah, right. I'm coming."
1212
00:57:45,940 --> 00:57:48,116
[soft music playing]
1213
00:57:48,290 --> 00:57:51,337
Rob: Paige brought in a total
of nine Pittsburgh Crawfords
1214
00:57:51,511 --> 00:57:53,252
from a roster of 16.
1215
00:57:54,035 --> 00:57:56,603
But it destroyed
the Pittsburgh Crawfords
1216
00:57:56,777 --> 00:57:59,084
because they lost
their best players.
1217
00:58:00,781 --> 00:58:03,088
Jim: By 1938, they were history.
1218
00:58:04,742 --> 00:58:08,180
It was too bad because Greenlee
did a great deal
1219
00:58:08,746 --> 00:58:10,138
for Black baseball.
1220
00:58:10,530 --> 00:58:11,923
Mark: So at that point,
1221
00:58:12,097 --> 00:58:13,881
Cum Posey takes advantage, pounces.
1222
00:58:14,055 --> 00:58:15,927
And he lured Josh Gibson back,
1223
00:58:16,101 --> 00:58:18,190
started stealing
some of the players back.
1224
00:58:18,364 --> 00:58:20,409
And then you had the makings of,
1225
00:58:20,627 --> 00:58:23,587
really, the last great
Negro League dynasty,
1226
00:58:24,022 --> 00:58:26,372
which was the Homestead Grays.
1227
00:58:26,677 --> 00:58:29,418
And they made it
to five of the last
1228
00:58:29,593 --> 00:58:31,072
Negro League World Series
1229
00:58:31,246 --> 00:58:32,596
in the last decade
of the Negro Leagues.
1230
00:58:34,598 --> 00:58:37,601
[fanfare plays]
1231
00:58:43,520 --> 00:58:44,999
News reporter:
The stakes this time
1232
00:58:45,565 --> 00:58:47,828
are the greatest men
have ever fought for.
1233
00:58:48,002 --> 00:58:51,484
And what are the stakes?
The American state.
1234
00:58:52,485 --> 00:58:54,661
The liberty of the whole earth
1235
00:58:54,879 --> 00:58:57,403
depends on the outcome
of this contest.
1236
00:58:58,709 --> 00:59:00,754
[ominous music playing]
1237
00:59:02,930 --> 00:59:05,280
Bob M: Following the US entry
into World War II,
1238
00:59:05,629 --> 00:59:08,066
African Americans once again
embraced the opportunity
1239
00:59:08,240 --> 00:59:09,633
to fight for their country.
1240
00:59:10,155 --> 00:59:12,679
Close to 120
Negro League ballplayers
1241
00:59:12,853 --> 00:59:14,333
joined in the war effort.
1242
00:59:16,335 --> 00:59:20,034
In the spring of 1943,
I enlisted as a member
1243
00:59:20,208 --> 00:59:21,732
of the United States
Marine Corps.
1244
00:59:23,124 --> 00:59:24,473
I was one
of the first Black Marines
1245
00:59:24,648 --> 00:59:25,997
in the history of this country.
1246
00:59:27,607 --> 00:59:30,131
Black soldiers were always put
on the front lines,
1247
00:59:30,305 --> 00:59:33,961
used as pawns to pave the way
for the White soldiers.
1248
00:59:35,136 --> 00:59:38,487
On the battlefields
of Okinawa, Saipan, and Guam,
1249
00:59:38,749 --> 00:59:41,142
I would endure
many harrowing experiences.
1250
00:59:42,056 --> 00:59:43,884
More than half
of my company was killed.
1251
00:59:44,885 --> 00:59:47,366
There were so many
dead bodies lying around,
1252
00:59:47,584 --> 00:59:49,194
they could have covered
the playing field
1253
00:59:49,368 --> 00:59:51,544
of any Major League ballpark
with the corpses.
1254
00:59:53,198 --> 00:59:55,853
I had given America
two and a half years of service,
1255
00:59:56,549 --> 00:59:58,072
and the country still
had not granted
1256
00:59:58,246 --> 01:00:00,945
full rights to me
or my Black brothers.
1257
01:00:03,251 --> 01:00:04,862
Andrea:
It was a huge contradiction
1258
01:00:05,036 --> 01:00:06,951
that Americans were fighting
this war effort
1259
01:00:07,125 --> 01:00:11,303
on behalf of civil rights
and liberties for people abroad.
1260
01:00:11,477 --> 01:00:13,261
And Black people understood
1261
01:00:13,435 --> 01:00:15,481
that they were still
second class citizens at home.
1262
01:00:16,351 --> 01:00:19,703
And I think Black people
took that as an opportunity
1263
01:00:19,877 --> 01:00:21,182
to start pushing for more.
1264
01:00:23,445 --> 01:00:25,012
Mark: The Double V campaign
1265
01:00:25,186 --> 01:00:26,274
was started
by the Pittsburgh Courier.
1266
01:00:27,101 --> 01:00:30,322
The Courier rallied
Black opinion
1267
01:00:30,496 --> 01:00:31,889
around the country,
1268
01:00:32,237 --> 01:00:35,066
around the idea
of "We will support this war.
1269
01:00:35,457 --> 01:00:38,286
We will enlist to fight.
1270
01:00:38,765 --> 01:00:41,681
We will buy war bonds
and support the war.
1271
01:00:41,855 --> 01:00:45,729
We will be patriotic,
but we want it understood,
1272
01:00:46,555 --> 01:00:49,384
that when the war is over,
we are going to get our rights."
1273
01:00:50,168 --> 01:00:52,866
And this is what they call
the Double Victory campaign.
1274
01:00:53,084 --> 01:00:59,525
Leslie: The idea of having
to fight two wars, one overseas,
1275
01:00:59,699 --> 01:01:02,920
and more importantly, one here
at home against segregation.
1276
01:01:03,137 --> 01:01:05,400
And in that discussion
comes one of, I think,
1277
01:01:05,574 --> 01:01:08,665
one of the most powerful images
and stories that comes out
1278
01:01:08,839 --> 01:01:10,971
is the idea they can fight,
1279
01:01:11,276 --> 01:01:13,582
and go, and fight,
and die at Guadalcanal,
1280
01:01:13,757 --> 01:01:15,672
but they can't play
on a diamond together?
1281
01:01:15,889 --> 01:01:17,804
- [Audience cheering]
- [soft music playing]
1282
01:01:17,978 --> 01:01:19,327
Gerald: At the time,
1283
01:01:19,588 --> 01:01:21,373
baseball was America's
most important sport,
1284
01:01:21,547 --> 01:01:23,636
and so integrating that
1285
01:01:23,810 --> 01:01:27,074
they felt symbolically
would be such a major step
1286
01:01:27,248 --> 01:01:29,729
to see Black people
and White people
1287
01:01:29,903 --> 01:01:31,688
working together
on the same team
1288
01:01:31,862 --> 01:01:34,516
to achieve a common goal
of winning a game.
1289
01:01:35,082 --> 01:01:36,475
Lloyd: I was involved
1290
01:01:36,649 --> 01:01:38,390
in an organization
of young people
1291
01:01:38,695 --> 01:01:40,435
interested in breaking
1292
01:01:40,609 --> 01:01:42,742
the Jim Crow ban
in the big leagues.
1293
01:01:43,264 --> 01:01:46,180
We used to go collect signatures
1294
01:01:46,354 --> 01:01:50,228
from the fans
coming into Forbes Field
1295
01:01:50,576 --> 01:01:55,494
that we want to have Negroes
get into the big leagues,
1296
01:01:55,668 --> 01:01:57,365
and there were lots of petitions
1297
01:01:57,539 --> 01:02:00,238
like we were making
in Pittsburgh, in New York.
1298
01:02:00,455 --> 01:02:01,805
Many, many petitions
1299
01:02:01,979 --> 01:02:04,590
were gathered
at the Yankee Stadium.
1300
01:02:04,764 --> 01:02:08,246
The owners knew
that this has got to change.
1301
01:02:09,160 --> 01:02:10,683
Bob K: Now, the Black press
1302
01:02:11,031 --> 01:02:15,557
was pushing this agenda
all along. Sam Lacy, Faye Young.
1303
01:02:15,732 --> 01:02:17,472
There were other
great Black writers
1304
01:02:17,646 --> 01:02:21,825
who were all trying to alter
the course of baseball
1305
01:02:21,999 --> 01:02:25,045
and move Black folks
into Major League Baseball.
1306
01:02:25,698 --> 01:02:27,004
But Wendell Smith,
1307
01:02:27,526 --> 01:02:30,659
one of the great Black writers
of that era,
1308
01:02:30,834 --> 01:02:33,227
was really
its primary front man.
1309
01:02:33,401 --> 01:02:34,838
[tense music playing]
1310
01:02:35,012 --> 01:02:36,578
Mark: Wendell Smith
started writing
1311
01:02:36,753 --> 01:02:39,538
this whole series of stories
about the issue.
1312
01:02:40,017 --> 01:02:44,369
And so, when teams came to play
in Pittsburgh at Forbes Field,
1313
01:02:44,543 --> 01:02:47,415
he would park himself
at the Schenley Hotel
1314
01:02:47,589 --> 01:02:49,287
across the street
from the ballpark
1315
01:02:49,461 --> 01:02:53,900
and buttonhole the top managers
and coaches and players and say,
1316
01:02:54,074 --> 01:02:57,121
"Are you in favor of integrating
the Major Leagues?"
1317
01:02:57,295 --> 01:02:58,949
And he got all of these top,
1318
01:02:59,123 --> 01:03:01,473
well-known people
on the record saying "Yes."
1319
01:03:01,908 --> 01:03:04,432
And then he and other
sportswriters used
1320
01:03:04,606 --> 01:03:07,044
some of that data
to start pressuring
1321
01:03:07,218 --> 01:03:09,046
the Commissioner Landis
1322
01:03:09,220 --> 01:03:12,092
to consider the integration
of Major League Baseball.
1323
01:03:12,266 --> 01:03:14,573
And he had been dodging
the whole issue
1324
01:03:14,747 --> 01:03:16,880
for a couple of decades.
1325
01:03:17,054 --> 01:03:23,669
Lloyd: In December 1943,
leaders of the Black newspapers
1326
01:03:23,887 --> 01:03:27,455
met with the commissioner
of baseball
1327
01:03:28,152 --> 01:03:32,460
and the owners of baseball
1328
01:03:33,026 --> 01:03:35,637
about getting Blacks
into the big leagues.
1329
01:03:35,855 --> 01:03:40,338
And they selected Paul Robeson
to be the spokesman
1330
01:03:40,512 --> 01:03:42,644
of the delegation here
in New York.
