Black History Month — Negro League & Birmingham Black Barons

While most everyone knows that Jackie Robinson first integrated Major League Baseball in 1947 when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, the history of the Negro Leagues is not common knowledge.

After the civil war, baseball began to change from a casual sport played in athletic clubs to the formation of amateur leagues. While the integrated teams existed then, a decision made by the newly formed National Association of Baseball Players in December 1868, barred African-Americans from participation.