When the Negro Leagues disbanded, there were winners and losers.
Effa Manley, owner of the Newark Eagles, firmly believed her team’s success was tied to the ongoing struggle for justice in her community.
It’s just one of the lasting economic legacies of the professional baseball played in the Negro Leagues in the 20th century.
“It was sailing against the tide of oppression,” Negro Leagues Baseball Museum co-founder Larry Lester says.
We’re watching “The League,” a documentary about the contributions that Black baseball players and the Negro Leagues made to America’s pastime.