1331
01:03:42,862 --> 01:03:49,869
[vocalizes]
1332
01:03:50,217 --> 01:03:54,613
Paul Jr: Dad was then a great
theatrical star, film star,
1333
01:03:54,831 --> 01:03:58,182
the leading concert artist
in the country and in the world.
1334
01:03:58,878 --> 01:04:00,358
So my father's attitude was, especially,
1335
01:04:00,532 --> 01:04:01,838
because I've reached
this pinnacle,
1336
01:04:02,012 --> 01:04:03,404
because I'm who I am...
1337
01:04:04,971 --> 01:04:07,321
I have to do whatever I can do
1338
01:04:07,495 --> 01:04:10,803
to advance the interests
of African Americans as a whole.
1339
01:04:10,977 --> 01:04:12,326
And in this case,
1340
01:04:12,761 --> 01:04:15,590
what better way than to throw
my weight behind the campaign
1341
01:04:15,808 --> 01:04:17,418
to break the segregation
1342
01:04:17,592 --> 01:04:20,160
in organized baseball
in particular.
1343
01:04:21,379 --> 01:04:22,946
Lloyd: So Paul explained
1344
01:04:23,120 --> 01:04:25,774
to the commissioner
and to the others,
1345
01:04:25,949 --> 01:04:29,604
"We have a million Blacks
in the armed forces,
1346
01:04:29,909 --> 01:04:32,607
and now, right during this war,
1347
01:04:32,912 --> 01:04:37,221
they... You still have this ban
against them in what sport?
1348
01:04:37,395 --> 01:04:38,657
The national sport.
1349
01:04:39,223 --> 01:04:42,487
How does that fit in
with what we're fighting for?"
1350
01:04:43,270 --> 01:04:44,489
Voice as Paul Sr:
We live in times
1351
01:04:44,663 --> 01:04:47,100
when the world
is changing very fast,
1352
01:04:47,492 --> 01:04:49,886
when you may be able
to make a great contribution
1353
01:04:50,060 --> 01:04:52,453
to not only the advance
of our own country
1354
01:04:52,627 --> 01:04:54,499
but of the whole world.
1355
01:04:54,673 --> 01:04:56,631
- Because a thing like this...
- [gentle music playing]
1356
01:04:56,893 --> 01:04:58,546
...Negro ballplayers becoming
1357
01:04:58,720 --> 01:05:01,027
a part of the great
national pastime of America...
1358
01:05:02,072 --> 01:05:03,464
can make a great difference
1359
01:05:03,638 --> 01:05:04,901
in what peoples
all over the world
1360
01:05:05,075 --> 01:05:06,728
feel towards us as a country
1361
01:05:07,033 --> 01:05:09,688
in a time
when we need their help.
1362
01:05:11,603 --> 01:05:15,215
Paul Jr: He made about a ten,
12-minute presentation,
1363
01:05:15,389 --> 01:05:18,784
which was quite impassioned.
It was off-the-cuff
1364
01:05:19,002 --> 01:05:21,656
and really had
an enormous effect
1365
01:05:21,830 --> 01:05:24,224
on the owners,
apparently because unusual,
1366
01:05:24,398 --> 01:05:27,097
they applauded at the end
and all that.
1367
01:05:27,619 --> 01:05:29,534
And then of course,
everybody withdrew,
1368
01:05:29,708 --> 01:05:33,277
and they went back
into private session.
1369
01:05:34,365 --> 01:05:35,757
Rob: Branch Rickey,
1370
01:05:36,106 --> 01:05:38,499
who's president
of the Brooklyn Dodgers, says,
1371
01:05:38,673 --> 01:05:41,198
"Are we going to discuss
and make a decision
1372
01:05:41,372 --> 01:05:44,636
on the proposal to integrate
Major League Baseball?"
1373
01:05:44,810 --> 01:05:46,551
And Landis said,
1374
01:05:46,725 --> 01:05:49,293
"We have considered it.
No action has been taken."
1375
01:05:49,467 --> 01:05:51,295
[tense music playing]
1376
01:05:51,469 --> 01:05:54,428
Rob: He said, "It is a matter
for each club to determine
1377
01:05:54,602 --> 01:05:56,604
whether or not to sign
a Black player."
1378
01:05:57,344 --> 01:06:00,130
But as long
as he is the commissioner,
1379
01:06:00,391 --> 01:06:04,482
there will not be any player
who can't cross the color line.
1380
01:06:05,570 --> 01:06:09,748
But in 1944,
Commissioner Landis dies.
1381
01:06:10,531 --> 01:06:12,881
- It really changes everything.
- [music fades]
1382
01:06:13,143 --> 01:06:15,058
[lively music playing]
1383
01:06:17,016 --> 01:06:20,324
[Crowd cheering]
1384
01:06:20,498 --> 01:06:25,155
♪ Goin' to Kansas City
Kansas City, here I come... ♪
1385
01:06:25,416 --> 01:06:27,592
Bob M: Sailing home
was a bittersweet journey.
1386
01:06:28,419 --> 01:06:30,508
We had defeated
a dangerous enemy,
1387
01:06:31,161 --> 01:06:33,119
all the while earning respect
as soldiers.
1388
01:06:33,293 --> 01:06:34,686
[Crowd cheering]
1389
01:06:35,121 --> 01:06:36,731
Bob M: We hoped life
would be better back home.
1390
01:06:36,905 --> 01:06:38,211
♪ They got some
Crazy little women there... ♪
1391
01:06:38,385 --> 01:06:39,691
Bob M: After the war,
1392
01:06:40,257 --> 01:06:43,347
my brother begged me to give him
a lift to Kansas City, Missouri.
1393
01:06:43,738 --> 01:06:48,004
Kansas City had jobs, nightlife,
a thriving Black community,
1394
01:06:48,265 --> 01:06:50,354
and a professional
Black baseball team,
1395
01:06:50,963 --> 01:06:53,531
the world famous
Kansas City Monarchs.
1396
01:06:53,705 --> 01:06:55,098
♪ Standin' on the corner... ♪
1397
01:06:55,315 --> 01:06:56,969
Bob M: When I arrived
in Kansas City,
1398
01:06:57,535 --> 01:06:59,015
the Monarchs
were stocked full
1399
01:06:59,189 --> 01:07:00,886
of some of the League's
best known talent.
1400
01:07:01,060 --> 01:07:02,888
♪ With my Kansas City baby... ♪
1401
01:07:03,062 --> 01:07:08,024
Bob M: Clifford Connie Johnson,
Buck O'Neil, Ted Strong,
1402
01:07:08,502 --> 01:07:11,853
Willard Brown,
and Satchel Paige.
1403
01:07:12,028 --> 01:07:13,551
♪ I might take a plane... ♪
1404
01:07:13,725 --> 01:07:15,640
Myra: The Monarchs
were big shots,
1405
01:07:15,814 --> 01:07:17,381
as far as I was concerned.
1406
01:07:17,598 --> 01:07:19,644
We thought that they
were the greatest things
1407
01:07:19,818 --> 01:07:21,689
that Kansas City had,
you know.
1408
01:07:21,863 --> 01:07:23,256
We'd sit over there
1409
01:07:23,430 --> 01:07:25,650
and talk about who
had pretty legs
1410
01:07:25,824 --> 01:07:28,218
or who was built
and looked real fine.
1411
01:07:28,392 --> 01:07:30,481
You know, they looked good.
[chuckles]
1412
01:07:30,655 --> 01:07:32,265
[Audience cheering]
1413
01:07:32,439 --> 01:07:33,919
♪ Ah, but you know
Yeah, must die... ♪
1414
01:07:34,093 --> 01:07:35,921
Buck: This was a good time
for baseball,
1415
01:07:36,095 --> 01:07:37,401
a good time for musicians.
1416
01:07:37,575 --> 01:07:39,272
They would come to the ballgame,
see us play.
1417
01:07:39,446 --> 01:07:40,969
And at night we go on
and see them,
1418
01:07:41,144 --> 01:07:42,928
dance and everything.
1419
01:07:43,450 --> 01:07:45,452
Andrea: By the time
we get to the '40s, really,
1420
01:07:45,626 --> 01:07:47,889
this is the heyday
of Black baseball.
1421
01:07:48,064 --> 01:07:49,587
Because of World War II,
1422
01:07:49,804 --> 01:07:51,632
there's money pouring
into the Black community, right?
1423
01:07:51,806 --> 01:07:53,156
Like defense hiring,
1424
01:07:53,460 --> 01:07:55,158
these manufacturers
can no longer say,
1425
01:07:55,332 --> 01:07:56,724
"Well, we're not gonna hire you
'cause you're Black."
1426
01:07:56,898 --> 01:07:58,335
It's all hands on deck, right?
1427
01:07:58,596 --> 01:08:02,208
So now, Black people
in the general community
1428
01:08:02,382 --> 01:08:03,949
have more money to go
to baseball games
1429
01:08:04,123 --> 01:08:05,864
and to support
these institutions.
1430
01:08:06,604 --> 01:08:09,607
Leslie: So by the late '30s
and early '40s
1431
01:08:09,824 --> 01:08:12,827
Black baseball was considered
to be the third largest
1432
01:08:13,089 --> 01:08:15,134
economic institution
in the Black community.
1433
01:08:15,656 --> 01:08:17,267
Shakeia:
'Cause you have vendors,
1434
01:08:17,615 --> 01:08:19,399
and you have advertising,
and you have ticket sales,
1435
01:08:19,573 --> 01:08:22,881
and you have all of these
other aspects to the game
1436
01:08:23,055 --> 01:08:24,230
that weren't considered,
you know.
1437
01:08:24,404 --> 01:08:26,058
People were making
money from it.
1438
01:08:26,493 --> 01:08:30,280
Bob K: The impact that it had
on urban communities
1439
01:08:30,497 --> 01:08:34,632
was something that
we've not seen to that magnitude
1440
01:08:34,806 --> 01:08:36,112
since the Negro Leagues.
1441
01:08:36,286 --> 01:08:37,983
So when we think
about Black baseball
1442
01:08:38,157 --> 01:08:41,421
and its impact on cities
like Chicago,
1443
01:08:41,769 --> 01:08:43,945
Kansas City, New York.
1444
01:08:44,163 --> 01:08:46,992
Wherever you had
successful Black baseball,
1445
01:08:47,819 --> 01:08:51,257
you typically had
thriving Black economies.
1446
01:08:51,431 --> 01:08:53,085
♪ They got some
Crazy little women there... ♪
1447
01:08:53,259 --> 01:08:56,044
Bob M: My arrival
in Kansas City in 1946
1448
01:08:56,219 --> 01:08:59,396
came at an exciting time
for Black baseball in the town.
