Negro League Baseball Players come to St. Helena Island Park, SC

St. Helena Island, SC, (Aug. 16) - Gullah/Geechee Nation-Al Burrows, Cliff Layton (also of the Indianapolis Clowns), and All Jeffcoate of the New York Black Yankees and Carl Long and Robert Williams of the Birmingham Barons will open the Gullah/Geechee Nation International African Music & Movement Festival which will be held on the St. Helena Park on Ball Park Road on St. Helena Island in South Carolina. The festival will be held September 2-4, 2005 from Noon to 8 pm each day.

   These players and many others were part of what has made history as "the Negro Leagues." After the Civil War, baseball, which is America's past time and a major sport in the Gullah/Geechee Nation, became a game that people of all walks of life played. However, black ballplayers were excluded from participation by the National Association of Baseball Players on December 11, 1868 when the the governing body voted unanimously to bar "any club which may be composed of one or more colored persons." 

   When baseball attained professional status the following season, pro teams were not bound by the amateur association's ruling, and during the 19th century black ballplayers appeared on integrated teams and some black teams played in integrated leagues. Gradually, black players began to be excluded from the white leagues and by the beginning of the new century, there were no black players in organized baseball. So, they had to form their own teams and leagues. The first black professional team was the Cuban Giants in 1885, but the teams played as independent ball clubs until the first black league was organized in 1920.

   Rube Foster, the father of black baseball, founded the Negro National League in 1920. Three years later, in 1923, Ed Bolden formed the Eastern Colored League. These two leagues operated successfully for several years before they fell victim to financial difficulties. Other black major leagues also operated for a single season but were not able to continue on a sound fiscal basis.

   Eventually, two new leagues were organized. A new Negro National League was formed in 1933 and the Negro American League was chartered in 1937. These two leagues thrived until the major leagues began to be integrated once again. During their existence, the Negro Leagues played eleven World Series (1924-27, 1942-48) and created their own All-Star game (1933-48) that became the biggest black sports attraction in the country.

   The Negro National League folded following the 1948 season and, although black teams continued to play for several years, they were no longer of major league caliber. The demise of the Negro Leagues was inevitable as the younger black players were signed by the white major league franchises. 

   Burrows, Long, Jeffcoate, Layton, Williams, and many other Negro League Players travel the country still to educate people about what they went through during their time as players and to encourage children to continue in their education. The teams that they represent are:

Birmingham Black Barons of 1947

   Under veteran manager Winfield "Gus" Welch, the Black Barons won consecutive Negro American League pennants in 1943-44, but lost the ensuing World Series to the Homestead Grays each time. The Black Barons won the first-half title and defeated the Chicago-American Giants in the league play-offs, before losing to the Grays in a seven-game World Series.

Birmingham Black Barons of 1948

   For the third time during the decade, the Black Barons won the Negro American League pennant only to lose the World Series to the Homestead Grays. The 1948 Series was the last one ever played in the Negro Leagues, as the Negro National League folded following the Series. 

New York Black Yankees (1936-48)

T   he New York Black Yankees were co-owned by financier James "Soldier Boy" Semler and famed toe-tapper Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. The Black Yankees originated in Harlem and eventually settled in Albany, New York. 

Indianapolis Clowns (1946-62)

   Better known for their colorful antics, the Clowns were also a sound baseball team. In 1952, they won the Negro American League championship with a young cross-handed slugger from Mobile, Ala., named Hank Aaron.. The Indianapolis Clowns changed nicknames in their history with one such classic as the Ethiopian Clowns.

   All families and schools should bring the children out to meet the players and learn their history on Friday, September 2, 2005 during the Intergenerational Day. For more details concerning all festival activities and how businesses can participate as well as special group rates, call 843-838-1171 or e-mail GullGeeCo@aol.com or AMPTurnItUp@aol.com.

"Let's play ball!!!"