Black baseball leagues originated in the 1880s during a time of segregation, where Black athletes faced brutal racism and were denied the right to play in Major League Baseball. The first professional all-black league — the National Colored Base Ball League — was founded in 1887. Although it had eight distinct teams, it failed after only two weeks due to low attendance. The first Negro National League was founded in 1920 by Rube Foster.
With their own league, Black athletes faced a variety of challenges. Berkeley High School history teacher Travis Walker explained that a major issue was access to services, and that the teams “were largely cut off from a lot of the same financing that would have financed the other major professional leagues. And as a result, would have all the downstream effects of being cut off from those same financial avenues,” Walker said. Despite the hardship and struggle, Black baseball leagues persevered and evolved from 1920 to the late 1940s, with seven Negro leagues existing at various times. The most popular of the seven were The Negro National League I and II, the Negro American League, and the Eastern Colored League, featuring legendary teams and showcasing the top talent.
The Negro Leagues highlighted Black athletes’ skills in a time when they were being silenced and forced into the shadows. In respect to these leagues, Walker said, “They provided them (Black athletes) with an opportunity to play a game, play sport that they loved, and to do so at a high level with other people who also wanted to compete.” While the leagues gave due recognition to the athletes, they also served as a beacon of hope and built a rich community around the sport. “For the broader Black community, it gave an avenue of entertainment and community and gathering,” Walker said. The Negro Leagues ultimately paved the way for Jackie Robinson to break the color barrier on April 15, 1967 — playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
BHS senior Akanni Owodunni grew up watching the Oakland A’s, fell in love with baseball when he was two years old, and has played the game ever since. “I played other sports growing up, like (during) elementary school, middle school, but ultimately stuck to baseball,” Owodunni said. This past summer, when in Alabama with his baseball team, Owodunni took a team trip to the Negro Southern League Museum (NSLM). He saw memorials of the players and learned about the history of the Negro Leagues, striking a deep interest inside of him. “As a Black athlete in a game that’s primarily white today… it’s really just eye-opening that Black people were, like the foundation and the game wouldn’t be where it’s at without people of color,” he said. BHS senior Seddrick Henderson grew up playing baseball since he was young, and is committed to playing as a pitcher for UCLA, a Division 1 college for baseball. He played on the same team as Owodunni and also went to the NSLM, and is grateful for the Black Major Leagues and how they’ve allowed minority players to compete. “Thank you for allowing me to play a game that I love,” is what Henderson would say if he got the chance to speak to a Negro League player. “They opened big doors for us minority players to play, (to) play the game professionally and at the collegiate level,” Henderson said.
When Owodunni was a younger athlete competing in a primarily white sport, he “kind of brushed it off or tried to fit in,” he said. Today, Owodunni is signed to play as a catcher for the University of San Diego — another Division 1 institution. “Now, especially with learning about these leagues and the history of it, I fully embrace that, and I’m proud to be playing as a Black kid,” he said. Owodunni commemorates the long journey of the Negro Leagues by honoring the players in his everyday play. “I feel like at the end of the day, those leagues are the foundation of how I’m playing … I remember that I’m coming from those guys, and people that were overlooked, and they set a foundation and a path so that I can get recognition, and hopefully play in the MLB one day,” Owodunni said.