1449
01:08:59,570 --> 01:09:00,745
[music fades]
1450
01:09:00,919 --> 01:09:02,399
Bob M:
When the Monarchs advanced
1451
01:09:02,573 --> 01:09:03,965
to the Negro League
World Series that year
1452
01:09:04,140 --> 01:09:05,793
against the hot contender
from the East,
1453
01:09:06,011 --> 01:09:07,621
the Newark Eagles.
1454
01:09:08,056 --> 01:09:09,928
They were run
by powerhouse owners,
1455
01:09:10,146 --> 01:09:12,452
Abe and Effa Manley.
1456
01:09:12,626 --> 01:09:14,367
[jazz music playing]
1457
01:09:14,541 --> 01:09:16,630
Effa: The ballplayers,
they have a word they used.
1458
01:09:16,804 --> 01:09:18,893
I realized it
was the most important word
1459
01:09:19,067 --> 01:09:21,679
in their vocabulary,
and the word is "satisfied."
1460
01:09:21,896 --> 01:09:24,856
"I am satisfied."
If they're not satisfied,
1461
01:09:25,030 --> 01:09:26,945
all you've got is a guy
in a uniform.
1462
01:09:27,119 --> 01:09:28,512
And then on the case
1463
01:09:28,686 --> 01:09:30,035
of our old time
Negro ballplayers,
1464
01:09:30,209 --> 01:09:31,993
they were happy doing
what they did.
1465
01:09:33,212 --> 01:09:36,346
Andrea: Effa Manley was a woman
1466
01:09:36,520 --> 01:09:39,131
who said the things
that needed to be said,
1467
01:09:39,305 --> 01:09:40,959
even if nobody wanted
to hear 'em,
1468
01:09:41,133 --> 01:09:43,091
and did the things
that needed to be done,
1469
01:09:43,266 --> 01:09:45,093
even if nobody else
wanted to do them.
1470
01:09:45,268 --> 01:09:46,617
Jim: She is called
1471
01:09:46,834 --> 01:09:47,705
"The First Lady
of Black baseball"
1472
01:09:47,879 --> 01:09:49,402
because there really,
1473
01:09:49,576 --> 01:09:51,578
at that time
and pretty much after that,
1474
01:09:51,752 --> 01:09:53,493
weren't any other women
1475
01:09:53,667 --> 01:09:56,496
closely involved in successful
Black baseball teams.
1476
01:09:56,670 --> 01:09:59,586
And there weren't very many
other women closely involved
1477
01:09:59,760 --> 01:10:01,806
with successful
White baseball teams, either.
1478
01:10:02,241 --> 01:10:04,200
Shakeia:
But she was also an enigma.
1479
01:10:04,374 --> 01:10:08,421
There's questions of like,
"Was Effa Black? Was Effa White?
1480
01:10:08,595 --> 01:10:09,901
Was she passing,
1481
01:10:10,249 --> 01:10:11,816
or was she just living
her truth?
1482
01:10:11,990 --> 01:10:13,165
Was she just living her life?"
1483
01:10:13,383 --> 01:10:14,949
- [music fades]
- [indistinct chatter]
1484
01:10:15,123 --> 01:10:16,951
Andrea: Before she gets
into baseball,
1485
01:10:17,125 --> 01:10:21,434
she comes of age in Harlem
in the 1920s and early '30s,
1486
01:10:21,782 --> 01:10:23,958
and she is absorbing all of it.
1487
01:10:24,524 --> 01:10:27,875
Effa: I immediately became
very much involved
1488
01:10:28,049 --> 01:10:30,400
in civic affairs.
1489
01:10:30,748 --> 01:10:32,793
I was attending
a dinner one night,
1490
01:10:32,967 --> 01:10:34,752
and we got
into this conversation
1491
01:10:34,926 --> 01:10:38,146
about how hard it was
for Negroes to find employment.
1492
01:10:39,191 --> 01:10:41,628
Jim: The department stores
and other big stores
1493
01:10:41,802 --> 01:10:43,326
on 125th Street in Harlem,
1494
01:10:43,500 --> 01:10:46,329
which was the main
business street there, had no,
1495
01:10:46,503 --> 01:10:48,026
other than elevator operators,
1496
01:10:48,200 --> 01:10:50,898
you couldn't see
a Black employee in the store.
1497
01:10:51,508 --> 01:10:53,858
Andrea: So she decides
to launch a boycott
1498
01:10:54,032 --> 01:10:56,295
against a department store
in Harlem,
1499
01:10:56,469 --> 01:10:59,342
because even though 70,
75 percent of their sales
1500
01:10:59,516 --> 01:11:01,169
were coming
from the Black community,
1501
01:11:01,344 --> 01:11:02,867
they would not hire
Black women as salesclerks.
1502
01:11:33,201 --> 01:11:35,639
Jim: It worked.
And if you were gonna see
1503
01:11:35,813 --> 01:11:37,728
how Effa Manley
was gonna run her team
1504
01:11:37,902 --> 01:11:39,382
in the Negro National League,
1505
01:11:39,556 --> 01:11:40,861
you need only look
at those few months
1506
01:11:41,035 --> 01:11:42,515
in Harlem in 1934.
1507
01:11:47,651 --> 01:11:51,568
Andrea: Abe Manley was involved
in numbers operations,
1508
01:11:51,916 --> 01:11:55,049
and Abe had always been
a really big fan
1509
01:11:55,223 --> 01:11:56,703
of Black baseball.
1510
01:11:57,182 --> 01:12:00,968
Once he marries Effa and sees
what Effa is capable of
1511
01:12:01,142 --> 01:12:04,145
during this Blumstein's boycott.
He can trust her.
1512
01:12:04,320 --> 01:12:06,060
He knows that
she will do the work,
1513
01:12:06,234 --> 01:12:08,585
that she is smart,
that she is savvy.
1514
01:12:08,759 --> 01:12:12,719
He's like, "Yeah, let me give
this Black baseball thing a go."
1515
01:12:12,893 --> 01:12:14,199
Effa: Little by little,
1516
01:12:14,373 --> 01:12:16,375
I found myself
doing more and more.
1517
01:12:16,549 --> 01:12:19,770
I drew up the schedules,
bought the equipment,
1518
01:12:19,944 --> 01:12:21,815
went to all of the meetings,
of course.
1519
01:12:21,989 --> 01:12:24,252
I found myself
completely involved,
1520
01:12:24,427 --> 01:12:25,906
and I enjoyed it.
1521
01:12:26,559 --> 01:12:28,953
Bob K:
She was a shrewd negotiator.
1522
01:12:29,301 --> 01:12:32,957
She knew the business
of baseball as well as any man,
1523
01:12:33,261 --> 01:12:35,307
and Monte Irvin
was fond of saying,
1524
01:12:35,481 --> 01:12:37,309
"She never missed a payday."
1525
01:12:37,614 --> 01:12:39,180
You had a lot of respect
for her,
1526
01:12:39,355 --> 01:12:42,227
and she tried to keep you on,
you know, tried to,
1527
01:12:42,401 --> 01:12:43,576
particularly young fellas.
1528
01:12:43,750 --> 01:12:45,056
She'd try to advise them
what to do,
1529
01:12:45,230 --> 01:12:46,623
how to do it
and that kind of a thing.
1530
01:12:46,797 --> 01:12:48,320
Max: But I think
it was her ability
1531
01:12:48,494 --> 01:12:50,583
and her characteristics
and what she was like
1532
01:12:50,757 --> 01:12:53,412
and what she wanted
the League to look like
1533
01:12:54,370 --> 01:12:56,110
that made her a presence
1534
01:12:56,284 --> 01:12:59,505
in the Negro League situation,
you know? Very important. Yeah.
1535
01:12:59,679 --> 01:13:03,509
[intense music playing]
1536
01:13:05,424 --> 01:13:08,688
Jim: For many years in the '40s,
the Homestead Grays
1537
01:13:08,862 --> 01:13:10,603
were constantly winning
the pennant,
1538
01:13:10,777 --> 01:13:12,257
and the Eagles
were right behind them.
1539
01:13:12,649 --> 01:13:14,868
And in 1946,
they finally caught up.
1540
01:13:15,303 --> 01:13:16,957
Andrea: It was special for Effa.
1541
01:13:17,131 --> 01:13:19,482
She'd been in baseball
at this point, her and Abe,
1542
01:13:19,656 --> 01:13:21,222
for over a decade.
1543
01:13:21,397 --> 01:13:24,051
And this was the moment
that she had been working to.
1544
01:13:24,661 --> 01:13:26,358
She had Larry Doby,
1545
01:13:26,532 --> 01:13:28,534
who became the first player
in the American League,
1546
01:13:28,708 --> 01:13:30,014
when he signed
1547
01:13:30,318 --> 01:13:31,885
with the baseball team
out of Cleveland.
1548
01:13:32,277 --> 01:13:35,323
Monte Irvin was on that team,
Leon Day was on that team.
1549
01:13:35,672 --> 01:13:37,369
Bob K: Leon Day throws
1550
01:13:37,543 --> 01:13:39,502
- an opening day no-hitter...
- [Audience cheering]
1551
01:13:39,806 --> 01:13:41,112
...in 1946.
1552
01:13:42,418 --> 01:13:45,508
Opening day,
that was tremendous.
1553
01:13:45,682 --> 01:13:46,857
It was... I mean, it was...
1554
01:13:47,727 --> 01:13:49,729
That's why that reaction,
it was shock.
1555
01:13:50,034 --> 01:13:51,557
The Black people threw
the little blue cushions
1556
01:13:52,079 --> 01:13:53,690
they used to give you to sit on,
1557
01:13:53,864 --> 01:13:55,343
they just covered
the stadium with pillows.
1558
01:13:55,518 --> 01:13:57,302
And pillows were sailing out
from all over the place.
1559
01:13:57,476 --> 01:13:58,782
I was a little boy
looking at that,
1560
01:13:58,956 --> 01:14:00,523
I thought... I was like,
"Wow, look at this."
1561
01:14:01,262 --> 01:14:04,352
Bob K: And the Newark Eagles
rode that wave
1562
01:14:04,527 --> 01:14:06,224
all the way to the World Series
1563
01:14:06,398 --> 01:14:08,095
against the Kansas City Monarchs.
1564
01:14:08,269 --> 01:14:10,663
Jim: The Monarchs were ahead,
three games to two,
1565
01:14:10,837 --> 01:14:12,622
and were on the verge
of winning.
