DANIEL MCCLOUD
Over the Christmas holiday, my family and I had the chance to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo. It was an incredible experience. The museum contained photos, memorabilia, and newspaper clippings that highlighted the talent of these Black baseball players and did an excellent job of allowing you to journey back in time and get a sense of what America was like for these Black Athletes.
Like most sports fans, I was familiar with certain aspects of Negro League baseball, including that these talented individuals were not allowed to participate in Major League Baseball and therefore formed their baseball league. Thus on Feb. 13, 1920, Hall of Famer Andrew “Rube” Foster and others came together to create the Negro National League. And while I was familiar with some of the more prominent Negro League players, such as Satchel Paige, Buck O’Neal, and Jackie Robinson, I was surprised to learn that women were also heavily involved in the Negro League.
One such lady, Effa Manley, the first woman inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, managed and co-owned the Newark Eagles, who were very successful, winning the Negro League World series in 1946. Manley is widely known as a significant advocate for Black baseball, working tirelessly to get Black players elected to the Hall of Fame. Other women included Olivia Taylor, who became the owner of the Indianapolis ABCs following the death of her husband, C.I. Taylor, in 1922. Ms. Taylor ran the team for three years before it folded in 1926.
Toni Stone was the first woman to play in a Negro League game in 1953, playing for the Indianapolis Clowns. Stone had been playing in semi-professional leagues and all-male barnstorming since she was 16 and finally got the chance to play with the Clowns at 32. The intrigue and draw of watching Stone would lead to the Clowns signing Mamie “Peanut” Johnson in 1953. Johnson played for the Clowns from 1953 to 1955, compiling a 33-8 record as a pitcher and a .273 average as a hitter. Connie Morgan was the third woman to play in the Negro Leagues, joining the Indianapolis Clowns in 1954. Before then, she had played for the North Philadelphia Honey Drippers for five seasons, posting a .368 batting average.
However, despite their success, in many cases, they were used and viewed as gimmicks to attract people to the ballpark. Ironically, these women were excluded from the all-White, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Thus these African American women were forced to play with men. Perhaps their desire to compete overwhelmed their pride, a feeling felt all too often by African American athletes before integration. We can recall when Jessie Owens, one of the greatest athletes in history, ran against a racehorse in 1945.
Nevertheless, these women made history, which should be widely known and celebrated. If not for these women, who knows what the landscape of women’s sports would be today? So, if you’re ever in Kansas City, I highly recommend visiting this museum. In addition to the exhibits, there is also a really nice gift shop with tons of Negro Leagues apparel, books, and memorabilia. And if you’re more into music than baseball, the American Jazz Museum is in the same building. But that’s a story for another time.