Baseball was invented in 1839 by Abner Doubleday. However, baseball was not touted as America’s “national game” until the late 1860’s (Bucek, 70). That was when the first major league emerged. The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players became the first professional league. In the early stages of the major leagues there was no structure or precedence and leagues emerged and folded in little or no time.

Although it was not a written rule, black players were not admitted into the majors at this time. In 1868, the NAPBBP

Soon after, in 1923, Ed Bolden formed the Eastern Colored League. The new league included six teams. In 1924, the first Negro World Series was played. The pennant winner from the NNL, the Kansas City Monarchs, and the pennant winner from the ELC, the Philadelphia Hilldale Club played a ten game series in which Kansas City prevailed. The Negro World Series was played for only three more years because the ELC folded in 1928.

This, however, does not mean that the players weren’t of the same or better quality as those in the white majors. Players such as Gibson, Satchel Paige, and Cool Papa Bell were all well known and often compared to the best players in the white majors. Some even said that it was actually the players in the white majors that were compared to them.

During this time, Negro teams began to surface around the country. The first all-black team, the Cuban Giants, was formed in 1885 (Schulian, 153). The team was composed of employees from the Argyle Hotel in Babylon, New York. This led to the forming of more Negro teams. The first Negro leagues were formed, however they were all considered as minor league teams. The leagues had not yet found success and many folded before the end of their first season.

In 1933 a new Negro National League was formed. Soon after, in 1937, the Negro American League was formed. The two leagues surged for the next decade. Beginning in 1933, the two leagues to played a Negro All Star Game. Showcasing many of America’s best baseball players, the All Star game became the biggest black sports attraction in the county. From 1938 until 1948, the Negro All Star Game out drew the Major League All Star game seven times.

As unique as the Negro Leagues were, they were bound to come to an end. It was inevitable that baseball would be integrated. In 1945, Jackie Robinson signed with the Montreal Royals, a Triple A farm team of the Dodgers. Just two years later, Robinson played in his first season of Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson won the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award. From 1947 until 1953, six of the seven Rookies of the Year w

Some topics in this essay:
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