1566
01:14:12,796 --> 01:14:15,842
The Eagles won a slugfest
in the sixth game to tie it up.
1567
01:14:16,016 --> 01:14:17,409
So they're back
at Rupert Stadium
1568
01:14:17,583 --> 01:14:18,715
for the seventh game.
1569
01:14:19,498 --> 01:14:20,760
And he gets to the ninth inning.
1570
01:14:20,934 --> 01:14:22,545
The Eagles are ahead,
three to two.
1571
01:14:22,893 --> 01:14:25,330
Monarchs last chance.
First guy makes an out,
1572
01:14:25,504 --> 01:14:26,766
the second guy singles,
1573
01:14:26,940 --> 01:14:28,376
but he's thrown out at second,
1574
01:14:28,551 --> 01:14:30,378
trying to stretch it
into a double.
1575
01:14:30,553 --> 01:14:31,858
So now there are two outs,
1576
01:14:32,468 --> 01:14:35,296
and Effa Manley is just
as nervous as a cat
1577
01:14:35,471 --> 01:14:36,907
because the next guy gets a hit.
1578
01:14:37,995 --> 01:14:39,866
She's something
like in her memoirs,
1579
01:14:40,171 --> 01:14:43,087
"How can a human heart
take all this tension?"
1580
01:14:43,261 --> 01:14:44,741
She says, "I can't look,
1581
01:14:44,915 --> 01:14:46,960
I hear the crack of the bat
and I can't look.
1582
01:14:47,134 --> 01:14:48,571
I finally opened my eyes,
1583
01:14:49,267 --> 01:14:50,703
and the ball is coming
right down
1584
01:14:50,877 --> 01:14:52,139
in first baseman
Lennie Pearson's mitt."
1585
01:14:52,313 --> 01:14:54,881
He grabs it. The Eagles win.
1586
01:14:55,055 --> 01:14:57,188
- [Audience cheering]
- [music fades]
1587
01:14:57,362 --> 01:15:01,018
Effa: Boy, did we have
a ballclub in 1946.[chuckling]
1588
01:15:01,540 --> 01:15:03,063
I don't believe
1589
01:15:03,455 --> 01:15:05,283
any ballclub in the country
could have beaten us.
1590
01:15:08,112 --> 01:15:10,331
[soft music playing]
1591
01:15:10,506 --> 01:15:11,637
Buck: I'm in the Navy.
1592
01:15:12,116 --> 01:15:14,988
I'm a boatswain,
stevedore platoon.
1593
01:15:15,162 --> 01:15:16,860
It's an all Black battalion.
1594
01:15:17,817 --> 01:15:19,210
It's 10:30 at night.
1595
01:15:19,384 --> 01:15:22,169
Everybody's in bed,
and the officer said,
1596
01:15:22,343 --> 01:15:23,997
the officer of the day,
1597
01:15:24,955 --> 01:15:26,870
"Boatswain O'Neil,
come to my office at once."
1598
01:15:27,044 --> 01:15:29,002
I say, "Oh, hell,
what did I do now?"
1599
01:15:29,176 --> 01:15:30,961
He said, "You know what?"
I say, "No, sir."
1600
01:15:32,179 --> 01:15:33,920
"Branch Rickey
just signed Jackie
1601
01:15:34,094 --> 01:15:36,314
to an organized
baseball contract."
1602
01:15:36,575 --> 01:15:39,622
I say, "Whoop,
give me that horn."
1603
01:15:39,839 --> 01:15:41,188
I got on it.
1604
01:15:41,362 --> 01:15:43,495
I say, "Hear this,
hear this, hear this."
1605
01:15:43,756 --> 01:15:45,715
Woke up the entire camp.
1606
01:15:46,585 --> 01:15:49,066
And I said, "Branch Rickey
just signed Jackie Robinson
1607
01:15:49,240 --> 01:15:51,198
to an organized
baseball contract."
1608
01:15:51,416 --> 01:15:53,549
They whoop, they holler,
they shot their guns.
1609
01:15:53,897 --> 01:15:57,422
We didn't sleep much that night.
Oh, man. That was it.
1610
01:15:58,554 --> 01:15:59,990
I came out of the service,
1611
01:16:00,164 --> 01:16:02,383
I joined a baseball team.
In a year or so,
1612
01:16:02,558 --> 01:16:05,256
I was with
the organized baseball,
1613
01:16:05,430 --> 01:16:06,779
and in a very short time,
1614
01:16:06,953 --> 01:16:08,694
I was up there
in the Major Leagues.
1615
01:16:08,912 --> 01:16:10,870
Boy, I was a pretty lucky fellow
because we do pretty well
1616
01:16:11,044 --> 01:16:12,480
in the Major League
in baseball.
1617
01:16:14,091 --> 01:16:19,052
♪ I got a good thing
A good thing going on ♪
1618
01:16:19,226 --> 01:16:20,750
[Audience cheering]
1619
01:16:21,054 --> 01:16:26,190
♪ I got a good thing
A good thing going on ♪
1620
01:16:27,104 --> 01:16:30,063
♪ Woke up this mornin'
It's a brand-new day ♪
1621
01:16:30,324 --> 01:16:32,718
♪ And I know everything's
Gonna come my way ♪
1622
01:16:33,240 --> 01:16:39,116
♪ 'Cause I got a good thing
A good thing going on ♪
1623
01:16:42,249 --> 01:16:45,992
Andrea: Jackie Robinson had been
this incredible athlete at UCLA,
1624
01:16:46,166 --> 01:16:48,125
and he was known
across the country
1625
01:16:48,299 --> 01:16:49,866
as this football star,
1626
01:16:50,127 --> 01:16:51,694
but there was no avenue
for him to play football.
1627
01:16:51,868 --> 01:16:54,697
And so, baseball really became
the best outlet for him
1628
01:16:54,871 --> 01:16:57,482
to be a professional athlete
to make money.
1629
01:16:57,830 --> 01:17:00,920
And that door opened for him
through the Negro Leagues,
1630
01:17:01,094 --> 01:17:02,356
through the Kansas City Monarchs.
1631
01:17:02,748 --> 01:17:04,315
Mark: At the time,
1632
01:17:04,489 --> 01:17:07,361
Wendell Smith decided
that Jackie Robinson
1633
01:17:07,535 --> 01:17:10,756
was the player
that had the best odds
1634
01:17:10,930 --> 01:17:12,802
of breaking through
into the Major Leagues
1635
01:17:12,976 --> 01:17:14,455
because he had
the right temperament,
1636
01:17:14,630 --> 01:17:15,979
and he had the right look
1637
01:17:16,414 --> 01:17:18,764
that would be accepted
by White fans.
1638
01:17:18,938 --> 01:17:20,897
So it was actually Wendell Smith
1639
01:17:21,071 --> 01:17:24,988
who put Jackie Robinson
on Branch Rickey's radar screen.
1640
01:17:25,423 --> 01:17:28,034
[music fades]
1641
01:17:28,208 --> 01:17:29,688
Reporter: Organized baseball
1642
01:17:29,862 --> 01:17:31,690
hasn't had a Negro player
since 1884,
1643
01:17:31,864 --> 01:17:33,518
when Moses Walker
was with Toledo.
1644
01:17:33,692 --> 01:17:36,956
But 63 years later, in 1947,
1645
01:17:37,130 --> 01:17:39,132
Jackie Robinson
joined the Brooklyn Dodgers
1646
01:17:39,306 --> 01:17:40,612
and blasted his way to stardom.
1647
01:17:40,786 --> 01:17:42,309
[upbeat music playing]
1648
01:17:42,570 --> 01:17:44,398
Bob M: We never thought
we'd lived to see the day
1649
01:17:44,572 --> 01:17:46,487
when a Black man would be
admitted into the Major Leagues.
1650
01:17:47,184 --> 01:17:49,142
Equality was within our reach.
1651
01:17:50,230 --> 01:17:52,885
If a Black man could integrate
the great American pastime,
1652
01:17:53,712 --> 01:17:55,279
anything seemed possible.
1653
01:17:56,628 --> 01:17:59,631
Every Sunday
in my hometown Fairfield,
1654
01:18:00,458 --> 01:18:02,590
I would read about three guys,
1655
01:18:03,635 --> 01:18:07,204
Joe DiMaggio,
Ted Williams, Stan Musial.
1656
01:18:07,639 --> 01:18:09,032
Those are the guys
1657
01:18:09,206 --> 01:18:11,251
that were on the sport page
every Sunday.
1658
01:18:11,774 --> 01:18:16,126
So when Jackie came in in '47,
he gave me hope.
1659
01:18:17,170 --> 01:18:18,519
Well, man, one of these days
1660
01:18:18,694 --> 01:18:20,913
I might be
on the front page like that.
1661
01:18:22,175 --> 01:18:24,612
Maya: Brooklyn became Harlem.
1662
01:18:25,613 --> 01:18:29,530
Or that is to say,
it was a place most loved.
1663
01:18:30,662 --> 01:18:34,361
And whether you would ever go
there or not, you knew Brooklyn
1664
01:18:34,535 --> 01:18:36,929
because Jackie Robinson
was there.
1665
01:18:37,147 --> 01:18:38,452
[Audience cheering]
1666
01:18:38,626 --> 01:18:41,020
Lloyd:
One of the very first times
1667
01:18:41,238 --> 01:18:44,632
that I went to see the game
at Ebbets Field...
1668
01:18:44,807 --> 01:18:45,982
[Audience cheering]
1669
01:18:46,330 --> 01:18:48,767
[chuckles] First of all,
going on the subway,
1670
01:18:48,941 --> 01:18:53,816
you'd have thought all of Harlem
was heading there. [chuckles]
1671
01:18:54,120 --> 01:18:57,994
Everybody I see,
they're bringing along baskets.
1672
01:18:58,255 --> 01:19:01,432
They've got chicken.
It's like a big picnic.
1673
01:19:01,780 --> 01:19:04,740
All of Harlem now
is going to Ebbets Field and so,
1674
01:19:04,914 --> 01:19:07,046
you know where they're going,
and you know why they're going.
1675
01:19:07,220 --> 01:19:09,483
Jackie. Everybody's talking
about Jackie.
1676
01:19:09,657 --> 01:19:12,138
- [Audience cheering]
- [music fades]
1677
01:19:12,312 --> 01:19:13,792
Lester: Jackie changed people.
1678
01:19:13,966 --> 01:19:16,621
The whole dynamics
of America changed.
1679
01:19:17,317 --> 01:19:20,103
You know, when the Dodgers
began playing on the road...
1680
01:19:22,192 --> 01:19:24,847
you saw tumultuous scenes,
you know, and...
