Fading of The Negro Baseball Leagues in America
May 11, 2009 — From plantation to baseball diamond, the Negro National Baseball League offered blacks their only shot at playing organized ball in 1920. In a white’s-only era, the Negro League was owned, organized, managed and played by African-American players.
The Negro League was a black monopoly that became the largest of its kind in the country. It was also one of the last times blacks controlled their own major league sports organizations.
When Jackie Robinson broke the color line and stepped out of The Brooklyn Dodgers dugout on opening day in 1947 everything changed .
Black fans started to shift their attention away from the Negro Leagues and toward the Major Leagues. While attendance was plummeting black owners were also auctioning off their best players to the highest white bidders.
The writing was on the wall. The last of the Negro Leagues limped along until 1960.
The photography, posters, banners, game tickets and other ephemera from the Negro League era was never designed to survive. Somehow, select pieces have survived and regularly come up for sale at sports auctions around the country.
On March 6, Hunt Auctions, Exton, Pa., featured a selection of these items in its Sports Memorabilia and Cards auction. A cabinet photograph of the Nashville Elite Giants; pictures five uniformed players; circa 1935; and sold in the auction for $805.
Read the entire article at http://www.LiveAuctionTalk.com
RSS: http://www.liveauctiontalk.com/rss/lat.rss
Photo courtesy of Hunt Auctions.
Rosemary McKittrick is a storyteller. Her weekly column brings the world of
art, antiques and collectibles to life.
Related posts:
- Negro Leagues Shine Again at Auction
- LiveAuctionTalk.com Highlights Jackie Robinson Changing Face of Baseball
- LiveAuctionTalk.com Highlights Pittsburgh Fan Snagging Historic Babe Ruth Home Run Baseball
- Springfield Sports Memorabilia Appraisals Aug 8
- THE VINCENT GRECO COLLECTION AND A LENNY MOORE GAME USED JERSEY FOR IRONCLAD LEGENDS AUCTION
