Bingo Long Traveling Essay, Research Paper

Ask person either at place or at work, “ How are you making today? ”

Several answers will be forthcoming. Some respond “ Ok ” ,

“ All right ” or “ Surviving ” . Equally long as Sallie Potter & # 8217 ; s Louisville

Coal black Ones were playing ball in the Negro League circuit, times and lasting

were good. A steady wage, Potter & # 8217 ; s coach, driven by Potter, with lean backing

seats, which carried the squad from one scheduled game to another, black hotels,

black eating houses and dark nines made for an indulgent and unsophisticated life

on the route. When Potter released veteran participant Raymond Mikes, because he broke

his pes rounding 3rd base, playing the Philadelphia American Stars, Bingo

organized the participants and revolted against proprietor black proprietor Potter. After all,

Bingo thought he knew all the Immigration and Naturalization Services and outs of the game, holding watched Potter

and fellow streetwalker Lionel Foster all these old ages. How difficult could it be having

and pull offing a ball nine? With Lionel endorsing Bingo with a small capital until

things got traveling, a barnstorming baseball outfit was born. Bingo foremost recruited

fellow teammate Leon Carter, the best hurler alive, and so one by one talked

Potter & # 8217 ; s Aces into going Bingo & # 8217 ; s All-Stars. Even Raymond Mikes had agreed to

come along as bookkeeper. With 3rd baseman Louis & # 8217 ; s Lincoln convertible and

Bingo & # 8217 ; s Auburn, the squad was set and left for Pittsburgh to play the Elite

Giants. Lionel had helped Bingo put up games in Cleveland, Toledo and Chicago,

after that, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, so Iowa. Life was good and lasting was no

job. Bingo knew hustling baseball games in little rural towns was a batch

different than playing the usual scheduled games in the Negro League and tried

to introduce his teammates, who had non traveled west of Chicago, with this fact.

“ We got to be polite and cheerful all the clip even when we ain & # 8217 ; t feeling

it ” ( Brashler 50 ) . Life in segregated America was non easy for Negroes.

White eating houses and hotels did non allow them indoors. It was necessary to

happen black constitutions, who would function Negroes. If no topographic point was found to set

them up for the dark, they slept in autos or outside on the land in bedrolls.

Even if they had money and were able to pay, bias and dogmatism took charge

and made life for the Negro, as a 2nd category citizen. Bingo was cognizant of this,

but he was traveling to happen out first manus how it truly was. Life would go

endurance. Once the All-Stars left the Eastern metropoliss and established Negro

League baseball agendas, they would hold to hustle their ain games. Because

theses games were in smaller populated countries, the All-Stars would hold to play

more games merely to interrupt even. Lionel had advised them to play as many games as

possible. Road travel was hard and slow, streets and main roads w

ere non

paved. Cars lumbered over the roads at a snail & # 8217 ; s crawl. Dust non merely covers the

riders, but besides plugged up the auto & # 8217 ; s engines. At times, after the last

game, the participants filed back into the autos, got every bit comfy as possible and

were driven by Bingo and Louis, or back up drivers, on to the following town, the

following game. Showmanship was necessary. Upon come ining little towns, it was

necessary to drive down the concern territory, the driver would blare the horn as

the participants stood up in the auto and waved to the people. Then they would alter

into their uniforms, re-enter the town, driving down the chief streets, blaring

the horn, participants would walk behind the auto and moving ridge and bow to the people, all

in an attempt to derive involvement and enthusiasm in the approaching ball game. At the

beginning of the games, were hot ball modus operandis, baseball diamond dumb shows and fliping

shows. Then there was the baseball Fieldss, in some instances merely grazing lands with a

twosome of wooden benches and a broken down catcher. If an admittances stand

could non be built, so the All- Stars would go through the chapeau in little rural countries.

After all, disbursals have to be met. The strain of the route eroded participants

mentally and emotionally. Day in and twenty-four hours out it was the same modus operandi over and

over once more. The of all time present favoritism and category distention appeared in

many different subjects. Louis was razored for propositioning a white call miss, a

white auto machinist took advantage of Bingo & # 8217 ; s ignorance refering necessitating new

flicker stoppers for Bingo & # 8217 ; s Auburn, Bingo & # 8217 ; s auto was destroyed when a white adult female & # 8217 ; s

truck hit it, there were little white town badgerers at the ball games and the

of all time present chance for fist battles at the bead of a chapeau. Bingo left Earl

behind to hot wire a auto, which would replace Bingo & # 8217 ; s destroyed auto, and

slightly even the mark for the All-Stars against the White racialists. Bingo and

the balance of the squad drove on to Crowder, Iowa. At the general shop, he

was told that the town did non hold a baseball squad. “ She besides said the

town didn & # 8217 ; Ts have a hotel and that its eating house wouldn & # 8217 ; t serve colored ” ( Brashler

151 ) . So they bought some staff of life, jelly, boloney and honey, Ate dinner in a field

of pear trees and waited for their teammate Earl, who had a old child

calling as a stealer. Earl hot-wired a LaSalle, joined Bingo and the remainder of the

squad and one time once more they were on the route back to Kansas City. The All-Stars

played A. C. Franklin & # 8217 ; s squad, The Monarchs, in Kansas City. When former proprietor

Sallie Potter arrived, the All-Stars honed their survival ability and with good

ground. Even one of their ain race tried destruct them one by one. Survival is

non easy. It becomes a manner of life.

Brashler, William. The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & A ; Motor Kings.

Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1973