Don't let the stories die

Over the weekend, two friends and I went through the Negro Baseball Leagues Museum. We spent about two hours inside and it wasn’t long enough. It is a fabulous memorial to the Negro Leagues.

Quotes from players line the walls. Old ball gloves rest in replica lockers. Signed baseballs adorn display cases. Old letters hang on the walls. Many jerseys hang in lockers and on the walls. James Earl Jones narrates a fifteen minute video salute to the Negro Leagues in a small theater. Many small video displays are arranged throughout the museum. The museum also has a small sleeping room set up to replicate what one looked like for Negro Leagues players. And of course, they have a great gift shop full of jerseys, baseball caps, baseball cards and various other mementos. I picked up two books while I was there.

Kansas City should be proud to host such a place. We should never let these stories die. This period of time was not one of our nation’s finest periods, but the players of that era deserve to be remembered. They played the game they loved and they put up with more than human beings should ever have to endure–from not being able to find restaurants that would serve them, to not being able to find hotels that would allow them to stay.

Before the Kansas City Royals and before the Kansas City A’s, Kansas City had the Monarchs. A player named Jackie Robinson played for them until the Brooklyn Dodgers took a chance and signed him to play in the Major Leagues. The rest is history.
If you get a minute today, visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum website and then visit the Negro League Baseball Players Association website. If you have an afternoon, visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on 18th & Vine. You won’t regret it.