We have a wonderful special exhibit this summer: the Negro Baseball
Leagues. This collection, which was originally on
display at Coors Field, was given to the Golden Pioneer
Museum by Historic Denver.
The exhibit is being underwritten by
contributions from Coors and from Peak National Bank.
(Thank you, Coors and Peak National!!)
According to "A Brief History of the
Negro Leagues" by James A. Riley, Baseball became
segregated even before the professional leagues were
formed. In 1867, the National Association of Baseball
Players voted to exclude clubs that included black
players. The first professional league was formed in
1871, and it was all-white. A few black players joined
the leagues over the next few years, but in 1887, the
International League voted not to approve any future
contracts with black players. Baseball subsequently
became essentially all-white until Jackie Robinson broke
the color barrier in 1946.
The first black professional team, the
Cuban Giants, was organized in 1885. The Negro National
League was formed in 1920, and the Eastern Colored
League was formed in 1923. Other leagues that were
formed over the years included the American Negro League
(1929), the East-West League (1932), the Negro Southern
League, and the Negro American League (1937).
The Negro leagues struggled along until
1960, but baseball historians generally agree that 1948
marked the last year that the leagues were of
professional caliber. After Jackie Robinson signed with
the Brooklyn Dodgers, the best Negro players began
siphoning into the formerly white baseball leagues.
In recent years, there has been a great
deal of renewed interest in the Negro Baseball Leagues.
The Pioneer Museum is very fortunate to be able to add
these artifacts to our permanent collection!
In addition to the Historic Denver
collection, we are exhibiting a number of other
fascinating artifacts. The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum
has loaned us three baseball quilts as an extension of
their current exhibit, "Grand Slam, 20th Century
Baseball Quilts" which features 33 quilts with baseball
themes. Visit them at 1111 Washington Avenue in Golden
to see the rest of the collection!
Noted baseball historian Jay Sanford has
loaned us some wonderful photographs of the Negro League
players. Mr. Sanford will be joining us for a lecture on
"The History of the Negro Leagues" on August 4th.
We will also be showing two bronze
castings from the "Hitters Hands" series, by the
award-winning artist Raelee Frazier. Ms. Frazier's work
has appeared in the Smithsonian Institution, the Denver
Art Museum, the State Historical Societies of Colorado,
South Dakota, and California, and many other museums. We
are fortunate enough to have two of her castings of
baseball players' hands: Buck O'Neil and Charlie Metro.
The Negro Baseball Leagues exhibit will
run through August. Don't miss your chance to see this
world-class collection of Negro Baseball memorabilia
right here in Golden!
