Bill Veeck doesn't get enough credit for helping to integrate baseball.
I've read that some teams having Spring Training in Arizona goes back to Veeck not wanting to deal with the racism and segregation in Florida while having black players on his team.
How could you possibly have forgotten the legendary pitcher Satchel Paige, who had been pitching in the Negro leagues since 1926, joined the Cleveland Indians in 1948, at age 42. His long career in the Negro leagues had already established him as one of baseball's greatest pitchers! Paige pitched some important games that helped the Indians win the pennant that year, and became the first Black American to pitch in a World Series, which the Indians won. He was still pitching in the majors in 1952, at age 46, with a 12-10 record and a 3.07 ERA for the St. Louis Browns, a team that lost 90 games that year!
Thanks to Mr. Frommer for this article and the previous one about Jackie and the Sporting News. And thanks to The Contrarian for carrying it. I'm not a big fan of Mr. Eisen's Dodgers, but I very much appreciate this part of their history. I got a chance to go to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum awhile back. It is well worth a visit. I highly recommend it.
Bill Veeck doesn't get enough credit for helping to integrate baseball.
I've read that some teams having Spring Training in Arizona goes back to Veeck not wanting to deal with the racism and segregation in Florida while having black players on his team.
The Cleveland Indians also hired the first black MLB Manager in 1975, Frank Robinson.
How could you possibly have forgotten the legendary pitcher Satchel Paige, who had been pitching in the Negro leagues since 1926, joined the Cleveland Indians in 1948, at age 42. His long career in the Negro leagues had already established him as one of baseball's greatest pitchers! Paige pitched some important games that helped the Indians win the pennant that year, and became the first Black American to pitch in a World Series, which the Indians won. He was still pitching in the majors in 1952, at age 46, with a 12-10 record and a 3.07 ERA for the St. Louis Browns, a team that lost 90 games that year!
Thanks to Mr. Frommer for this article and the previous one about Jackie and the Sporting News. And thanks to The Contrarian for carrying it. I'm not a big fan of Mr. Eisen's Dodgers, but I very much appreciate this part of their history. I got a chance to go to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum awhile back. It is well worth a visit. I highly recommend it.
Some very brave people to have carried off these actions of inclusion during such times.