The Forgotten League, Ep. 2: Golden Age

Summary

Reclaimed: The Forgotten League, Episode 2: Golden Age — Detailed Summary

Introduction

In Episode 2 of Reclaimed: The Forgotten League, titled "Golden Age," ABC News host Vanessa Ivey Rose delves into the vibrant history of the Negro Leagues during baseball's golden era. The episode explores the challenges, triumphs, and significant figures that shaped black baseball, culminating in the creation of the East West Classic. Through engaging storytelling and expert insights, Rose paints a comprehensive picture of a time when Negro League baseball not only thrived despite segregation but also became a cornerstone of the African American community.

Historical Context: The Birth of the Negro National League

The episode begins by setting the stage in the early 20th century, a period when baseball was solidifying its status as America's pastime. Post-World War I, the proliferation of radios allowed fans nationwide to engage with the sport like never before. Concurrently, the Great Migration saw hundreds of thousands of black Americans move from the South to industrial hubs in the North, creating fertile ground for Negro League teams.

Vanessa Ivey Rose narrates the formation of the Negro National League in 1920 by Rube Foster, a pivotal figure in black baseball. Unlike today's Major League Baseball (MLB), early black baseball lacked formal structures, leading to instability with teams frequently folding or players jumping contracts. Foster's introduction of a standardized schedule and contractual obligations provided much-needed stability, enabling the Negro National League to flourish despite these initial challenges.

Key Figures and Rivalries

The narrative spotlights key personalities who were instrumental in the league's success. Notably, Rube Foster managed the Chicago American Giants, and other cornerstone teams included the Detroit Stars and the Kansas City Monarchs. The Monarchs, founded in 1920, enjoyed robust community support, particularly because Kansas City did not have an MLB team, fostering a loyal fan base.

Leslie Heaphy, an Associate Professor of History at Kent State University, provides expert commentary on the cultural significance of these teams:

"[...] teams are going to come and go out of the league. Teams are going to literally leave and come back. Teams are going to leave and fold." ([07:25])

The episode also introduces Sean Gibson, a Pittsburgh native and descendant of Negro League players, who offers personal anecdotes that enrich the historical narrative. For instance, Gibson recounts the immense popularity of players like Josh Gibson and the communal pride surrounding the Kansas City Monarchs:

"[...] When the Monarchs came to town, the service was 10 o'clock so they could get to the ballgame. And they came, they came and drove." ([06:58]-[07:12])

Establishment of the East West Classic

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the creation and impact of the East West Classic, the Negro Leagues' equivalent of the MLB All-Star Game. Initiated by Gus Greenlee, a prominent Pittsburgh businessman, the Classic was envisioned as a grand showcase of the league's top talent.

Gus Greenlee’s entrepreneurial spirit is highlighted as he leverages his financial resources to build Greenleaf Field, the first dedicated ballpark for a Negro League team:

"Gus continued Rube's legacy and grew black baseball in ways Rube would have struggled to believe." ([21:39])

The Classic became a massive event, with fan engagement reaching unprecedented heights. During its inaugural game in 1933, over one million fans submitted votes to determine player selections. By 1939, this number had surged to 17 million, underscoring the event's popularity and significance:

"During that first game in 1933, over 1 million fans submitted their bids. By the 1939 game, that number had increased to 17 million." ([30:13])

Impact and Legacy

The East West Classic not only elevated the status of Negro League players but also fostered a sense of community and pride within the African American population. Players like Mule Suttles, Turkey Stearns, and Josh Gibson became household names, their talents celebrated both within and beyond their communities.

Despite facing systemic racism and segregation, the Negro Leagues thrived as a multibillion-dollar enterprise by the end of World War II, becoming the third largest business sector in the black community after insurance companies and banks:

"By 1945, over two decades after Rube Foster founded the Negro National League, baseball had cemented itself as a cornerstone of black life." ([32:20])

The episode also touches upon the resistance from MLB Commissioner Kennesaw M. Landis, who upheld segregationist policies, preventing Negro League players from joining the majors. This exclusion not only limited the players' opportunities but also deprived MLB of some of its greatest talents.

