UrbanRedneck
Banned
Many people build up Jackie Robinson for breaking the color barrier in baseball but what isnt widely known is that many people in black baseball were against it. Not that they didn't want integration, but they wanted whole teams (all the players, coaches, managers, office staff, etc...)to be admitted into major league baseball as equals.
The way it worked out is that after Jackie Robinson many other top players left the Negro leagues for the majors as they cherry picked the best talent and within a few years Negro baseball folded and all the coaches and support staff were out of work. It wasnt until much later did the majors start hiring blacks as coaches and other support staff.
But what if they had held out? What if entire black teams like the Kansas City Monarchs and the Homestead Grays were admitted to the major leagues and were soon vying for the pennants alongside the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals?
Note - years later this is just what happened in football when they merged the NFL with the AFL and in basketball when they merged the NBA with the ABA.
The way it worked out is that after Jackie Robinson many other top players left the Negro leagues for the majors as they cherry picked the best talent and within a few years Negro baseball folded and all the coaches and support staff were out of work. It wasnt until much later did the majors start hiring blacks as coaches and other support staff.
But what if they had held out? What if entire black teams like the Kansas City Monarchs and the Homestead Grays were admitted to the major leagues and were soon vying for the pennants alongside the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals?
Note - years later this is just what happened in football when they merged the NFL with the AFL and in basketball when they merged the NBA with the ABA.