1681
01:19:26,065 --> 01:19:28,285
this was...
There was a first in everything.
1682
01:19:28,807 --> 01:19:31,114
There was an exhibition game
in Georgia.
1683
01:19:31,636 --> 01:19:33,638
This tremendous crowd
of Black people,
1684
01:19:33,812 --> 01:19:35,553
and the Dodgers emerged
from their dugout.
1685
01:19:35,727 --> 01:19:37,294
[Audience cheering]
1686
01:19:37,685 --> 01:19:39,775
Lester: A big roar of greeting
from the Black crowd.
1687
01:19:39,949 --> 01:19:41,298
[Audience cheering]
1688
01:19:41,820 --> 01:19:43,517
Lester: The second thing
is booing from the White stands.
1689
01:19:43,691 --> 01:19:44,997
[Audience booing]
1690
01:19:45,171 --> 01:19:47,304
Okay.
Then the third thing happens.
1691
01:19:47,521 --> 01:19:50,960
What's the third thing?
White people begin standing up
1692
01:19:51,134 --> 01:19:53,005
and clapping
to differentiate themselves.
1693
01:19:53,179 --> 01:19:54,659
[Audience cheering, applauding]
1694
01:19:54,964 --> 01:19:57,183
- [soft music playing]
- Lester: How many? Hundreds.
1695
01:19:57,357 --> 01:19:58,924
So, who are these people,
you know?
1696
01:19:59,098 --> 01:20:01,884
They're not all hidden
closet progressives, you know.
1697
01:20:02,754 --> 01:20:05,104
So that's a great dynamic
at work there.
1698
01:20:06,236 --> 01:20:08,151
Black and White
took the field together.
1699
01:20:08,891 --> 01:20:11,023
How do you estimate
the meaning of that, you know?
1700
01:20:12,808 --> 01:20:15,419
Mal: Jackie Robinson not only
opened the doors for baseball,
1701
01:20:15,593 --> 01:20:17,856
but he opened the doors
for a lot of other opportunities
1702
01:20:18,030 --> 01:20:19,640
because he brought to mind
1703
01:20:19,815 --> 01:20:22,252
to a lot of predominantly
White businessmen,
1704
01:20:22,426 --> 01:20:24,994
why shouldn't we have
a Black telephone operator?
1705
01:20:25,385 --> 01:20:27,561
Why shouldn't we have
a clerk in our store?
1706
01:20:27,779 --> 01:20:29,041
They didn't understand that,
1707
01:20:29,215 --> 01:20:30,956
until they got to see
Jackie Robinson
1708
01:20:31,130 --> 01:20:35,265
producing like
a professional baseball player
1709
01:20:35,439 --> 01:20:37,441
and then projected that
into other areas of life.
1710
01:20:38,746 --> 01:20:40,661
Rachel: I think Jack
was one of the catalysts
1711
01:20:40,836 --> 01:20:42,272
for the civil rights movement,
1712
01:20:42,533 --> 01:20:44,448
that somehow
he alerted White people
1713
01:20:44,622 --> 01:20:46,929
to the fact of discrimination
1714
01:20:47,103 --> 01:20:49,453
and what the losses
were for the society,
1715
01:20:49,627 --> 01:20:51,629
that you couldn't include
this talent.
1716
01:20:52,195 --> 01:20:53,631
And I think
he made Black people,
1717
01:20:53,805 --> 01:20:55,285
who had been made
to feel inferior,
1718
01:20:55,459 --> 01:20:57,548
feel prouder of themselves.
1719
01:21:00,203 --> 01:21:02,379
Monte: Signing him
was remarkable
1720
01:21:02,553 --> 01:21:05,861
because Jackie was not
a great player when he started,
1721
01:21:06,035 --> 01:21:10,866
but every year he improved
and became very exciting,
1722
01:21:11,040 --> 01:21:13,520
and a great second baseman,
and a team leader.
1723
01:21:14,043 --> 01:21:16,872
He just... He did
a great job of pioneering.
1724
01:21:18,830 --> 01:21:22,486
But the hostility
to Jackie was very, very strong.
1725
01:21:23,530 --> 01:21:27,621
And now, the Cardinals
were probably the most hostile.
1726
01:21:28,361 --> 01:21:31,712
And I saw Enos Slaughter
run down
1727
01:21:31,887 --> 01:21:35,891
and just deliberately reach out
with his left foot
1728
01:21:36,108 --> 01:21:40,243
and spike
Jackie Robinson's ankle.
1729
01:21:41,853 --> 01:21:43,855
Jackie: The things
that happened on the ball field
1730
01:21:44,029 --> 01:21:46,466
hurt more than anything else,
simply because of the fact
1731
01:21:46,640 --> 01:21:48,860
that I had been in athletics
for many, many years,
1732
01:21:49,034 --> 01:21:51,950
and I had never really
experienced some of the things
1733
01:21:52,124 --> 01:21:54,126
that were happening to me
at this particular time.
1734
01:21:54,474 --> 01:21:57,260
So Mr. Rickey felt that
for the first few years
1735
01:21:57,434 --> 01:22:00,306
that we couldn't oppose
actually some of the things
1736
01:22:00,480 --> 01:22:01,873
that were said and done to us.
1737
01:22:02,047 --> 01:22:04,136
We had to sort of turn
the other cheek.
1738
01:22:04,832 --> 01:22:06,704
I found that very difficult.
Matter of fact,
1739
01:22:06,878 --> 01:22:08,532
my doctor told me
to get away from baseball
1740
01:22:08,706 --> 01:22:10,534
for fear I was gonna
have a nervous breakdown.
1741
01:22:12,492 --> 01:22:13,929
Rachel: I knew
what he was going through,
1742
01:22:14,103 --> 01:22:15,974
and I could hear it
in certain cities,
1743
01:22:16,366 --> 01:22:18,629
like Philadelphia and Baltimore,
1744
01:22:18,803 --> 01:22:21,023
some of the places
where there would be
1745
01:22:21,197 --> 01:22:22,807
racial epithets coming
out of the stands
1746
01:22:22,981 --> 01:22:23,939
and that kind of thing.
1747
01:22:24,548 --> 01:22:26,158
And I would...
It would make me angry.
1748
01:22:26,332 --> 01:22:27,899
But I was just as committed
to the course
1749
01:22:28,073 --> 01:22:29,770
that Jack had chosen, as he was,
1750
01:22:30,684 --> 01:22:32,164
and he would fight back
with his bat.
1751
01:22:32,338 --> 01:22:33,861
I mean, he would do well,
1752
01:22:34,036 --> 01:22:37,039
and that would silence
those detractors.
1753
01:22:38,083 --> 01:22:40,738
Lester: In that pressure cooker
of that first year,
1754
01:22:40,912 --> 01:22:44,002
he still was Rookie of the Year,
and they won the pennant,
1755
01:22:46,004 --> 01:22:48,441
which has to be
the most incredible,
1756
01:22:48,615 --> 01:22:50,966
courageous feat in the history
of American sports.
1757
01:22:52,532 --> 01:22:54,970
Larry: Just look at this,
and think about Jackie Robinson.
1758
01:22:55,361 --> 01:22:58,103
Dark-skinned Black man
puts on a white uniform,
1759
01:22:58,277 --> 01:22:59,844
picks up a bat
made of white ash,
1760
01:23:00,149 --> 01:23:01,802
stands in a white batter's box
1761
01:23:01,977 --> 01:23:03,804
to hit a white baseball
from a White pitcher...
1762
01:23:03,979 --> 01:23:05,241
[Audience cheering, applauding]
1763
01:23:05,415 --> 01:23:06,851
...thrown over
a white home plate,
1764
01:23:07,025 --> 01:23:09,680
hits the ball
between two white foul lines.
1765
01:23:10,202 --> 01:23:12,552
He's called "out" or "safe"
by a White umpire,
1766
01:23:12,988 --> 01:23:14,511
as White fans boo or cheer.
1767
01:23:14,685 --> 01:23:15,642
[Audience cheering, applauding]
1768
01:23:15,816 --> 01:23:17,079
He was an ink spot
1769
01:23:17,253 --> 01:23:18,384
on the white canvas
of injustice.
1770
01:23:18,732 --> 01:23:22,040
And so, no matter
how you feel...
1771
01:23:22,475 --> 01:23:25,696
[sighs] ...he was under
a tremendous pressure...
1772
01:23:27,002 --> 01:23:28,220
to try to blend in.
1773
01:23:33,356 --> 01:23:35,097
[music fades]
1774
01:23:35,401 --> 01:23:36,750
[Audience cheering, applauding]
1775
01:23:37,360 --> 01:23:40,624
Effa: All those that I talked to
or was around were very excited
1776
01:23:40,798 --> 01:23:43,061
about the Negroes
breaking into the Majors,
1777
01:23:43,235 --> 01:23:46,543
you know,
which I myself was, in a way,
1778
01:23:46,717 --> 01:23:49,024
except that it did wreck
our business.
1779
01:23:49,198 --> 01:23:52,549
And I do feel
it was an unfair approach.
1780
01:23:52,897 --> 01:23:55,943
I feel that it should have been
handled much differently.
1781
01:23:56,596 --> 01:24:00,557
Black executives
of Negro Leagues teams
1782
01:24:00,774 --> 01:24:05,083
were on board with integration
in the sense that they believed
1783
01:24:05,257 --> 01:24:07,912
that integration in baseball
1784
01:24:08,086 --> 01:24:09,914
would mean integration
in all of society,
1785
01:24:10,088 --> 01:24:12,656
that Black people would
ultimately become "equals,"
1786
01:24:12,830 --> 01:24:14,092
if you will.
1787
01:24:14,484 --> 01:24:16,007
I'm not even gonna say
that they were opposed
1788
01:24:16,181 --> 01:24:19,663
to integration in baseball
1789
01:24:19,837 --> 01:24:24,146
in terms of its effect
potentially on their teams.
1790
01:24:24,711 --> 01:24:26,844
You know, whether they might
lose some of their best teams.
1791
01:24:27,018 --> 01:24:29,890
You know, once Jackie was signed
away from the Monarchs,
1792
01:24:30,065 --> 01:24:31,762
you know, they understood
1793
01:24:31,936 --> 01:24:33,068
that their players
could be next.
1794
01:24:33,242 --> 01:24:34,547
In fact,
their players were next.
1795
01:24:34,721 --> 01:24:35,722
I don't even think
1796
01:24:35,896 --> 01:24:37,550
they were really
opposed to that.