Barnstorming: The Wild Side of Negro League Baseball

Beyond organized league play, Negro League teams engaged in barnstorming—underground, interracial exhibitions that defied mainstream baseball's segregation. These matches allowed for more daring play and higher paydays, contributing to the leagues' financial success and the players' legendary status.

Conclusion

Episode 2 of Reclaimed: The Forgotten League masterfully captures the essence of the Negro Leagues' golden age, highlighting the resilience, talent, and community spirit that propelled black baseball to prominence despite systemic barriers. Through vivid storytelling and insightful interviews with historians and descendants of players, Vanessa Ivey Rose underscores the profound impact the Negro Leagues had on both the sport of baseball and the broader African American experience.

Notable Quotes

• Leslie Heaphy on team instability in early Negro Leagues:

  "Some of these teams are on far more precarious financial footing than others. And so what sets a pattern is that teams are going to come and go out of the league." ([07:25])

• Sean Gibson reflecting on Josh Gibson's legacy:

  "Pretty sure Josh and the rest of those guys would have loved to play against Major League Baseball players. They just didn't have the opportunity." ([34:06])

• Vanessa Ivey Rose on the significance of the East West Classic:

  "Gus envisioned the East West Classic as a celebration, a demonstration of black baseball's excellence." ([28:51])

Production Credits

Reclaimed: The Forgotten League is an original production of ABC Audio, hosted by Vanessa Ivey Rose and written by Cameron Chertavian. The episode was produced by a dedicated team including Madeline Wood, IRU Ekpenobe, and others, with music and scoring by Evan Viola.

Transcript

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[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

It'S a late September afternoon in 1933. It's the bottom of the fourth inning in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The grandstands are full of 20,000, mostly black fans. They're dressed in their finest clothing. Some have traveled across the country to be in the stadium. They're here to watch the inaugural East West Classic, a showcase of the best talent black baseball has to offer. All eyes are on Mule Suttles, a Negro League veteran who is stepping up to the plate. He's a giant 6 foot 2 and around 220 pounds with a swing that, when it connects, shakes the stadium like an earthquake. And his team is down by two. As he approaches the plate, the crowd cheers him on with chants of kick Mule. Kick Mule cracks one into left field. Up, up and into the grandstand. The crowd roars. It's a two run homer for the Negro League power hitter and the first home run in the history of the East West Classic. Mules team would go on to win the game, 11 to 7. The East West Classic was a crowning achievement for the Negro Leagues. It was a day when these superstars, kept out of the white major leagues could come together and say, we too are great. But getting here wasn't easy. It took years of ups and downs, false starts, savvy business deals and fierce rivalries to get to this September afternoon in Chicago. 1933. From ABC Audio, this is Reclaimed the Forgotten League. I'm Vanessa ivey Rose. Episode 2 the Golden Age to get to the East West Classic, we have to go back to 1920, when baseball was entering its golden age. After World War I, Americans craved normalcy and entertainment, and many households had radios, which meant for the first time, baseball fans across America could tune in and listen to announcers bring the game right into their living room. The game itself had also become more exciting to watch. Babe Ruth was a household name, and he ushered in the era of the home run. On the weekends, eager fans would flock to Yankee Stadium or Forbes Field for a chance to see Ruth Slugma out of the park. Baseball was beginning to truly become America's pastime for both black and white Americans. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of black Americans were migrating from the south to the North. They moved for opportunity and built new lives in cities like New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Detroit. That meant there was a ready made audience for Negro league teams. Rube Foster founded the Negro National League in this environment. But despite the interest, Rube's league wasn't a sure thing. To understand why, it's helpful to know the differences between baseball back then and baseball today. When we think of baseball today, we think of Major League Baseball. MLB creates a schedule so teams can compete and make money consistently. It also makes sure players get paid and stick to their contracts. But before Rube founded the Negro National League, that kind of structure didn't exist for black baseball, which created all sorts of problems. Like imagine if New York Yankees player Aaron Judge broke his contract halfway through the season and went to play for the Angels. Or what if the Yankees went bankrupt and Judge went shopping around to all the other teams in search of a job. These issues, contract jumping, teams folding in the middle of the season, they were part of black baseball. You can see why it was so hard to build a stable team or a consistent fan base. So during that first Negro National League season, Rube organized a schedule and set rules that required both players and owners to honor their contracts. Rube's rules didn't fix all of the problems, but they created the stability black baseball needed to grow. A handful of teams made up the backbone of the Negro National League, like the Detroit Stars. That's the team my grandfather Turkey played on. And the Chicago American Giants, the team Rube Foster managed, the Kansas City Monarchs were another must see attraction. Kansas City didn't have an MLB team, and so when the Kansas City Monarchs were formed in 1920, the community rallied around them.

