Baseball’s Negro Leagues are generally considered to have ended in 1951, four years after Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby respectively broke the National League and American League color barriers. But, more than 70 years later, the story of those leagues is still being written, particularly with Major League Baseball’s move this year to actually start integrating some Negro Leagues stats into their official leaderboards.
Around the implementation (which is far from finished) of the long-promised statistical components of that recognition of these leagues as “major,” education on the Negro Leagues is vitally important. There are lots of discussions still to be had around these leagues, their history, and how it fits into MLB history. And the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City is crucial to that, and Thursday saw MLB and the MLBPA recognize that with a $2 million grant from their joint Youth Development Foundation towards the museum’s $30 million campaign to build a new home:
Our late chairman and founder, the legendary Buck O’Neil always liked to say he was “right on time.”
The same could be said about Thursday’s announcement by the @MLB – @MLBPA @Baseball_YDF of a $2 million grant to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
“You have to remember… pic.twitter.com/v7albIHVtQ
— Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (@NLBMuseumKC) August 3, 2024
The press conference on that grant can be seen in full here:
At that press conference, NLBM president Bob Kendrick spoke about the importance of carrying on legend and Hall of Famer Buck O’Neil‘s vision for the museum as a way to tell the stories of the Negro Leagues and the players who took part.
“You have to remember this museum started in a one-room office in 1990,” Kendrick said. “You had a handful of folks led by the late, great Buck O’Neil, who dreamed about the possibility of building a facility that would not only pay rightful tribute to one of the greatest chapters in baseball history, but now as thousands upon thousands discover every year, one of the greatest chapters in American history.
…“I have very little doubt that he is somewhere in that great somewhere smiling down, because he is so genuinely proud of the work his museum continues to do. The fact that we have worked so diligently to make sure that the 3,000-plus men and women who called the Negro Leagues home would never be forgotten.”
Here are some further key comments on this from MLBPA executive director Tony Clark, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, and Youth Development Foundation executive director Jean Lee Batrus, from a release:
“MLB is proud to support Bob Kendrick and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in their efforts to build a new state-of-the-art facility,” said Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. “The Museum is a jewel destination in Kansas City and provides a memorable and educational experience for its visitors. It is critical to continue telling the stories of the Negro Leagues to understand an important part of not only baseball history, but American history. Combined with MLB’s efforts to recognize the importance of the Negro Leagues, the expansion of the Museum and its educational resources will make a significant impact with generations to come.”
“Players in the Negro Leagues had an enduring impact on baseball and society, while creating opportunities for me and so many others with their extraordinary courage and sacrifice,” said MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark. “The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, as an institution, serves as a beacon of education and enlightenment to keep their stories alive for future generations. We are proud to support the museum in this important initiative.”
“YDF’s mission is to grow participation in baseball and softball by making the game more accessible and creating a deeper appreciation for the history of our sport,” said Jean Lee Batrus, Executive Director of the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation. “The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, under the stewardship of Bob Kendrick, has been an outstanding resource in the groundswell of learning and education about the men and women of the Negro Leagues. Bob’s vision for this expansion is an exciting opportunity to connect our sport’s past with its future. YDF is proud to support the new sports science and education center which will give youth innovative tools to learn about baseball and the Negro Leagues legends.”
Beyond its physical campus, the NLBM has been involved in a lot of national media efforts to promote Negro Leagues history. Those have included national marketing efforts, a partnership to get Negro Leagues players featured in the last two editions of MLB The Show (an effort which has been tremendous for bringing these stories to a younger generation, as Kendrick mentioned in this presser), the Kendrick-hosted Black Diamonds podcast, a partnership with HOMAGE for Negro Leagues apparel (including around this year’s MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues game, which also saw the Youth Development Foundation provide a $500,000 grant to the Negro Leagues Family Alliance), and more.
The museum and the support it has garnered was a big part of why MLB provided this long-delayed “major league” recognition in 2020. It’s neat to see MLB and the MLBPA now offering further financial support to help make the museum even better in the coming years.
[MLB.com]