1797
01:24:37,942 --> 01:24:39,465
The conflict came in
1798
01:24:39,639 --> 01:24:41,902
because they wanted
to be treated fairly
1799
01:24:42,077 --> 01:24:43,469
as businessmen and women.
1800
01:24:44,166 --> 01:24:46,516
Mark: Even Cum Posey
was an advocate,
1801
01:24:46,690 --> 01:24:47,952
before he died,
1802
01:24:48,387 --> 01:24:50,346
- of integration.
- [pensive music playing]
1803
01:24:50,520 --> 01:24:51,738
He would give speeches
and he would say,
1804
01:24:51,912 --> 01:24:53,392
I hope to, you know,
1805
01:24:53,827 --> 01:24:56,047
eventually see Black players
playing in the Major Leagues.
1806
01:24:56,656 --> 01:24:58,963
But it was always
with the expectation that the...
1807
01:24:59,137 --> 01:25:02,314
that the Negro League teams
would be compensated,
1808
01:25:02,923 --> 01:25:04,360
that if they jumped
1809
01:25:04,534 --> 01:25:06,666
from the Negro Leagues
to a pro-team,
1810
01:25:06,840 --> 01:25:08,407
that the pro-team
would essentially
1811
01:25:08,581 --> 01:25:11,932
do what they would do,
you know... [hesitates]
1812
01:25:12,585 --> 01:25:13,847
...amongst themselves,
1813
01:25:14,065 --> 01:25:15,458
which are,
they would buy out the contract.
1814
01:25:15,980 --> 01:25:18,635
Branch Rickey opposed that
from the very beginning.
1815
01:25:18,809 --> 01:25:21,986
In fact, he mocked the idea
1816
01:25:22,204 --> 01:25:25,337
that Jackie Robinson
had any contractual obligation
1817
01:25:25,511 --> 01:25:26,991
to the Kansas City Monarchs,
1818
01:25:27,513 --> 01:25:29,776
or that the Negro Leagues
were even a real league.
1819
01:25:29,950 --> 01:25:31,517
He said they're not even
a real league.
1820
01:25:32,170 --> 01:25:36,435
Branch Rickey didn't even ask...
He accused Dad of being...
1821
01:25:37,828 --> 01:25:40,309
And the Negro Leagues
were ran by a bunch of gamblers.
1822
01:25:40,483 --> 01:25:41,788
I don't know where he got...
1823
01:25:41,962 --> 01:25:43,790
Well, there was one guy
in the East Coast,
1824
01:25:43,964 --> 01:25:46,358
was in the number business,
but that's the only guy
1825
01:25:46,532 --> 01:25:48,099
I ever heard of being
into gambl...
1826
01:25:48,273 --> 01:25:50,319
But he used that
mainly as an excuse,
1827
01:25:50,493 --> 01:25:51,929
so they wouldn't have
to pay him.
1828
01:25:52,234 --> 01:25:54,410
But Branch Rickey
never paid anything,
1829
01:25:54,888 --> 01:25:56,368
really, to anybody.
1830
01:25:56,629 --> 01:25:59,676
He was a very close-operating,
cheap person. [chuckles]
1831
01:26:00,894 --> 01:26:03,375
Andrea: He knew how
the baseball business worked.
1832
01:26:03,593 --> 01:26:05,812
Here are these players
that you have invested in
1833
01:26:05,986 --> 01:26:07,945
that you have trained,
that you have developed.
1834
01:26:08,119 --> 01:26:11,035
Now, I want them to play
on my Major League roster.
1835
01:26:11,209 --> 01:26:13,124
Here is what it should cost me.
1836
01:26:14,081 --> 01:26:17,215
But Jackie Robinson signed
with the Dodgers,
1837
01:26:17,650 --> 01:26:21,263
and Branch Rickey did not pay
the Monarchs for his contract.
1838
01:26:21,524 --> 01:26:24,440
And later, Branch Rickey
signed Roy Campanella
1839
01:26:24,614 --> 01:26:26,224
and did not pay Tom Wilson
1840
01:26:26,398 --> 01:26:28,183
of the Baltimore Elite Giants
for his contract.
1841
01:26:28,357 --> 01:26:29,967
And he signed Don Newcombe,
1842
01:26:30,141 --> 01:26:32,665
and he didn't pay Effa and Abe
for his contract.
1843
01:26:32,970 --> 01:26:34,885
So there was this understanding
1844
01:26:35,059 --> 01:26:36,887
that, not only
was integration happening,
1845
01:26:37,061 --> 01:26:39,542
but it was going
to kill their businesses.
1846
01:26:40,064 --> 01:26:43,328
Effa: I never felt he was right
to take those valuable players
1847
01:26:43,502 --> 01:26:44,982
and not give us
a nickel for them.
1848
01:26:45,156 --> 01:26:47,071
I felt that was very wrong,
1849
01:26:47,811 --> 01:26:50,683
and we should have had
some little compensation.
1850
01:26:50,857 --> 01:26:54,209
But we were in no position
to protest, and he knew it.
1851
01:26:54,383 --> 01:26:56,863
So he just completely
outmaneuvered us,
1852
01:26:57,647 --> 01:27:01,085
outsmarted us,
or just plain raped us.
1853
01:27:01,259 --> 01:27:04,349
I don't know what you'd say
or how you'd describe it.
1854
01:27:04,654 --> 01:27:07,396
Bob K: To say that Effa Manley
couldn't stand Branch Rickey
1855
01:27:07,570 --> 01:27:09,049
might be an understatement.
1856
01:27:09,528 --> 01:27:10,964
She didn't care
for Branch Rickey
1857
01:27:11,138 --> 01:27:12,836
because she saw what Branch
was going to do,
1858
01:27:13,445 --> 01:27:16,970
and she was able
to kind of fight him off.
1859
01:27:18,668 --> 01:27:21,714
But she knew she wasn't gonna
be able to continue to hold
1860
01:27:21,932 --> 01:27:25,109
those other owners off
once this thing did break loose.
1861
01:27:25,457 --> 01:27:27,503
As we say,
there was blood in the water,
1862
01:27:27,938 --> 01:27:29,635
and the sharks were coming out.
1863
01:27:30,027 --> 01:27:31,855
- [indistinct chatter]
- [music fades]
1864
01:27:32,029 --> 01:27:33,596
Andrea: At this point,
1865
01:27:33,770 --> 01:27:35,772
Jackie's establishing himself
with the Dodgers
1866
01:27:35,946 --> 01:27:37,469
in the National League.
1867
01:27:37,904 --> 01:27:40,298
Bill Veeck, from Cleveland,
had called and told Effa
1868
01:27:40,472 --> 01:27:42,300
that he wanted
to sign Larry Doby,
1869
01:27:42,648 --> 01:27:44,781
and immediately,
1870
01:27:44,955 --> 01:27:47,740
I think Effa's probably
just happy she got a call
1871
01:27:47,914 --> 01:27:49,176
because she didn't get a call
1872
01:27:49,351 --> 01:27:50,917
from Branch Rickey
for Don Newcombe.
1873
01:27:51,178 --> 01:27:53,529
So already she understands,
1874
01:27:53,703 --> 01:27:57,184
okay, he is at least trying
to do business with me.
1875
01:27:58,055 --> 01:28:00,318
And he makes it clear that
he wants to sign Larry Doby.
1876
01:28:00,492 --> 01:28:02,712
And she says, "Okay, well,
how much will you give me?"
1877
01:28:02,886 --> 01:28:04,975
- [jazz music playing]
- Jim: So Bill Veeck,
1878
01:28:05,149 --> 01:28:06,759
the owner
of the Cleveland Indians,
1879
01:28:06,933 --> 01:28:09,588
offered 10,000 dollars
for Larry Doby's contract.
1880
01:28:09,806 --> 01:28:11,329
It wasn't a lot of money,
1881
01:28:11,721 --> 01:28:12,939
but it was a whole lot more
than anybody else was paying.
1882
01:28:13,592 --> 01:28:17,074
And Effa said,
"You know, Mr. Veeck,
1883
01:28:17,248 --> 01:28:19,032
if he were White
and a free agent,
1884
01:28:19,206 --> 01:28:21,121
you could get
100,000 dollars for him."
1885
01:28:21,296 --> 01:28:23,254
And Veeck says,
"Well, yeah, you're right.
1886
01:28:23,428 --> 01:28:24,734
I'll tell you what.
1887
01:28:24,908 --> 01:28:25,996
If he sticks with the team
for a month,
1888
01:28:26,170 --> 01:28:27,737
I'll pay you another five."
1889
01:28:27,911 --> 01:28:29,521
Shakeia: I think that made her
tremendously important.
1890
01:28:29,695 --> 01:28:33,003
A woman in a man's space,
speaking up and running a team,
1891
01:28:33,177 --> 01:28:35,614
but also a woman
in a man's space saying,
1892
01:28:35,788 --> 01:28:36,920
"Run me my money."
1893
01:28:38,138 --> 01:28:41,098
Rob: So Bill Veeck
brings in Larry Doby.
1894
01:28:41,664 --> 01:28:44,275
He also will bring in
Satchel Paige.
1895
01:28:44,928 --> 01:28:47,757
Paige is pretty old
by that time,
1896
01:28:48,279 --> 01:28:49,759
but he comes in,
1897
01:28:50,281 --> 01:28:54,111
he sets attendance records
in his first three games,
1898
01:28:54,285 --> 01:28:55,852
and he can still pitch.
1899
01:28:56,026 --> 01:28:57,854
Announcer 1: Lou Boudreau
goes to the mound,
1900
01:28:58,028 --> 01:28:59,508
that's all for Christopher
and it's gonna be Satchel Paige.
1901
01:28:59,682 --> 01:29:01,336
And here's the announcement
1902
01:29:01,510 --> 01:29:03,381
about the appearance
of Satchel Paige. Listen.
1903
01:29:03,555 --> 01:29:05,296
Announcer 2: Satchel Paige!
1904
01:29:05,470 --> 01:29:08,212
- [speaking indistinctly]
- [Audience cheering]
1905
01:29:08,386 --> 01:29:09,648
Rob:
And he will pitch in relief,
1906
01:29:09,822 --> 01:29:11,433
he will pitch
in the World Series,
1907
01:29:11,607 --> 01:29:13,043
and the Indians will win.
1908
01:29:13,217 --> 01:29:19,658
[Audience cheering, applauding]
1909
01:29:19,832 --> 01:29:21,443
[music fades]
1910
01:29:21,878 --> 01:29:24,881
Buck: That was the death knell
of Negro League Baseball.
