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I didn’t want them to forget Babe Ruth; but I also didn’t want them to forget Hank Aaron.
— Hank Aaron • Hall of Fame Class of 1982
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WE PLAY!
Black people have always been a part of baseball. Their stories show us how they have faced unfair challenges to change the game, strengthen civil rights, and make the world a more just place for everyone.
MOOKIE BETTS
Mookie donated the t-shirt he wore to batting practice for the July 2022 All Star Game. He has actively worked to draw more Black people to baseball, and this shirt showed his commitment to that goal.
“I would love to see some people that look like me in the stands, and I’m sure they want to see people that look like them on the field.”
- Mookie Betts, 2022
ACHIEVEMENTS
Mookie is known for wanting what is best for his team over doing what is best for himself. That means that he is not afraid to show that he doesn’t know everything and that he has room to grow and learn so that he can help his team be better. He has also used his personal sense of style to showcase his identity and encouraged others to do the same, even designing one-of-a-kind colorful athletic shoes! One of the necklaces he wears was given to him by a 13-year-old fan, and he continues to wear it, showing how important his fans are to him.
CHALLENGES
Mookie’s mom tried to sign him up to play Little League Baseball and was told that he was too little to play. Instead of accepting that answer, Mookie’s mom started and coached a new team for kids, like her son, who were not accepted. In high school, he stopped growing and was smaller than the other players but got to be very good because he was smart and worked hard to improve. That made him a very skilled player, willing to take on challenges.
STRENGTHS
Some say that Mookie’s greatest strength is his ability to learn and being OK with making mistakes. Because he isn’t afraid of looking silly or trying unusual styles, he has become one of the most skilled players in baseball. But that’s not all! Mookie is an example of what good sportsmanship is. For example, while playing against the Washington Nationals in April 2024, Mookie noticed that a rival player seemed hurt and immediately stopped playing to lend him a hand and make sure he was OK.
FUN FACTS
- Mookie stole second base in Game 1 of the 2020 World Series for the Dodgers, becoming the first two-time Taco Hero. That means that when a player steals the first base of the World Series, fans can get a free taco and, because of Mookie, fans got a free taco twice!
- Mookie is also a professional bowler, bowling a perfect game in the 2017 Bowling World Series.
- Mookie's full name, Markus Lynn Betts was chosen by his baseball-loving parents so he would have the initials MLB, the same initials as Major League Baseball!
- In 2022, Mookie produced and starred in the movie, “Jackie Robinson: Get to the Bag” about the important work that Jackie did for civil rights.
Jackie Robinson batted .311 for his 10-year career.
“I realize what I’m going into. I also realize how much it means to me, to my race and to baseball.”
- Jackie Robinson, 1945
ACHIEVEMENTS
On April 15, 1947, Jackie broke the color barrier in baseball, becoming the first Black player in the 20th century to play on an American or National League team.
CHALLENGES
Jackie faced mental and physical abuse from opponents, teammates, and crowds who didn’t want Black athletes to play with whites. Some yelled racial slurs and others threw things at him, but Jackie had promised the Brooklyn Dodgers team president, Branch Rickey, that he would not react to this bad behavior. By not fighting back, Jackie showed confidence in his abilities and determination not to let others decide his future and he set an example for others to follow.
STRENGTHS
Jackie stood up for equal rights even before playing baseball. When he was in the Army, he refused to move to the back of a bus that only allowed Black people to sit in the back away from the white riders. He used baseball to show the world that skin color should not prevent people from having equality. “Jackie Robinson made my success possible,” said Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Without him, I would never have been able to do what I did.”
FUN FACTS
- Jackie was a talented athlete, playing baseball, football, track, basketball and tennis in school.
- When Jackie was in college, he thought that baseball was his worst sport!
- Jackie played himself in the movie, "The Jackie Robinson Story" in 1950.
- After he retired from baseball, Jackie helped start Freedom National Bank, the first Black-owned bank in Harlem.
Head and shoulders photo of a young Jackie Robinson during Spring Training 1946. - BL-2739-89 (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
Mo'ne Davis
Mo'ne donated a jersey she wore at the 2014 Little League Baseball World Series to the Hall of Fame. Davis became the first female pitcher to win a game at the Little League World Series, pitching a two-hit shutout for her team against a team from Nashville.
“The world’s yours if you want it, so just go get it.”
- Mo'ne Davis, 2024
ACHIEVEMENTS
A man named Creighton Hale who was a former leader of Little League Baseball, called the In the 2014 Little League World Series, Mo’ne, the first Black female player to reach that level, pitched a shutout, taking her team to the semifinals and showing the world that gender shouldn’t prevent people from playing, just as Jackie Robinson did about skin color. Because of her 70-mph fastball, the saying, “throw like a girl” became popular to encourage girls in sports and to remind boys of girls’ athletic skills.
CHALLENGES
Mo’ne faced the stereotype that “girls aren’t good at sports” and hurtful insults because of her gender. She went on to play softball in college, but even though she was (and still is) an incredible athlete, there were no opportunities for her to play professional baseball.
STRENGTHS
Mo’ne used her fame to help millions of girls around the world by joining organizations that work to make life better for kids in need, including designing a line of sneakers for girls to help raise money for these programs.
FUN FACTS
- Mo’ne is the only woman to play in the 2024 East-West Classic in Cooperstown, N.Y.
- She was Sports Illustrated Kids 2014 Sports Kid of the Year.
- Mo’ne plans to one day own a professional women's baseball team in Philadelphia.
- She is currently earning a master's degree in Sports Management at Columbia University.
