Tag Archives: Black College Baseball

A Wonderful Historic Moment for Black College Baseball

Why the Ralph Garr-Bill Lucas HBCU Baseball Classic Matters?

A faint breeze slightly chilled the night air, the sky tinted ocean blue, and patches of small fluffy clouds lingered in the afterglow of dusk, hinted at the artistry of the Divine.

Down below on a baseball diamond where Triple-A professionals dream of getting a call up to the big league are two historic Black universities, Florida A & M University and Grambling State University. Each is seeking their first win since the pandemic derailed their season a year ago, prepared to do battle in the first Ralph Garr-Bill Lucas HBCU Baseball Classic. read more

A Historic Face Lift For Black College Baseball

Tuskegee University Returns Home Games to Campus

Many of the happiest days of my life are moments spent on a baseball diamond. Mostly sandlots: sometimes cow pastures turned into a ball field for Sunday baseball outings, some with meticulously kept lawns, and some in the oldest minor league ballpark in America, Luther Williams Field, in Macon, Georgia. read more

Showcasing Black Baseball Talent Amid a Pandemic

There is a myth that Black youngsters are not playing baseball these days. If you look at Major League Baseball (MLB) rosters and most Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), it is easy to come away with that impression. Around eight percent of professional baseball players are Black Americans. This number is down from approximately 30 percent in the late 1970s, thirty years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier that kept Black baseball players off major league rosters. read more

During the Negro Leagues Centennial, a New Book Focuses on Bob Kendrick’s Storytelling

by Douglas Malan 

Editors Note…

The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Negro Leagues Baseball.  During its heyday, teams were often made up of ballplayers who previously played at historically black colleges and universities.  Negro League teams were the only opportunities for African-American college ballplayers to continue playing the game.  In his recently published book entitled “The Duke of 18th & Vine”, Black College Nines’ contributing writer Harold Michael Harvey references that relationship between the two entities and delves into the man who leads the Negro National Museum and his storytelling.  Below is our Douglas Malan’s interview with Mr. Harvey. read more

Morehouse Baseball Star Looks Forward to Career at Google Not MLB

I’ve been writing about baseball for a long time. I’ve interviewed hundreds of college baseball players, most of the players at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). I’ve only met two young men playing baseball at the HBCU level, who told me that their dream was not to play professional baseball. There is a large percentage of Black college baseball student-athletes who want to pursue professional baseball as a career; despite the fact, Major League Baseball seldom send scouts to watch HBCU baseball games. read more

Tuskegee-Morehouse Split Historic Season Opener

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA ( Cascade Publishing House) It was a cold and blustery day. Intermittent rain fell from the sky, some of the droplets appeared like snowflakes as they swirled and floated to the turf in the ballpark once home for the Montgomery Rebels in the old Southern League. The combatants lined up along their respective baselines, the national anthem played over the public address system, and the umpires went over the ground rules. There would be no banging on trash cans, and signs, if stolen, had to employ the old fashion technique perfected during twentieth-century baseball. read more

Marcus Smith Lands Voorhees Head Baseball Coach Post

“I’m excited to get another chance to revive a baseball program,” Coach Marcus Smith said over lunch at the iconic Beautiful Restaurant in southwest Atlanta.

Fourteen months ago, Smith walked away from the Head Baseball Coach position at Le Moyne-Owen in Memphis, Tennessee over an NCAA compliance issue that occurred two years before he became head coach at the school. read more

Marque Denmon Brings pro Experience to MVP Baseball classic

“This tournament doesn’t have to have a PA announcer. It would be a success without me. What I bring to this tournament is an authentic baseball experience for these young men,” added Denmon in a tone so deep, so rich, that the hearer can only imagine those words originated from somewhere around his navel and moved upwards bursting out of his mouth, and punctuating the airwaves with a resonance indescribable. read more