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EARLY BASEBALL The baseball world that the young Jackie Robinson knew consisted of "Organized Baseball," a whites-only system of the eight-team National and American Leagues plus hundreds of minor-league teams; and the "Negro Leagues," which developed after 1900 as an alternative to the segregated white game. -Organized Baseball- Before 1920 Organized Baseball, segregated since the 1880s, was controlled by individual club owners and a three-man committee representing National and American League interests. The dominant style of play on the field was strong pitching and an aggressice slap-and-dash running game that fit the small ballparks of the time beautifully. After 1920, following the notorious "Black Sox" World Series bribery scandal, a single commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, replaced the three-man commission, power-hitting became the dominant playing style, and ballparks became much bigger. Clubs combed the hinterlands for promising talent, but black and white players only met in rare "barnstorming" exhibition games. Professor Todd Crosset, University of Massachusetts John McGraw and the "Marginals" Professor Ron Story, University of Massachusetts Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers Members of the Chicago White Sox of 1919 in court with the attorneys... Charles Comiskey and William Veeck Charles Comiskey, former baseball great and owner of the Chicago White Sox team... Babe Ruth, New York Yankees Bob Feller, Cleveland Indians. Feller and others reacted strongly to the "farm system"... Bob Feller, Cleveland Indians. Feller personally organized the black-versus-white... Bill Marshall, University of Kentucky, about Happy Chandler's papers... -The Negro Leagues- Developed informally by player-entrepreneurs such as Rube Foster of Chicago, by the 1920s, professional African-American teams existed in most important Northern cities, from New York to Kansas City. Most belonged to either the Negro National League or the Negro American League, although the composition of the leagues varied with the commercial fortunes of the clubs. Players frequently moved form franchise to franchise, and "barnstorming" from town to town was comming. The integration of Organized Baseball ultimately killed the Negro Leagues. Hall of fame third baseman Judy Johnson of the Pittsburgh Crafords. Other famous black... The Pittsburgh Crawfords of 1932, with future Hall of Famers Judy Johnson (3rd base)... Buck O'Neil, Negro League first baseman and manager of the Kansas City Monarchs... Major Leagues vs. Negro Leagues Buck O'Neil, Negro League 1st baseman and manager, Kansas City Monarchs Buck O'Neil, Negro League 1st baseman and manager, Kansas City Monarchs Black Franchises and Opportunity Professor Bill Sutton, University of Massachusetts Larry Doby, Cleveland Indians Hall of Famer. In 1947, Doby became the first black American League player. Larry Doby, Cleveland Indians Hall of Famer. In 1947, Doby became the first black American League player. Pitcher Don Newcombe, who with Jackie Robinson and catcher Roy Campanella, comprised... Pitcher Don Newcombe, Newark Eagles and Brooklyn Dodgers The Sporting News, November 1, 1945
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