In 2014 Mon'ne Davis became the first female pitcher to win a game at the Little League World Series, pitcing a two-hit shutout for her team against a team from Nashville.
Black baseball pioneer Bud Fowler played for – among other teams – the Page Fence Giants, a top pre-Negro Leagues team of the 19th century that also featured future Hall of Famer Sol White. The team traveled by train in a car that advertised the team.
“My skin is against me…The race prejudice is so strong that my black skin barred me.”
- Bud Fowler, 1895
ACHIEVEMENTS
Bud is thought to be the first Black player in pro baseball, starting in 1878 and playing for or managing over 60 teams. He is also well-known as a founder of Black “barnstorming” teams, which were teams that traveled around the country to play local teams mostly in small towns.
CHALLENGES
Many white teams refused to play against the teams Bud was on because of the color of his skin. This led Bud to work for many different teams and to move across the country, preventing him from settling down in any one place for long.
STRENGTHS
Bud didn’t let racism stop him from playing and he paved the way for future Black players. In 1894, he teamed up with Grant “Home Run” Johnson to form the Page Fence Giants, one of the best Black barnstorming teams of the time.
FUN FACTS
- The Page Fence Giants traveled across the country on their own custom train car.
- When the Page Fence Giants arrived in town, they would ride bicycles from the train station to the ballpark. The parade of bicycles got people excited to go to their games.
- As a second baseman, he caught any ball hit his way with his bare hands!
Bud Fowler was one of the first Black players in professional baseball. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2022.
CANNON STREET YMCA ALL-STARS
Even though they made it to the 1955 Little League World Series, the Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars were not allowed to compete because they had won by all other teams forfeiting rather than play against a Black team. The crowd there that day chanted, “Let them play! Let them play!” in support, but the All-Stars were only allowed to watch.
“Racial separation was a creature of the adults; it was not a creature of the children.”
- John Rivers, 2023
ACHIEVEMENTS
A man named Creighton Hale who was a former leader of Little League Baseball, called the Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars “the most significant amateur baseball team in history.” Why?
Well, the All-Stars were the only Black team signed up for the 1955 Little League competition in South Carolina, which they won by forfeit. That means that the white teams in their city and state refused to show up and play against them. Their State Championship win qualified them for the 1955 Little League World Series, but because of a rule that teams winning by forfeit couldn’t compete, Little League invited the All-Stars to attend and watch the World Series game as guests. They knew they wouldn’t be allowed to play, but, according to their shortstop John Rivers, the team still hoped they would get the chance once they arrived. They drove for over 700 miles from Charleston on a broken-down bus to get to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
CHALLENGES
Little League had ordered the white teams in South Carolina to play against the All-Stars because it was against the rules to treat players unfairly because of their race. Instead of following this rule, the adult managers of the white teams left Little League and started their own group that was for white players only. One of the All-Stars, John Rivers, later said, “It’s a tragedy to take dreams away from youngsters, I knew it then. I know it now, and I’ve seen to it that no one takes dreams away from me again.”
STRENGTHS
The Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars and their leaders showed great courage driving through southern states to reach the World Series in Pennsylvania at a time when there was a lot of racial violence, including the murder of a Black youth, named Emmitt Till, on the same day as they returned home. To stay as safe as possible, they began their 700-mile journey in the middle of the night to keep out of sight. They also acted with grace and pride, going to a game they wouldn’t be allowed to play.
FUN FACTS
- In 2005 an illustrated children's book about the Cannon Street All-Stars called "Let Them Play" was published.
- In 2002, the All-Stars, all grown up by then, were finally given the championship banner for winning the 1955 South Carolina State Little League Championship.
- In the 1950s, The Cannon Street YMCA was one of only a few YMCA groups in the country run by all Black leaders.
- Their story was mostly forgotten until an article in Sports Illustrated in 1995 brought it back to life.
- In 2022, author Chris Lamb published a book about the team called, “Stolen Dreams: The 1955 Cannon Street All-Stars and Little League Baseball's Civil War”.
Members of the 1955 Cannon Street All Stars team at the 2002 Little League World Series.
CHECK OUT MORE LEGENDS OF BLACK BASEBALL
Hank Aaron is just one of the legends enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Explore them all!
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Racism is not what it was a half–century ago, but it is still present. Sports can continue to be at the forefront of progress.
— Adam Jones • Five-Time Major League All-Star
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Baseball and Civil Rights
Adam Jones wore these cleats on April 15, 2018, to honor Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King Jr. The shoes feature the date of Robinson’s Brooklyn Dodgers debut (April 15, 1947) and King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech (August 28, 1963).
Baseball has been and still is an important part of civil rights work in America, both on and off the field. Find out how they are connected!
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Kids are our future, and we hope baseball has given them some idea of what it is to live together and how we can get along, whether you be Black or white.
— Larry Doby • Hall of Fame Class of 1998
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Learning from History
The objects, baseball cards, photos, and interviews that have been collected, are links to stories of the people they represent, what they accomplished - on and off the field - and the ways they helped make the world a better place for all people.
THE NEW EXHIBIT
Located on the Museum’s second floor in the Yawkey Gallery, The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball includes stories of early Black baseball, the Negro Leagues era, the complexities of reintegration, Jackie Robinson, post-reintegration progress and retrogress, and calls for change in today’s game while celebrating the newest superstars of the era.
EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS
Tell the grown-ups!
We are adding more to this site as well as programs that visit New York schools to give you hands-on fun while learning about Black baseball.
Your caregivers and teachers can find out more here.
The Black Baseball Initiative
Is made possible by
The Yawkey Foundation
with additional support from