[Leslie Heaphy]

This was one of the cities where you read about parades when the Monarchs came into town, source of huge pride to these communities.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

That's Leslie Heaphy, an associate professor of history at Kent State University. Buck O'Neal was a star player for the Kansas City monarchs in the 1930s and remembered how popular and beloved the team was during that era.

[Sean Gibson]

At 11 o'clock every Sunday morning in.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

The black world, that's church time.

[Sean Gibson]

Sunday morning service. When the Monarchs came to town, the.

[Chris Gethard]

Service was 10 o'clock so they could.

[Sean Gibson]

Get to the ballgame. And they came, they came in drove.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

In some cities, Rube's Negro National League was thriving. Fans were invested in the game and teams were making a profit. But not every ball club in Rube's league was so successful.

[Leslie Heaphy]

Some of these teams are on far more precarious financial footing than others. And so what sets a pattern is that teams are going to come and go out of the league. Teams are going to literally leave and come back. Teams are going to leave and fold. So lots of seasons you're going to see, you know, ooh, wait, the same teams that started are not the same teams that finished? Or why do these teams, when you look at the records, have far fewer games played?

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

So Rube's league wasn't exactly perfect. Some teams thrived, filling their stadiums with eager fans. Other teams struggled, unable to make a profit, even with the additional stability. But overall, the Negro National League made black baseball more organized and successful. This progress didn't last. In 1925, Rupe's mental health began to deteriorate. Within a year, he was committed to Kankakee State Hospital, a mental institution in Illinois. Rube was said to have worked from. From 8am to midnight every day. He labored tirelessly for years to make the dream of black baseball a reality. While we will never know for sure, some historians think that the stress of his job contributed to his mental decline. Rupe's sudden departure rocked the Negro National League. The league continued on without its leader. But when the Great Depression hit, the league couldn't withstand the financial pressure unfolded. In 1930, while still committed to Kankakee State Hospital, Andrew Rube Foster died of a heart attack. He was 51 years old. Over 3,000 people attended his funeral in Chicago, standing out in the rain and snow to pay respects to the father of Negro baseball. Rube's untimely death and the Great Depression dealt a devastating blow to black baseball. And for a while, the future of black baseball was uncertain. But then something started to happen in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is where the Negro Leagues rose out of the ashes of the Depression. It's a place where black community, black talent and black enterprise would meet and change the course of baseball history forever.

[Leslie Heaphy]

So Pittsburgh in the 30s was what Chicago had been in the 20s, right? And Chicago was literally in that first migration. Chicago was often referred to as the promised land. Right? And so Pittsburgh, growing city with a manufacturing base, huge manufacturing base, large black community in Hildale and the surrounding areas of the city of Pittsburgh.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

Even in the depths of the Depression, Pittsburgh had all the ingredients for black baseball to flourish. And I knew I couldn't talk about Pittsburgh in the 1930s without talking to a good friend of mine, Pittsburgh native Sean Gibson. So how do we know each other?

[Sean Gibson]

We know each other through our relatives. You know, your grandfather is Turkey Stearns, and my great grandfather is Josh Gibson.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

Josh Gibson is sometimes called the black Babe Ruth, but more than a few people think that Babe Ruth should be called the white Josh Gibson. So who was Josh Gibson on the field? What was he particularly good at?

