Negro Baseball Leagues Essay, Research Paper

After the Civil War, even though bondage had been outlawed, there was still a great

sum of tenseness between inkinesss and Whites. The southern Whites were acrimonious toward the

loss of their slaves, and although the north fought for the slaves freedom, they did non

desire them to hold equal priveledges. As a consequence of this, segregation was born.

Segregation is the seperation of two different groups, in this instance, black and white people.

Blacks and Whites were separated in many ways such as holding different bathrooms and

imbibing fountains and even schools and churches.

Baseball is normally referred to as the national interest. The word state is

defined as a people, normally dwellers of a specific district, who portion common imposts.

One would presume that this means everyone was included, but in world, they were non.

When the Major Leagues formed, all of the participants were white, European

posterities. The National Association of Baseball Players would non let any squads,

which consisted of one or more Negro participants, to fall in.

All of these freshly freed former slaves wanted to play baseball, but were prevented

from making so, against white squads. So they played each other. Normally referred as

barring, it was played as an attractive force at county carnivals and carnivals. Teams finally

would go to other metropoliss to play other black squads. Blackball rapidly found its manner

across the state, in both major metropoliss and rural farming areas.

With the turning popularity of Blackball across the state, conferences were formed

by enterprisers. The conferences normally included squads in a encompassing part, because is

was excessively dearly-won to go across the state.

The squad in Philadelphia was called the Hilldale Field Club, or the Hilldales. The

Hilldales was a popular amateur squad that began in 1910 ( Clark & A ; Lester 28 ) . In 1911, Ed

Bolden took over the squad. He was a clerk in the Philadelphia Post Office. The Hilldales

played in Darby, Delaware County ( Clark & A ; Lester 29 ) . Bolden advertised games in the

Philadelphia Tribune, which was a black newspaper. The advertizements brought crowds

of up to 3000 people to the games ( Ribowsky History 94 ) .

In 1914, Bolden was able to schedule three games with the Philadelphia Athletics.

This was a major hurdle that his squad overcame, because it shows that they at least were

recognized as a squad by the Athletics, Philadelphia s professional squad ( Ribowsky

History 94 ) .

Bolden did non desire to halt at that place. He wanted people non merely to esteem his squad,

but to besides turn out that inkinesss are non different than Whites, in baseball, and as a people.

Bolden fined any of his participants who fought on the field, and prohibited them from holding

anything at all to make with intoxicant ( Ribowsky History 95 ) .

In 1917, The Hilldales turned pro, and all of the large eastern squads came to Darby

to play them. Besides, many white major conference squads came to play the Hilldales besides,

because of the manner that they presented themselves so creditably ( Ribowsky History

96 ) .

During the first universe war, the major conferences were enduring major losingss at the

box office because of the big sum of participants contending in the war. The losingss of work forces to

the war was non the major job, nevertheless. The job was the fact the Phillies and

Sports fans did non travel to the games any more. The fans were traveling to Hilldale park and

blending in with the black fans at that place. The Whites had begun to recognize how blackball was

much more entertaining. There were stolen bases, faster running, and a larger sum of

hiting. The Hilldales on a regular basis outnumbered the Phillies and Athletics in their box office

gross revenues ( Ribowsky History 97 ) .

In 1920, a adult male named Rube Foster formed a conference called The Negro National

League, and invited Bolden to fall in ( Ribowsky History 100 ) . Bolden would non come in

his squad into the conference nevertheless, because he was still upset by a recent loss to one of

Stephen fosters squads. Besides, Foster had ignored Hilldale for old ages ( Ribowsky History 101 ) .

When Bolden refused a 2nd clip to come in the conference, Foster refused to let any of

the squads in the Negro National League to play the Hilldales, along with the Atlantic City

Bacharach Giants, the Lincoln Giants, and the Brooklyn Giants, all of whom declined his

offer. Because of this, the Hilldales ended up playing largely white squads ( Ribowsky

History 103 & A ; 110 ) .

In 1921, Bolden joined the Hilldales into the Negro National League. That

October, the first Negro World Series was played in Darby, between the Hilldales and the

American Giants. The Hilldales won the series 3-2-1, carry throughing yet another milepost

( Ribowsky History 113 ) .

When the Hilldales went on a route trip, they had

so small money that they could

non afford hotels in other metropoliss, even the 1s that the black participants were allowed to remain

at. Most of the clip they slept on the field at the place squads bowl, utilizing their baseball mitts

as pillows. Besides, they were still prohibited from playing the squads in their country that had

still non joined the conference. In December 1922, Bolden withdrew his squad from the conference

because it was bing him excessively much money ( Ribowsky History 113-117 ) .

