Thu, 02/11/2021 - 12:00am
By:
Ronni Walker | Mmc
Shortly after the Civil War ended, African-American baseball players played the first public baseball game between all African-American teams. This in turn opened the door to form more than 200 African-American teams throughout the U.S., according to a PBS documentary. In some cases, African-American players were integrated with white players, but Jim Crow laws coupled with racism prevented them from benefiting from maximum exposure and playtime. Eventually, the Negro League was started and began to disband in the late 1940s when the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson.
Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays are three of the most impressive African-American baseball players who paved the way for aspiring ballers who grew up collecting baseball cards and searching for their opportunity for greatness. One little boy who was inspired by these men is our own Mike Pace.