[Sean Gibson]

When you read stories about Josh Gibson and you hear stories about Josh Gibson, they talk about his home runs. You know, how long they were, how far they were hitting the longest ball in Yankee Stadium, hitting the ball here at Pittsburgh, outside, out of Forbes Field. You know, when you talk about these home runs, they sound kind of like mythical, like, you know, Paul Bunyan, this type power.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

If Turkey and Josh Gibson were able to suit up for an All Star Game and a Home Run Derby, what do you think fans would see?

[Sean Gibson]

Man? Well, hopefully they'll see Josh win.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

I knew you were gonna say that. I knew you were gonna say that. I'm not mad at it. That's all love.

[Sean Gibson]

That's all love.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

I met Sean through the Negro Leagues Family Alliance, a group dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Negro Leagues. We hit it off right away, sharing stories about our legendary relatives. His great grandfather's journey to Negro League stardom intersects with a lot of Pittsburgh's baseball history. So tell me about Josh Gibson's life.

[Sean Gibson]

They moved to Pittsburgh when he was about 11 years old. My great, great grandfather, his father came to Pittsburgh for work and he started working here in Pittsburgh at the steel mills.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

And in this new environment, a young Josh Gibson found the sport that would become his career.

[Sean Gibson]

That's where he started playing sandlot baseball. And then he began to, you know, get recognized throughout the city and started playing for the sandlot Pittsburgh Crawford team.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

The Crawfords were an unpaid team and Josh worked at the local steel mill and later as an elevator operator so that he could play in his free time. Still, he became known as a world class hitter and catcher and the kind of person everyone wants to play with.

[Sean Gibson]

He was a great teammate. You know, a lot of guys would tell me that he was like one of those jokesters, like a happy, go lucky type guy. Loved to joke around, loved to have fun. But when he came to the baseball dime, he was about his business. And you can tell by his stats that, you know, off the field he's one way and on the dime he's a different way.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

Eventually, Josh got a big break. He was called on to play catcher for the city's Long running team, the Homestead Grays. This would be Josh's first professional baseball team, the first time he was paid to play the sport he loved. Josh Gibson's new team was owned by a big shot in Pittsburgh's black baseball scene, Cumberland Cum Posey. Cum was a sports legend, a native son of Pittsburgh and a two sport athlete who was one of the best baseball and basketball players of his time. After his athletic career was over, he decided to focus on the business of baseball. Shakia Taylor, a sports and culture editor at the Chicago Tribune, says he excelled at that too. He led black baseball for about 35 years and he knew the sport inside it out because he played at nearly every level at some point. At one point he was viewed as the most famous man in black baseball. So Come knew how to win. And as a manager, that competitive spirit sometimes came out on the field. His personality was a little fiery. He was, you know, kind of a hothead. He pulled his team from the field in front of 10,000 fans in New York, forfeiting the game because he disagreed with a call by an umpire. Under Cum's wing, Josh's career as a ballplayer began to flourish. The Grays were a powerhouse in 1931, holding the best record against major black teams and leading come to proclaim his team the undisputed champions of black baseball. But come wasn't the only baseball trailblazer in Pittsburgh. Soon he would have a rival. And where come was a savvy ex player, his adversary was a deep pocketed businessman ready to spend his way to the top. Even if that meant going after cum star player.

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[Sean Gibson]

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[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

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[Sean Gibson]

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[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

On any given night in Pittsburgh's Hill District, Gus Greenlee's Crawford Grill was the place to be. The three story venue was a local hotspot and baseball players would head over after their games to rub elbows with Pittsburgh's rich and famous. It was the center of social life in the city's black community. Here's historian Leslie Heaphy again.

[Leslie Heaphy]

There are pictures of huge crowds, both inside, outside, all the time, and all the players talk about going there. And that. That's when you went into town. You knew that's where you were going to go after the games, because that's where everybody was going to be.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

If you went up the Crawford Grill's tight staircase and made it to the second floor, you'd find a rotating elevated stage and a glittering piano covered in mirrored tiles. The venue drew some of the most talented jazz musicians in the country. Here's Pittsburgh native Sean Gibson again.