1911
01:29:25,055 --> 01:29:26,491
[somber music playing]
1912
01:29:26,752 --> 01:29:28,232
Buck: When they signed
the Black players,
1913
01:29:28,406 --> 01:29:30,147
the people that had been coming
1914
01:29:30,321 --> 01:29:33,803
to Griffith Stadium
in Washington to see us play,
1915
01:29:33,977 --> 01:29:36,458
and in Yankee Stadium
to see us play,
1916
01:29:37,154 --> 01:29:40,113
now, they want
to see Jackie play.
1917
01:29:41,245 --> 01:29:42,899
Monte: The interest
in the Negro League
1918
01:29:43,073 --> 01:29:44,596
really fell off.
1919
01:29:44,901 --> 01:29:46,642
So they found out
that they couldn't continue
1920
01:29:46,816 --> 01:29:48,121
to pay the salaries.
1921
01:29:48,295 --> 01:29:50,254
And, you know,
all those favorite fans
1922
01:29:50,428 --> 01:29:54,389
now were going to see players
that had just been called up.
1923
01:29:56,303 --> 01:29:57,740
Effa: Integration took place,
1924
01:29:57,914 --> 01:30:01,613
and I begged Abe to quit
the next year
1925
01:30:01,787 --> 01:30:04,442
because we dropped
another 20,000 dollars.
1926
01:30:04,616 --> 01:30:06,096
I mean, the fans deserted us
1927
01:30:06,270 --> 01:30:08,446
to go see the boys
on the White team.
1928
01:30:08,620 --> 01:30:12,450
Deserted us like they say
rats desert a ship.[chuckling]
1929
01:30:15,061 --> 01:30:16,367
Bob M: With the onset
of integration
1930
01:30:16,541 --> 01:30:18,151
in the great American pastime,
1931
01:30:19,065 --> 01:30:21,067
the once-prosperous
Negro National League
1932
01:30:21,241 --> 01:30:24,070
in the East folded in 1948.
1933
01:30:24,854 --> 01:30:27,334
Only the Negro American League
in the Midwest was left
1934
01:30:27,509 --> 01:30:30,250
to hold down the fort
of Black baseball.
1935
01:30:32,339 --> 01:30:34,429
Andrea: So
on the East Coast primarily
1936
01:30:34,603 --> 01:30:38,302
is where you saw
that really quick downfall.
1937
01:30:38,476 --> 01:30:40,391
Effa called it
"Jackie Robinson Country"
1938
01:30:40,565 --> 01:30:42,828
because where she was playing
in Newark, like, you know,
1939
01:30:43,002 --> 01:30:46,049
her fans could just catch
a train and go see Jackie.
1940
01:30:46,266 --> 01:30:48,834
When people have one option,
or you know,
1941
01:30:49,008 --> 01:30:50,445
they don't have money
to go to multiple games,
1942
01:30:50,619 --> 01:30:52,272
they're choosing
to go see Jackie.
1943
01:30:52,447 --> 01:30:54,579
Why am I going to go see
the segregated ballclub
1944
01:30:54,753 --> 01:30:56,407
that was born of Jim Crow
1945
01:30:56,581 --> 01:30:58,453
and represent segregation
and all of these things,
1946
01:30:58,627 --> 01:31:00,890
when I can go see Jackie?
He's the hope. He's the future.
1947
01:31:04,154 --> 01:31:05,982
One of the questions
I get asked all the time
1948
01:31:06,156 --> 01:31:09,202
about integration is,
"Layton, wasn't it wonderful
1949
01:31:09,376 --> 01:31:12,118
that when Jackie Robinson
got called up,
1950
01:31:12,292 --> 01:31:15,731
that it opened up baseball
for all the Black ballplayers?"
1951
01:31:16,122 --> 01:31:18,342
And I said, "If you talk
to the ballplayers themselves,
1952
01:31:18,516 --> 01:31:19,691
the answer is no."
1953
01:31:20,300 --> 01:31:22,825
Is... If you were
an impact ballplayer
1954
01:31:22,999 --> 01:31:25,828
like Larry Doby,
or Roy Campanella,
1955
01:31:26,002 --> 01:31:28,744
or Don Newcombe,
or a Jackie Robinson,
1956
01:31:28,918 --> 01:31:30,310
there was gonna be a chance
1957
01:31:30,485 --> 01:31:32,051
that you could play
in organized baseball.
1958
01:31:32,225 --> 01:31:34,750
But for the average
Negro League ballplayer, no.
1959
01:31:35,446 --> 01:31:39,102
Lyman: I knew that everybody
couldn't be the same
1960
01:31:39,276 --> 01:31:41,583
and be that at the same time.
1961
01:31:42,105 --> 01:31:44,411
It's a lack of opportunities,
that's all.
1962
01:31:45,848 --> 01:31:47,327
Andrew: But we had ballplayers
1963
01:31:47,502 --> 01:31:48,764
that could have played
in the Major Leagues
1964
01:31:48,938 --> 01:31:50,809
when they first started playing.
1965
01:31:51,680 --> 01:31:52,855
But they didn't get the chance.
1966
01:31:54,247 --> 01:31:55,684
Willie Wells,
1967
01:31:56,206 --> 01:31:58,208
there ain't no baseball player
in Major League Baseball,
1968
01:31:58,382 --> 01:32:00,645
no better ballplayer
shortstop than Willie Wells.
1969
01:32:00,950 --> 01:32:04,475
Raymond Dandridge...
[inhales] ...Josh Gibson.
1970
01:32:06,129 --> 01:32:08,566
Mark: Josh Gibson
was always in the conversation
1971
01:32:08,740 --> 01:32:10,742
about this vision some day
1972
01:32:10,916 --> 01:32:12,439
of Black players playing
in the Major Leagues
1973
01:32:12,962 --> 01:32:14,746
because, by the mid-1930s,
1974
01:32:14,920 --> 01:32:16,356
he was considered
the greatest hitter
1975
01:32:16,531 --> 01:32:17,749
in Black baseball,
1976
01:32:18,054 --> 01:32:19,142
and people who had seen him play
would say, like,
1977
01:32:19,316 --> 01:32:21,144
"He's greater than Babe Ruth."
1978
01:32:21,536 --> 01:32:23,407
But in fact,
Wendell Smith himself,
1979
01:32:23,581 --> 01:32:25,540
and some of the other
top Black sportswriters,
1980
01:32:25,714 --> 01:32:31,023
had actually stopped advocating
for Josh Gibson by the 1940s
1981
01:32:31,197 --> 01:32:33,330
because they thought
he had too many demons.
1982
01:32:33,678 --> 01:32:34,897
Rob: According to the family,
1983
01:32:35,375 --> 01:32:37,987
Josh was diagnosed
with a brain tumor.
1984
01:32:38,770 --> 01:32:41,556
And it took a toll on him,
physically and mentally.
1985
01:32:42,382 --> 01:32:45,734
He lost his sense
of who he was and control
1986
01:32:45,908 --> 01:32:48,998
and was found wandering
around the streets of San Juan.
1987
01:32:50,260 --> 01:32:52,741
Mark: And he passed
not long after that.
1988
01:32:53,698 --> 01:32:57,963
And it was a very,
very sad ending for someone who,
1989
01:32:58,137 --> 01:32:59,617
anybody who saw him play,
1990
01:32:59,791 --> 01:33:01,184
said this was one
of the greatest players
1991
01:33:01,358 --> 01:33:02,446
who ever played the game.
1992
01:33:08,974 --> 01:33:10,672
There were still
attempts to keep going,
1993
01:33:10,846 --> 01:33:12,499
to keep playing.
And even into the '50s,
1994
01:33:12,674 --> 01:33:14,676
there were some players
that were being recruited.
1995
01:33:15,111 --> 01:33:17,113
Henry Aaron was playing
on a Black team
1996
01:33:17,287 --> 01:33:18,767
when he was recruited,
1997
01:33:19,115 --> 01:33:22,379
and we saw all kinds of efforts
to bring in more ticket sales,
1998
01:33:22,553 --> 01:33:24,642
like the signing of women
to play games.
1999
01:33:24,816 --> 01:33:26,296
[indistinct chatter]
2000
01:33:26,775 --> 01:33:29,081
Lawrence: There's good baseball
being played by Negro Leaguers,
2001
01:33:29,255 --> 01:33:33,695
and the league itself
persists down to 1960.
2002
01:33:34,260 --> 01:33:38,569
But it's not anywhere near
the quality of baseball played
2003
01:33:38,743 --> 01:33:40,702
when the Negro Leagues
were at their height.
2004
01:33:45,010 --> 01:33:46,621
Gerald: I don't know
if it was apparent at first,
2005
01:33:46,795 --> 01:33:49,536
but I think over time the loss
of the Negro Leagues
2006
01:33:49,711 --> 01:33:52,322
began to be more felt,
2007
01:33:52,670 --> 01:33:54,324
and that people began
to understand
2008
01:33:54,498 --> 01:33:55,673
that the loss
of the Negro Leagues
2009
01:33:55,847 --> 01:33:57,719
was something significant.
2010
01:33:59,024 --> 01:34:02,724
Andrea: It was felt in many ways
that were tangible.
2011
01:34:02,985 --> 01:34:05,422
You know, when we start talking
about all of the people
2012
01:34:05,596 --> 01:34:07,337
that it takes
to make a team run,
2013
01:34:07,511 --> 01:34:10,122
whether we're talking
about bus drivers, or, you know,
2014
01:34:10,296 --> 01:34:12,516
people working concessions
or taking tickets,
2015
01:34:12,690 --> 01:34:14,474
all of those people
typically came
2016
01:34:14,649 --> 01:34:16,172
from within
that Black community.
2017
01:34:17,695 --> 01:34:19,958
But then,
there's also the intangible,
2018
01:34:20,132 --> 01:34:22,004
of in the midst
of all of the stuff
2019
01:34:22,178 --> 01:34:24,746
that we have to deal with
as Black people in this society,
2020
01:34:24,920 --> 01:34:26,312
this place where we can go,
2021
01:34:26,486 --> 01:34:28,140
where we can get dressed
to the nines,
2022
01:34:28,314 --> 01:34:29,881
where we can hang out,
2023
01:34:30,055 --> 01:34:31,666
where we can root
for our favorite players
2024
01:34:31,840 --> 01:34:35,017
and are free to just be us
without the White gaze.
2025
01:34:35,191 --> 01:34:36,366
They lost that too.
