An estimated 40 percent of Negro League players had college educations and most were from historically Black colleges and universities, according to Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
“When we go back and we look at the stereotypical perception of Black athletes, particularly in that era, it was that they weren’t smart enough to play in the major leagues,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.
The perception that Black players were not smart enough to play in the major league was particularly ironic given that more Negro League players had a college education than Major Leaguers, seeing as Major League baseball recruited players right out of high school into its farm system. An estimated 40 percent of Negro League players had college educations and most were from historically Black colleges and universities, according to Kendrick.
“The Negro Leagues didn’t have a minor league system like the major leagues did. … Their primary source of recruiting their workforce was on the HBCU campuses,” said Kendrick, who added that Negro League teams did spring training on HBCU campuses as well as played in exhibition games against the HBCU teams.
“These men weren’t the vagabonds or tramps they’re being sold as,” Kendrick said. “They were very well-educated men who did significant things with their lives after their [baseball] careers.”
Whether it is the story of Wiley College graduate Grady Orange, who played for four teams from 1925 to 1931 to earn the money to attend Meharry Medical College, or Hall of Fame pitcher and Alcorn State College graduate, baseball coach and later athletic director Bill Foster, the connection between Black baseball players and often HBCU scholarship is not usually mentioned.
“When you look at the history of minorities in baseball, it’s an incredible story,” said Dr. Joseph L. Morale, vice president of student affairs and enrollment and interim athletic director at Wiley College. Morale said today’s players “sometimes can lose sight of baseball and why it’s important to try to represent the game well and represent themselves well.”