[Sean Gibson]

I mean, man, the Best of the best came through there at that time. Disney, Gillespie, Lena Horne, all the greats came through there.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

And up on the third floor in a private VIP lounge, Gus Greenlee himself watched over his beloved venue. Gus was a businessman and a socialite, a larger than life figure who held massive sway in the town. Up in his lounge, he received guests like a King Holden Court pulling on the levers of power in black Pittsburgh. But Gus didn't start out like this. He came to Pittsburgh more than a decade earlier in the Great Migration, determined to make a life for himself. He was an entrepreneur, comfortable diving into ventures both legal and illegal. And Gus was successful. He started out selling bootleg whiskey during Prohibition. And in 1926, he bought an illegal lottery business. That's when things really took off. The numbers, as they were called, were a street lottery. Pittsburgh residents would pay a penny or a nickel in the hopes of securing a payout worth more than their entire week's salary. And of course, Gus made a nice cut from each drawing. At one point, it was estimated Gus's system was making around $25,000 a day, over half a million today.

[Leslie Heaphy]

And the way white America looked at the numbers game was as this illegal gambling. But the way it was viewed in the black community was this was a lottery, and this is how people got loans, and this is how people sometimes were able to keep their businesses afloat and feed their families. And Gus Greenlee in particular was considered within the black community generally as somebody that was well liked, well respected because he was their numbers king.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

In 1930, Gus became interested in sports. I mean, with that much money, it's just a matter of time before you buy a sports team. He bought the Pittsburgh Crawfords, that's Josh Gibson's old team, and started paying the players. Gus got into baseball for different reasons than Rube Foster. Rube had a vision for the future of the game. Gus, on the other hand, was a businessman through and through. But in some ways, that didn't really matter. Both men were smart, capable, and well connected.

[Leslie Heaphy]

Greenlee is a little like Foster in that respect. This is a guy who everybody know who has all of the community looking to him.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

And Gus had one advantage Rube didn't. A vast fortune at his disposal. With it, Gus continued Rube's legacy and grew black baseball in ways Rube would have struggled to believe. Once Gus got started with the Crawfords, he was determined to be the best. He embarked on an epic spending spree and coaxed star players to his new club with hefty paychecks. Pretty soon he had a roster of top tier, top paid players and they started winning big. They traveled around in a brand new touring bus, handily beating most opponents. But the team still had to borrow the stadiums of white major league teams. Players were barred from using the clubhouses and owners lost a large cut of their profits at the gate. This didn't sit well with Gus.

[Sean Gibson]

The Grays as well as the Crawfords used to rent out Ford's Field where the Pirates played at. And the story was told to me, it's like, you know, Gus was like, why should I keep renting out a location and just build my own?

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

So he built Greenleaf Field, the first ballpark created for a Negro league team. He bought the land from a local brick factory and fronted half of the hundred thousand dollar cost. It was the whole 9 yards ticket, gates, concession stands and a grandstand. And it was located right in the Hill district, close to the Crawfords black fan base. That same year, Gus decided to go after Cum's star player, Josh Gibson. Gus approached Josh with an enticing sales pitch. How would you like to come back to your old team and play catcher for one of the best rosters in baseball?

[Leslie Heaphy]

Kum Posi and Gus Greenlee, right, are going to be constantly trying to take players from one another and they sort of trade places at being the top team. And so there's a definite constant rivalry between those two teams, which also is exciting, right? Often people like that and you could play that up and it was not, oh, just a hush hush. No, it was definitely apparent that there was a rivalry between the two of them.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

Josh Gibson ended up accepting Greenlee's offer and returned to his former team. Cum didn't like this turn of events at all. Gus had come into his town playing his game and now he was stealing his players too. The two men battled on and off the diamond, fighting for fans and territory. And the local community began getting involved. One article in the Pittsburgh Courier, Pittsburgh's black newspaper, called the Crawfords a disorganized team of temperamentals. In another, a columnist wrote, if there is room for only one team at Pittsburgh, I am very much of the opinion that the Grays are closing their books.

