Baseball Cards + Math = Fun

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

I don't think I knew that there were African American ball players before JR. Very cool. What happened to our country that it was ok in the late 1800's but not after until Jackie broke the color barrier again? So unfortunate not to have all the great black players play alongside Cobb, Ruth, Mathewson etc.

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by ajjohnsonsoxfan

I don't think I knew that there were African American ball players before JR. Very cool. What happened to our country that it was ok in the late 1800's but not after until Jackie broke the color barrier again? So unfortunate not to have all the great black players play alongside Cobb, Ruth, Mathewson etc.

Actually they did.

Research into the barnstorming trips to Cuba in which the Mlb (including cobb and Ruth) played Cuban Black Stars games. The best black players of the time including Pop Lloyd would travel down for these as well. It's fun info.

Actually Cobb played them and had an average game in a Tigers win. Ruth went down with John McGraws Giants in 1920 ( He was paid 20k to join for the trip) and went hitless. However Cristobal Torriente hit 3 homers and showed up the kid.

Originally Posted by ajjohnsonsoxfan

I don't think I knew that there were African American ball players before JR. Very cool. What happened to our country that it was ok in the late 1800's but not after until Jackie broke the color barrier again? So unfortunate not to have all the great black players play alongside Cobb, Ruth, Mathewson etc.

The subject is very complicated. The short answer: the 1896 Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson, institutionalized "separate but equal" facilities for blacks and whites which extended onto the baseball diamond. This decision was not reversed until the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. The Board of Education, which ushered in the Civil Rights Movement.

Surprisingly many black ballplayers played alongside whites in minor league and semi-professional baseball from 1890-1946. Some more successful than others; the stories of William Clarence Matthews, "Big Chief" Dick Brookins, Charlie Grant, and Jimmy Claxton are hard to believe. During this period, attempts to "pass" as Native American were the most common methods used to integrate.

Back to the OP, this is a fantastic idea for students. Kudos!

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by ajjohnsonsoxfan

I don't think I knew that there were African American ball players before JR. Very cool. What happened to our country that it was ok in the late 1800's but not after until Jackie broke the color barrier again? So unfortunate not to have all the great black players play alongside Cobb, Ruth, Mathewson etc.

I think it should be called the African-American barrier because a lot of dark-skinned Cuban players were in the majors before Robinson. Look at a picture of Tommy de la Cruz from the 1944 Reds. He had African heritage and looked the part, but he was from Cuba, so he was allowed to play.

Even before him, the original Bobby Estallela(grandfather of the Giants/Phillies catcher) was part African and he put in eight seasons of baseball before Robinson supposedly broke the color barrier. Robinson broke the African-American barrier.

Color barrier makes it sound like only white players were playing before 1946 and we know that plenty of Latino and Native American players were also in the league during that time. I don't think they would have classified themselves as white.