Discover how the Negro Leagues shaped a global game for generations to come!
Never Drop the Ball airs Friday, February 7 at 7 p.m. on WXXI-WORLD.
Step back in time to the late 1800s, an era when professional Major League Baseball was born, but the color line divided the field. In the face of adversity, Black baseball players demonstrated a love for the game that transcended the discriminatory Jim Crow laws. Florida’s hotel industry became an unexpected ally, with establishments like the Breakers, Royal Poinciana, and Royal Palm hosting thrilling baseball games to entertain tourists. Never Drop the Ball explores the extraordinary journey Black baseball players went through during six decades of exclusion from Major League Baseball before Jackie Robinson’s success in 1947.
Did you know that the New York Black Yankees were a professional Negro League baseball team who were eventually based in Rochester, New York? Check out this short video to learn more.
Photo: Rube Foster, known as the Father of Black Baseball
Credit: Colorized image provided by The Played in Color Galleries