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photo courtesy Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
photo courtesy Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
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Negro League Baseball was especially influential because it was among the largest black businesses in the United States in the early twentieth century. The
cafes, beer joints, and rooming houses of the Negro neighborhoods all
benefited as black baseball money sometimes trickled, sometimes rippled
through the black community. In addition, Negro league baseball provided a much needed outlet for entertainment and added to the rich cultural life.
From
its inception, organized Negro baseball took an
active role in promoting ethnic pride. From the strict rules
of dress and conduct imposed upon Monarchs players by owner J. L. Wilkinson,
to the professionalism and integrity personified by Negro National League
founder, Rube Foster, black baseball strived to
establish a standard for all black professionals - a standard to be
emulated by aspiring black youth.
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