[Sean Gibson]

We had two great teams, you know, not just one. Most cities don't have one good team. We had two great teams, the Grays and the Crawfords.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

Something was brewing in Pittsburgh, the first sparks of a fire. The Crawford success got Gus thinking about the big picture. What if I turned this rivalry into something bigger, something that could make even more money? What if I started a whole league? And so, in 1933, Gus Greenlee established the second Negro National League, reviving Rube's original idea. Six fall clubs joined the Crawfords for that first season. Some were new, including the Columbus Bluebirds and Baltimore Black Sox. Others, like the Chicago American Giants, had played in Rube's old league. Cum's Homestead Grays joined too, but then Gus kicked them out for stealing players from another team. He let them join again later. It was a whole thing. Those two owners were always scheming against each other. But come Posey wasn't Gus Greenlee's main challenge. He was starting a league in a depression and knew he had an uphill battle ahead. And he used every trick and gimmick he knew to help his league succeed. He ran prize drawings giveaways and hosted ladies nights to bring in more fans. He offered season passes and installed permanent lights at Greenleaf Field to play night games. And these strategies worked despite the harsh economic conditions. Gus filled the seats in his new stadium and other league venues. The second Negro National League became even more successful than Rube's league. And that success flowed outwards.

[Leslie Heaphy]

That's one thing that people don't think about, right? You think just the team. But, okay, you have to bring these players in, and most of the time the players are not from originally from your community, right? And so they have to have housing. You're bringing in other players who have to stay. So you need hotels, you need restaurants, you need entertainment. And so all of those things are gonna flourish. And then you employ people at the stadiums, ticket takers, right? All of the ushers, all of these kinds of things.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

Gus Greenlee had picked up where Rube left off and used his fortune and business skills to build a thriving industry around black baseball on the diamond. Gus's Crawfords dominated the early years of the Negro National League. Gus put together a roster unlike anyone had ever seen before and clinched the title in three of the first four seasons.

[Sean Gibson]

That 1935, 36 team with the Crawfords is probably not probably. It's considered one of the greatest baseball teams of all time, not just in the Negro Leagues, but in Major League Baseball as well. They had five hall of Famers on that team.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

But Gus wasn't done yet. For years, the idea to host an all Black All Star game had been floating around among newspaper writers and team owners. Once Gus caught wind of it, he took to it immediately. What better way to promote his new league and get black baseball national attention? Which takes us back to that Sunday Afternoon in Chicago with Mule Suttles at bat.

[Leslie Heaphy]

Greenlee is really the brainchild in getting the second Negro National League up and running. But he's also the brainchild of starting one of the biggest events in black baseball. And of course, that's the East West Classic, their version of an All Star Game. And so here is an opportunity to bring together the best of the best for everybody in the country to see.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

Gus envisioned the East West Classic as a celebration, a demonstration of black baseball's excellence. For the first time ever, you could watch all the Negro League greats compete against each other on the same field. Gus didn't choose who qualified as a great, though. Instead, he gave that power to the fans in a sort of popularity contest. Black newspapers in major cities carried ballots listing that year's players. And leading up to the game, fans voted for the players they felt were most deserving. In the 1930s, voting in political elections was far from a guaranteed right for black citizens. A number of states still had Jim Crow laws, including poll taxes and literacy tests, which disenfranchised black Americans. For many of them, this was the first time their vote would count and people voted. During that first game in 1933, over 1 million fans submitted their bids. By the 1939 game, that number had increased to 17 million.

[Leslie Heaphy]

And literally, the East West Classic is going to be so successful many years. The East West Classic is going to outdraw the Major League All Star Game. I mean, there were years when it had over 45, 50,000 people. So this is huge spectacle, big money being made for all the Negro League teams.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

Black newspapers from around the country sent correspondents to cover the game, and they spread the word far and wide. Negro League players, once unknown outside of their communities, began to reach a new level of fame.

