Little League Legend Mo’ne Davis to Take the Field at May 25 Hall of Fame East-West Classic

(COOPERSTOWN, NY) – Mo’ne Davis inspired millions of athletes when she tossed a shutout at the 2014 Little League World Series.

A decade later, Davis returns to Cooperstown – where she donated her LLWS jersey following her historic victory – as part of the Hall of Fame East-West Classic on Memorial Day Weekend.

Davis, now a graduate student at Columbia University, took the national stage when she became the first female pitcher to win a game at the Little League World Series, pitching a two-hit shutout for her Taney Little League team from Philadelphia. Davis will appear at the Hall of Fame East-West Classic on May 25 at Doubleday Field, representing Mamie Johnson, Connie Morgan and Toni Stone – three pioneering women who appeared in Negro Leagues games.

“It’s an honor to return to Cooperstown for the Hall of Fame East-West Classic,” said the 22-year-old Davis, whose jersey is currently on display in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Whole New Ballgame exhibit. “Our youth team, the Anderson Monarchs, came to the Hall of Fame often when I played for them, and then to be able to see my jersey on display after the Little League World Series was just amazing. I am proud to join with all the players celebrating the history of the Negro Leagues in Cooperstown.”

The Anderson Monarchs will join Davis at the Hall of Fame East-West Classic, bringing their historic 1947 Flxible Clipper – a touring bus much like ones Negro Leagues teams used to travel throughout the country. The bus was restored in the late 1990s under the direction of Monarchs coach Steve Bandura and is used to educate players on the history of the Negro Leagues by barnstorming across the country. The Monarchs play games against local youth teams and visit historic sites along the way. Fans at the Hall of Fame East-West Classic will have the opportunity to see the bus and capture photographs of it at Doubleday Field.

Presented by Boeing and fueled by assistance from Major League Baseball, the Hall of Fame East-West Classic rosters will be led by captains CC Sabathia and Chris Young and consist of more than two dozen former big leaguers, including Josh Barfield, Tim Beckham, José Contreras, Ian Desmond, Prince Fielder, Dexter Fowler, Doug Glanville, Curtis Granderson, Tony Gwynn Jr., Jerry Hairston, Scott Hairston, LaTroy Hawkins, Ryan Howard, Edwin Jackson, Jeremy Jeffress, Adam Jones, Matt Kemp, Russell Martin, Darrell Miller, Melvin Mora, David Price, Tyson Ross, Tony Sipp, Dee Strange-Gordon, B.J. Upton and Justin Upton.

Harold Reynolds of MLB Network and Mets’ World Series hero Mookie Wilson will join the rosters as honorary team members and former Kansas City Monarchs star Sam Allen joins Pedro Sierra as Negro Leaguers who will attend the East-West Classic.

Tickets for the Hall of Fame East-West Classic are on sale now at baseballhall.org/east-west or at 1-888-325-0470 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

A dozen Hall of Famers whose careers cover the pre-expansion era to the present day will return to Cooperstown on Memorial Day Weekend to celebrate the history of Black baseball and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s groundbreaking new exhibit The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball. Hall of Famers scheduled to appear as managers and coaches for the East-West Classic teams include Harold Baines, Rollie Fingers, Ken Griffey Jr., Fergie Jenkins, Jim Kaat, Fred McGriff, Eddie Murray, Jim Rice, Lee Smith, Ozzie Smith, Joe Torre and Dave Winfield.

The weekend will also include a special unveiling of a Hank Aaron statue at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The bronze representation of Aaron will be installed on the first floor of the Museum.

The Negro Leagues East-West All-Star Game debuted in 1933 at Chicago’s Comiskey Park and was played annually through 1962, including several years that featured multiple games. Hall of Famer Bill Foster was the winning pitcher in the inaugural East-West All-Star Game and several future Hall of Famers starred in the game throughout the years, including Cool Papa Bell, Ray Brown, Andy Cooper, Leon Day, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson and Willie Wells.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has teamed up with Sports Travel and Tours to offer baseball fans a one-stop opportunity to purchase Classic Weekend travel packages. For more information or to plan a trip to Cooperstown, please call 1-888-310-HALL (4255). Membership participants receive a 5% discount on all their baseball travel packages.

Located on the Museum’s second floor in the Yawkey Gallery, The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball will cover 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. Meaningful stories from Black baseball are also being added to other exhibits throughout the Museum.

The exhibit is part of the Hall of Fame’s Black Baseball Initiative that includes additional outreach programs, educational materials and virtual programming and is made possible by the Yawkey Foundation with additional support from Bill Janetschek in honor of his siblings Robert and Ann, the Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation and the Bisignano Family. The initiative will also enhance Black Baseball stories found throughout the Museum.

The Souls of the Game, a title that pays tribute to W.E.B. Du Bois’s seminal 1903 book “The Souls of Black Folk”, will explore the Black baseball experience of those men, women and children who were and are an integral part of our National Pastime.

Subtitled “Voices of Black Baseball”, the exhibit will highlight first-person accounts by the many individuals whose experiences shaped them, their community, baseball and America at large. Featuring historically significant artifacts, documents and photographs, and utilizing audio, video, and interactive elements, the exhibit will tell a more inclusive story of baseball, shine a light on and correct misconceptions about Black baseball.

Click here for more information about the Museum's Black Baseball Initiative.

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