Negro Leagues Baseball Museum covers baseball’s unappreciated stars

By Caitlin Swieca

Having seen the movie “42” when it came out in April, I was excited to find out that our Sunday at Sports Journalism Institute would be spent in Kansas City at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

I did enjoy the movie, which tells a portion of the story of Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier of Major League Baseball in 1947.

However, the film only covers a very small period of time, from Robinson’s signing through his rookie year in 1947. The museum provided a great opportunity to gain new knowledge about both Robinson and other players in the Negro leagues, where he got his start.

Although I enjoyed “42,” I watched it with skepticism, knowing that films often take liberties with the truth to make it suit their message. The museum allowed us to walk around, look at the artifacts, and read the extensive information provided on the displays without worrying about any artistic interpretation.

In the hour or so that we spent there, I was able to take in a lot of information about the league as I moved through the timeline that the museum has set up.

Nothing that I learned particularly surprised me, but it was interesting to learn more background on the other players in the league.

I never knew that baseball had been integrated in the Civil War era, but the film showed that Moses Fleetwood Walker had played in the 1860’s, before the league segregated itself for over 60 years.

The general history of the Negro leagues is well-known, but certain details are less clear. Even in “42,” it was never mentioned that three players from the Negro leagues followed Robinson to the major leagues later in his 1947 rookie season.

I also never realized what a large role Kansas City played in the league, which I wouldn’t necessarily have expected. The league was formed just a few blocks from the museum’s current location, and the Monarchs were one of the teams that produced the most talent.

The museum also took steps to emphasize some of the players who get less recognition. For example, on the “Field of Legends,” Robinson was not one of the players honored with a statue. Other than Satchel Paige, none of the names were recognizable to someone familiar only with the major leagues.

Possibly the most interesting moment of my day, though, was when I spoke to Ray Doswell, the curator and vice president of the museum.

I had read some articles that debated the accuracy of “42,” and so I wanted to see what Doswell’s take on the movie was, given the depth of his knowledge on Robinson.

To my surprise, he told me that he thought it was very good. A couple scenes might have been exaggerated or twisted the truth a bit, but he still thought it was credible. For example, the film was very honest in its portrayal of Cleveland’s manager, who, in the movie, stood on the field and spewed racial slurs towards Robinson.

Most importantly, he said that he was glad the movie was a success, because it needed to succeed for there to be any chance of more movies being made about the Negro leagues or its players.

Jackie’s life, he pointed out, could be a trilogy in itself. “42” only covers a couple years of it.

And of course, there are other Negro League players with great stories, just as worthy as being made into a movie.

Perhaps in a few years, we’ll be seeing movie promos about Larry Doby or Josh Gibson or Roy Campanella. If not, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City will be a great resource to learn more about some of history’s most under appreciated players.