2026
01:34:37,976 --> 01:34:40,979
Mark: What happened
was starting in the '50s,
2027
01:34:41,153 --> 01:34:43,199
a lot of the Black folks,
2028
01:34:43,373 --> 01:34:45,941
who had the opportunity
to leave those communities
2029
01:34:46,115 --> 01:34:49,771
to go to college, to rise
within White professions,
2030
01:34:49,945 --> 01:34:53,122
did so, and they left
2031
01:34:53,688 --> 01:34:55,907
folks who were stuck
in those communities
2032
01:34:56,081 --> 01:34:57,561
to be on their own
2033
01:34:57,996 --> 01:34:59,737
at a time when they were
more vulnerable than ever,
2034
01:35:00,346 --> 01:35:02,914
as a result
of the declining industries,
2035
01:35:03,088 --> 01:35:06,526
as a result of the devastating
impact of urban renewal.
2036
01:35:07,136 --> 01:35:10,139
These housing projects
and highway projects.
2037
01:35:10,617 --> 01:35:13,664
So the demise
of the Negro Leagues
2038
01:35:13,969 --> 01:35:17,537
foreshadows a larger crisis
2039
01:35:17,712 --> 01:35:19,931
for Black America
in those communities.
2040
01:35:21,324 --> 01:35:23,195
Donald: You look at just
the Crawford Grill
2041
01:35:23,369 --> 01:35:27,069
and across the street
is a Black barbershop.
2042
01:35:27,417 --> 01:35:28,940
And it's fascinating
2043
01:35:29,114 --> 01:35:31,769
after the integration
of Major Leagues,
2044
01:35:32,074 --> 01:35:34,859
you see the deterioration.
2045
01:35:36,643 --> 01:35:40,560
It's just devastating
to the Black community.
2046
01:35:42,475 --> 01:35:44,216
Bob K: When we talk
about integration,
2047
01:35:44,434 --> 01:35:49,134
it was good morally,
it was good socially,
2048
01:35:49,787 --> 01:35:51,441
and it moved us in ways
2049
01:35:51,615 --> 01:35:54,357
in which we probably never,
ever dreamed possible.
2050
01:35:54,531 --> 01:35:55,793
[music fades]
2051
01:35:55,967 --> 01:35:58,535
But that progress
came at a cost.
2052
01:35:58,927 --> 01:36:02,495
- [Audience cheering]
- [jazz music playing]
2053
01:36:02,757 --> 01:36:06,673
Andrea: The enduring importance
of the Negro Leagues is the fact
2054
01:36:06,848 --> 01:36:09,285
that we can do this thing
on our own.
2055
01:36:09,459 --> 01:36:10,982
I'm not saying we should.
2056
01:36:11,156 --> 01:36:13,071
I'm not saying that
we should go off in a corner
2057
01:36:13,245 --> 01:36:15,160
and, you know,
build our own teams and leagues
2058
01:36:15,334 --> 01:36:17,946
and recreate
Negro Leagues baseball.
2059
01:36:18,120 --> 01:36:19,164
But we can.
2060
01:36:20,035 --> 01:36:23,865
We know, and White baseball
should know as well,
2061
01:36:24,039 --> 01:36:26,868
that we're capable
'cause we already did the thing.
2062
01:36:27,085 --> 01:36:28,608
[Audience cheering]
2063
01:36:28,783 --> 01:36:31,133
Announcer: Boom.
Out toward straight center.
2064
01:36:31,437 --> 01:36:34,963
Willie Mays catches it,
450 feet.
2065
01:36:35,137 --> 01:36:37,704
Say, hey, Willie,
was that a catch!
2066
01:36:37,879 --> 01:36:40,272
Larry: Would baseball
be baseball today
2067
01:36:40,446 --> 01:36:42,797
without Willie Mays
from the Birmingham Black Barons
2068
01:36:43,275 --> 01:36:46,017
or Ernie Banks
from the Kansas City Monarchs?
2069
01:36:46,191 --> 01:36:48,672
- [Announcer cheering]
- [Audience cheering]
2070
01:36:48,846 --> 01:36:52,241
The Negro Leagues brought
a new dynamic to the game.
2071
01:36:52,415 --> 01:36:54,765
It made the game
a better version of itself.
2072
01:36:55,026 --> 01:36:56,811
Rob: By the '60s and '70s,
2073
01:36:57,028 --> 01:36:59,161
guys who had not played
in the Negro Leagues
2074
01:36:59,639 --> 01:37:03,339
come on the scene in what really
was the heyday of Black baseball
2075
01:37:03,513 --> 01:37:04,993
in the Majors.
2076
01:37:05,167 --> 01:37:06,690
Announcer: Hank Robinson
jockeys the count
2077
01:37:06,864 --> 01:37:07,952
to three and two,
before he gets his pitch
2078
01:37:08,474 --> 01:37:10,476
Rob: Players like Frank Robinson
2079
01:37:10,650 --> 01:37:12,652
excelled at every level
of the game.
2080
01:37:12,827 --> 01:37:15,220
Like Rube Foster,
he was a star player,
2081
01:37:15,394 --> 01:37:18,049
a manager,
and a baseball executive.
2082
01:37:18,528 --> 01:37:21,183
Bob Gibson was the greatest
Black pitcher
2083
01:37:21,748 --> 01:37:23,185
since Satchel Paige.
2084
01:37:23,576 --> 01:37:25,970
And Reggie Jackson,
like Josh Gibson,
2085
01:37:26,144 --> 01:37:29,191
who is one of the most feared
sluggers in baseball history.
2086
01:37:29,365 --> 01:37:31,019
[Audience cheering]
2087
01:37:31,193 --> 01:37:34,239
Black and Latin players made it
a very different game,
2088
01:37:34,413 --> 01:37:36,372
and with their success
on the field,
2089
01:37:36,546 --> 01:37:38,156
there was no turning back.
2090
01:37:38,330 --> 01:37:40,985
- Announcer: Upton steals home!
- [Audience cheering]
2091
01:37:41,159 --> 01:37:43,466
Bob M: On April 8th, 1974,
2092
01:37:43,945 --> 01:37:45,555
Hank Aaron broke
Babe Ruth's record,
2093
01:37:45,729 --> 01:37:47,513
one of the most sacred
in baseball,
2094
01:37:47,687 --> 01:37:51,213
hitting his 715th home run
in the Major Leagues.
2095
01:37:51,387 --> 01:37:53,911
Announcer: Swinging and there's
a drive into left-center field,
2096
01:37:54,085 --> 01:37:56,000
- that ball is out of here!
- [Audience cheering]
2097
01:37:56,174 --> 01:37:57,784
Announcer: It's 715,
2098
01:37:58,002 --> 01:38:00,831
there is a new home run champion
of all time,
2099
01:38:01,179 --> 01:38:02,528
and it's Henry Aaron!
2100
01:38:02,920 --> 01:38:04,574
Larry: Hank Aaron once said,
2101
01:38:04,879 --> 01:38:07,055
"My abilities are only limited
by the lack of opportunity."
2102
01:38:07,316 --> 01:38:08,883
And once he got
that opportunity,
2103
01:38:09,274 --> 01:38:11,320
he made an assault
on Ruth's record.
2104
01:38:11,711 --> 01:38:15,150
Announcer: Henry Aaron,
the home run king of all time...
2105
01:38:15,324 --> 01:38:16,760
Larry: So let's keep in mind
2106
01:38:17,108 --> 01:38:19,284
that Babe Ruth never hit
a home run off a Black pitcher.
2107
01:38:19,458 --> 01:38:21,678
His record was set
in apartheid baseball,
2108
01:38:21,852 --> 01:38:24,594
which makes Hank Aaron's record
more valuable.
2109
01:38:24,811 --> 01:38:26,291
His record was set
2110
01:38:26,465 --> 01:38:28,598
against the best pitchers
on the planet.
2111
01:38:29,686 --> 01:38:31,688
Bob M: Following years
of pressure from the public,
2112
01:38:32,210 --> 01:38:33,733
Satchel Paige
became the first player
2113
01:38:33,908 --> 01:38:36,084
to be inducted
into the Baseball Hall of Fame
2114
01:38:36,258 --> 01:38:38,782
based on his record
in the Negro Leagues.
2115
01:38:39,217 --> 01:38:41,567
I am the proudest man
on Earth right today,
2116
01:38:41,741 --> 01:38:44,396
- and I know my wife is.
- [Audience applauding]
2117
01:38:46,790 --> 01:38:48,139
Bob M: The following year,
2118
01:38:48,531 --> 01:38:50,446
he was joined by Buck Leonard
and Josh Gibson,
2119
01:38:50,620 --> 01:38:52,491
and then "Cool Papa" Bell.
2120
01:38:52,752 --> 01:38:55,364
Many more would follow,
including Rube Foster,
2121
01:38:55,625 --> 01:38:58,193
Effa Manley,
and Cumberland Posey.
2122
01:38:59,020 --> 01:39:01,065
Rachel: It's hard to do
too much for pioneers.
2123
01:39:01,239 --> 01:39:03,372
I think, you know,
we stand on their shoulders,
2124
01:39:03,546 --> 01:39:06,636
and we know it.
They paved the way for us,
2125
01:39:06,941 --> 01:39:09,595
and we should have
a lasting gratitude toward them.
2126
01:39:10,901 --> 01:39:13,469
Bob K: The Negro League
players themselves,
2127
01:39:13,773 --> 01:39:15,993
they had no idea
they were making history.
2128
01:39:16,428 --> 01:39:18,735
Man, they didn't care
about making no history.
2129
01:39:18,909 --> 01:39:23,522
They just wanted to play ball.
But the pride, the passion,
2130
01:39:24,349 --> 01:39:26,699
the courage that
they demonstrated
2131
01:39:26,873 --> 01:39:28,701
in the face of adversity.
2132
01:39:29,267 --> 01:39:35,143
To overcome the adversity
transcends race, transcends age,
2133
01:39:35,317 --> 01:39:38,189
transcends gender.
And that's the real story.
2134
01:39:38,363 --> 01:39:39,451
[music fades]
2135
01:39:39,669 --> 01:39:44,282
[Audience cheering, applauding]
2136
01:39:44,456 --> 01:39:46,284
[upbeat music playing]
2137
01:40:30,198 --> 01:40:31,503
[music fades]
2138
01:40:31,677 --> 01:40:32,983
It was in my blood.
2139
01:40:33,244 --> 01:40:35,159
It'’s still in my blood
to be an umpire.
2140
01:40:35,855 --> 01:40:38,684
You call a player safe,
it just get all over ya.
2141
01:40:38,858 --> 01:40:41,426
You call a player out,
it just get all over ya.
2142
01:40:41,731 --> 01:40:43,733
It's just like a... in heaven.
2143
01:40:44,908 --> 01:40:47,911
[soft music playing]
2144
01:43:53,096 --> 01:43:57,100
[music fades]