Talkin' BB with our heroes....tell us of your experiences ?

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Posted By: Gary Cieradkowski

I was always interested in the Negro Leagues since I was a boy and my Grandpa used to tell me about seeing the Newark Eagles at Ruppert Satdium back in the 30's and 40's. Back in the late 80's when I was in college in Baltimore I got to meet Leon Day, the great pitcher of the Eagles who lived near by my apartment. A mutual friend, and great guy, Dr. Bob Hieronemus introduced us. I spent a bunch of spare afternoons in his house, up in his baseball room talking about his times in the game. He answered any questions I had and really gave me an insight into the Negro Leagues from a guy who was there. Little things stand out in my mind... how he though pitching today was so soft, no bean-balls to keep a batter honest... how each team always had a singing group made up of the players to entertain on the bus rides (Leon liked Louis Jordan tunes)... how the players were just picked up by teams either through word of mouth or playing against small teams on off days. Those afternoons were so much fun for me and Leon and Dr. Hieronemus later would invite me to private Negro league reunions where I got to talk ball with a never ending group of old players. Their happiness and willingness to talk about their time as professionals was infectuous! One thing I that really stuck with me was that 99% of those guys didn't regret that they didn't play in the white leagues. They had a pride in theirown league and felt it was just as good as the majors. To them, it WAS the majors. The guys that were bitter were fellas that played out in the west or the Negro American League, particularly guys from the Monarchs. I guess they had to deal with more rascist crap than the Eastern guys. Anyway, a few years later I was the lead graphic designer on Oriole Park and through that got to meet all the current major leaguers. Some were nice. Most were bland. Some, including the O's biggest star at the time was a real scum bag. But those Negro League guys, especially Leon, were why I love baseball so darn much.