The Art of the Negro Leagues

Editors Note: The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock is sponsoring an art exhibition with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. “Shades of Greatness” is a traveling exhibition of 34 original works of art inspired by Negro Leagues Baseball. The exhibit is free and will be on display through December 1, 2013.

We all know Jackie Robinson, of course we do. The hit movie “42” just refreshed the memories made by the man whose name reigns historic in baseball lore.  No player in Major League Baseball will ever wear 42 again, but what about the others?

Robinson’s name represents black athletes everywhere. He’s the most famous player from the days of the Negro Leagues, but what about all the players who stepped between the lines with as much or more success? All too forgotten, some of the greatest players to ever play the game will be on display in Little Rock.

“Shades of Greatness: Art Inspired by Negro League Baseball,” depicts the beauty of the Negro Leagues in an effort to tell the tale of some of the best baseball players that the history books never had a chance to meet

What about the “Thunder Twins?” Compared at times to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, Buck Leonard and Josh Gibson were two of the best to ever put on a uniform. Between 1937 and 1945 Leonard and Gibson led the Homestead Grays to nine consecutive Negro National League pennants.

Just years prior, the Pittsburgh Crawfords boasted a dominant lineup. The 1933 East vs. West All-Star game featured five Pittsburgh players in the starting lineup, with five more on the roster. Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Vic Harris, John Henry Russell, and pitcher Sam Streeter all started the game.

The great Satchel Paige, Judy Johnson, Bertrum Hunter, Leroy Matlock and Ted Page were also All- Stars that same season. The Crawfords had more representatives in the All-Star Game than they could put on the field at one time.

These tidbits are just the tip of the iceberg for a league that so many fantastic players called home. That rich, untold history can be absolutely fascinating. Just because Jackie Robinson was the black baseball player that opened the door, doesn’t mean that he was the only one of his era that deserved a shot.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (www.nlbm.com)