[Leslie Heaphy]

The East West Classic expands the opportunities for people to see these players. And so white America begins to know some of these players that they didn't know before, Right? A lot more publicity for them. And so you see the emergence of stars. Mule Subtles, Turkey Stearns, Josh Gibson, Satchel Page, Buck Leonard. You start to fill in the gaps with all these incredible players who in the 20s, there wasn't that kind of showcase for them.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

My grandfather Turkey was selected five times for the East West Classic. It was a great honor for him. Despite being only a few years from retiring, fans still overwhelmingly voted for him to play in the game. Josh Gibson was selected 12 times. He and Turkey played together in the East West Classic all through the 1930s and were honored as some of the greatest to ever step on the diamond. And the Negro Leagues kept growing into the 1940s. New teams from across the country joined the league, driving competition. Turnout was stronger than ever before and league profits were increasing by the mid-1904.

[Leslie Heaphy]

Right at the end of World War II. In one of the Negro journals at the time, they estimated that the Negro Leagues was a multibillion dollar business and the third largest business in the black community behind insurance companies and banks.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

A new wave of stars arrived. Buck O'Neil, Monte Irvin and others joining mainstays like Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell. And in 1945, a young Jackie Robinson got his start on the Kansas city monarchs. By 1945, over two decades after Rube Foster founded the Negro national league, baseball had cemented itself as a cornerstone of black life. In the success of the East West Classic and other championships got people thinking. Could the Negro Leagues become bigger and even more exciting? Fans started pushing for their favorite teams to play the white World Series winners. But the man leading Major league baseball at the time, Kennesaw Mount Landis, was against the idea, Mostly out of the.

[Leslie Heaphy]

Fear that the black team would win. Because we know, for example, when Turkey was with the Detroit Stars, they did play a three game series against the Detroit major league team and they won two out of the three games.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

Landis was a former federal judge and MLB's first commissioner. He ran the league from 1920 to 1944. And while we don't know what his feelings were about the Negro leagues, Landis stuck with the so called gentlemen's agreement that had kept baseball segregated for decades. During Landis tenure as commissioner, no black player from the Negro leagues would set foot in the majors. Here's Sean Gibson again.

[Sean Gibson]

Pretty sure Josh and the rest of those guys would have loved to play against major league baseball players. They just didn't have the opportunity. Society made that choice for them. Kennesaw Landis made that choice for them not to play in the majors.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

And because of that choice, everyone suffered, both black and white. But there was one place that Commissioner Landis couldn't quite reach. His power extended to the white major leagues. But there was a whole different world. In the off season, this world broke all the rules Commissioner Landis set and even many of the rules Rube Foster and Gus Greenlee worked so hard to put in place. This was barnstorming. The wild west of baseball. Players traveled across America, playing in small towns, on local diamonds and even makeshift fields. Matchups weren't limited by race and the paydays could be sky high. In barnstorming all the rules were thrown out the window.

[Sean Gibson]

It was a game of more daring, more base dealing.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

Why would you throw somebody out with.

[Sean Gibson]

A straight throw when you can do.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

It between your legs?

[Sean Gibson]

We were scheduled to play games in Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky. We traveled together, had a great time. We had a lot of fun together.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

And they did didn't just play in the United States.

[Sean Gibson]

Representatives from dictator Rafael Trillo told Page that El Presidente didn't bring you down here to lose. El Presidente brought you down here to win.

[Vanessa Ivey Rose]

Reclaimed the Forgotten League is an original production of ABC Audio. Hosted by me, Vanessa Ivey Rose. This episode was written by Cameron Chertavian. The series was produced by Madeline Wood, Cameron Chertavian, IRU Ekpenobe, Camille Peterson and Amira Williams. Our senior producers on this project were Susie Liu and Lakia Brown. Music and scoring by Evan Viola. A big shout out to our ABC Audio team. Liz Alessi, Josh Cohan, Ariel Chester, Sasha Aslanian, Marwa Mawaki, Audrey Mostak and Erin Farrer. Special thanks to Chris Donovan, Rick Klein, Eric Fayel, Anthony Fanek, Mara Bush and of course my mom, Joyce Stearns Thompson and my aunt, Roslyn Stearns Brown. Laura Mayer is our executive producer.

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