WELL, WE'VE BEEN DREAMING OF WARMER WEATHER AROUND HERE... AND SPRING MEANS THE START OF BASEBALL... YAY!
FOR THE LAST 'KNOW OHIO' OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH, WE STRIKE OUT WINTER ...AND TRAVEL BACK IN TIME TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CLEVELAND BUCKEYES.
LONG BEFORE BASEBALL LEGEND JACKIE ROBINSON BROKE THE COLOR BARRIER AS THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN TO PLAY IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES, RACIAL SEGREGATION WAS VERY REAL IN AMERICA'S PAST TIME.
BECAUSE BLACK ATHLETES WERE NOT ACCEPTED INTO MAJOR OR MINOR BASEBALL LEAGUES, THEY FORMED THEIR OWN TEAMS. IN 1895, THE CUBAN GIANTS FORMED THE FIRST ALL AFRICAN AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL TEAM.
YEARS LATER, THE NEGRO AMERICAN LEAGUE WAS FORMED. IN 1942, THE CLEVELAND BUCKEYES JOINED THE LEAGUE, WHICH WAS MADE UP OF A HANDFUL OF TEAMS FROM CITIES INCLUDING BALTIMORE, NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA.
INITIALLY, THE CLEVELAND BUCKEYES WERE SCHEDULED TO SPLIT THEIR TIME PLAYING GAMES BETWEEN CINCINNATI AND CLEVELAND. BUT AFTER ONE SEASON, OWNER ERNIE WHITE MADE CLEVELAND THE TEAM'S HOME. PLAYING AT HISTORIC LEAGUE PARK IN THE HOUGH NEIGHBORHOOD OF CLEVELAND, THE CLEVELAND BUCKEYES WON THE NEGRO WORLD SERIES TITLE IN 1945.
ALL TEAMS IN THE NEGRO LEAGUE FACED CHALLENGES DURING THIS TIME PERIOD... SPECIFICALLY WHEN TRAVELING TO GAMES. SINCE TRAVELING BY TRAIN OR BUS WAS OFTEN TOO EXPENSIVE, PLAYERS WOULD PACK INTO CARS TO GET TO THEIR DESTINATION.
THE CLEVELAND BUCKEYES' LAST SEASON WAS IN 1950, JUST A FEW YEARS AFTER ROBINSON MADE HISTORY WITH THE BROOKLYN DODGERS.
AND MORE RECENTLY - LEAGUE PARK WENT THROUGH RENOVATIONS AND REOPENED AS A RECREATIONAL BASEBALL PARK AND TRACK. THERE IS A LINK TO THAT STORY ON OUR WEBSITE...
I GUESS YOU COULD CALL THAT A HOME RUN...