Racism in Sport - Negro Leagues and Jackie Robinson

Negro Leagues and Jackie Robinson

Further Information: Negro league baseball

As sports progressed, race relations progressed at a comparable rate. In Baseball for instance, African-Americans were barred from participation in the National Association of Baseball Players because of regional prejudice and unofficial color bans dating back to the 1890s. Due to this segregation, blacks worked together to create the Negro Leagues. These leagues comprised mostly all African-American teams. As a whole, the Negro Leagues overtime became one of the largest and most successful enterprises run by African-Americans. Their birth and resilient growth stood as a testament to the determination and drive of African-Americans to battle the imposing racial segregation and social disadvantage. After years of playing in an association for blacks, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier by participating in the Dodger's organization. His excellence at this level opened the gates for other African American's to be accepted into a less segregated Major League Baseball, and in 1949 the Negro Leagues disbanded. Soon after Robinson's inclusion into organized baseball, Roy Campanella, Joe Black and Don Newcombe, and Larry Doby all joined Robinson as significant black players that helped foil the racial divide. By to 1952, 150 black players were in organized baseball.