By Steven Katona<\/p>\n
Every February Americans take time to reflect on the civil rights of free people and a free nation.<\/p>\n
While some might believe that the civil rights movement was a game of politics played by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, baseball \u2500 America\u2019s favorite pastime \u2500 had a pivotal position in the effort.<\/p>\n
Students and professors alike gathered at Daytona State College\u2019s Theater Center for Byron Motley\u2019s lecture on \u201cThe Negro Baseball League.\u201d For those unfamiliar with him, Byron is the definition of a renaissance man. Not only is he a photographer, author and singer, but he also is in the process of filming his first documentary on the subject..<\/p>\n
Byron\u2019s father, Bob Motley, was an umpire for the Negro Baseball League from 1947 through 1958. He simply says, \u201cIt\u2019s always been an interest.\u201d Since he began researching the history of the league 14 years ago, Byron has met more than 200 people who were a part of the old baseball league.
\nThe senior Motley was an animated umpire. People used to come to the games to watch him jump up into the air and kick his legs out into a split when he called a player out.<\/p>\n
The players and teams often acted in the same flashy way. There\u2019s an old joke that some of the teams took names from other baseball leagues and put \u201cBlack\u201d in front of them. Byron said his favorite was the \u201cBlack Crackers,\u201d named after the minor league team the Atlanta Crackers. But being a part of the Negro Baseball League was no joking matter. The players were fierce and truly played for the love of the game, with most having to take a second job during the off season, says Byron.<\/p>\n
The team jersey Byron was wearing throughout his lecture last month came from the Kansas City Monarchs. The Monarchs are like the Yankees of the Negro Baseball League, winning 26 world championships during their era. Perhaps what is more memorable for the average person was a player that sprung from this team, Jackie Robinson.<\/p>\n
Robinson is best known as being the first black player in the Major League. Current research, however, indicates that may not be entirely true. Byron believes that a man named Moses Fleetwood Walker might have been the first, but he is still documenting that controversial finding.
\nStill, it is irrefutable that Robinson greatly contributed to the civil rights movement by paving the way for African-American athletes to enter the Major League.<\/p>\n
For African-Americans during the \u201930s and \u201840s, baseball was not just a sport, it was a way of life. Even today, fans can thank the Negro Baseball League for its contributions. Helmets, for example, were used to protect the players from the pitcher after hitting a homerun. Pitchers would purposely throw the ball for their head the next time they came to bat. Night games were also introduced, from the negro leagues, as a way of bringing more people to the games.<\/p>\n
Jackie Robinson wasn\u2019t the only great player that started in the Negro Baseball League. Leroy \u201cSatchel\u201d Paige, James \u201cCool Papa\u201d Bell, and Hank Aaron, to name a few, all played for the league too. Athletes everywhere appreciate what the men and women of the Negro Baseball League had the courage to do and fight for. There were at least three women who played in the league, according to Byron.<\/p>\n
Kyle Dahl, assistant coach for DSC\u2019s men\u2019s baseball team, said, \u201cI thought the lecture was great.\u201d His whole team attended the lecture to pay homage to the history of baseball\u2019s past.<\/p>\n
PBS will broadcast Motley\u2019s documentary on the Negro Baseball League sometime around this time next year. \u201cIt is an important piece of American history, more about life than baseball,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
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By Steven Katona Every February Americans take time to reflect on the civil rights of free people and a free nation. While some might believe that the civil rights movement was a game of politics played by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, baseball \u2500 America\u2019s favorite pastime Continue reading Jazz up your swing<\/span>