Bolden created a new conference called the Eastern Colored League, which

consisted of six squads including the Hilldales. Bolden enriched the Hilldales by subscribing

participants from the Negro National League ( Ribowsky History 119 ) .

In 1923, the first twelvemonth of the new conference, the Hilldales took charge and won a sum

of 137 games. Besides, they won 5 out of 6 games against the Athletics. This achievement

might hold been bad for them though, and could hold ruined their dealingss with the

Sports ( Bruce 63 ) . In the Negro World Series that twelvemonth, the Hilldales played the Kansas

City Monarchs in a 9 game series ( Bruce 55 ) . Although the Monarchs won in the 9th

game, every participant on the Hilldales was still given $ 193, and that did non trouble oneself them

( Bruce 57 ) .

The following twelvemonth, the Hilldales won the crown, and so did the Monarchs. The

Hilldales beat the Monarchs in best out of 9 series, winning 5-1 ( Bruce 57 ) . This was a

major win for the Hilldales, because they had beaten the squad considered as the best of all time,

and they were now considered the heroes. Newspapers that had one time poked merriment at them

now praised them ( Clark & A ; Lester 28 ) .

The Hilldales continued winning, and so did the Monarchs. Once once more in 1925,

they faced each other in the World Series ( Clark & A ; Lester 28 ) . The Hilldales came off

with the win, nevertheless the attending was so hapless that each participant merely received a $ 69

fillip. Their reign came to an terminal that twelvemonth, and they did non play in the World Series in

1926 nor 1927 ( Clark & A ; Lester 28 ) .

In 1928, both the Negro National League and the Eastern Colored League

collapsed ( Clark & A ; Lester 28 ) . Teams had lost 1000s of dollars, and they could non

wage rent for their bowls. Tension besides grew among participants, and there were many bashs

during games. Bolden withdrew the Hilldales foremost, and they played amateur and semipro

squads that season ( Clark & A ; Lester 28 ) . All of the Hilldale games were played at place, and

this resulted in a minor net income for the Hilldales that season. The Eastern Colored conference

disbanded subsequently that twelvemonth, unable to travel on without its basis squad, the Hilldales. They

tried for a short piece with the Philadelphia Tigers, but that undertaking failed ( Ribowsky

History 133 ) .

Hilldale participants were greatly effected by this loss of money, and even started

contending each other ( Ribowsky History 132 ) . They knew the terminal was near, and became

depressed. In 1930, Bolden did non regenerate the rental on the ballpark, taging the first measure

toward the terminal of the squad. Bolden left the squad, and three members of the Hilldale

Amusement Corporation, which had been established by Bolden, renewed the rental

( Ribowsky History 132 ) .

The 1930 season for the Hilldales was played largely against professional nines,

and that twelvemonth they posted a record of 42-13 ( Clark & A ; Lester 29 ) . Some of the other

professional Black squads had given up, and at the terminal of the twelvemonth, so did the Hilldales

( Clark & A ; Lester 29 ) .

In 1932, a adult male named Cum Posey began a new Negro National League. He

brought the Hilldales Back from extinction, but merely briefly ( Bruce 83 ) . On July 18, 1932

the squad folded for good, merely a hebdomad after playing a game with an attending of 196

( Ribowsky History 155 ) .

In 1934, the Philadelphia Stars joined as an enlargement squad into the Negro

National League, and that twelvemonth won the crown ( Clark & A ; Lester 29 ) . The ruin came

for the Stars in 1947, but they struggled to last until 1952, when they played their last

season ( majorleaguebaseball.com/nbl/ps.sml ) .

The terminal came for the Negro Leagues in 1947. That twelvemonth, on April 15, Jackie

Robinson was listed on the Dodgers s batting order at first base. Jackie Robinson was the first

black participant in major conference baseball ( Frommer 131 ) .

Although the Negro Leagues had such a long history, with the integrating of black

participants into the major conferences, there was no longer a demand for separate conferences. Jackie

Robinson led the manner for 1000s of black baseball participants into the major conferences.

Many participants from the Negro Leagues went on to the Major Leagues, and the others

retired. Many participants from the Negro Leagues are in the Hall of Fame, and most are

regarded as the greatest participants to of all time play the game ( Frommer: Introduction ) .