Negro League Baseball Research Group
 

Hey all,

Over the past few months there have been a number of posts regarding the Negro Leagues and among those particularly interested in the leagues, there is a strong feeling that many players are not getting the credit they are due (whether with the HOF or otherwise).

A number of people have spoken about what they may be able to do. There was a call for sending letters to relevant parties to promote Negro League research and encourage the HOF to again consider some of the great players who were prevented from playing in the Majors.

One of the most basic thing I have heard from people I have been in discussions with is the need for more information and more research. The stories of many of these players have never really been told. And with the internet making access to old newspapers and the like much easier, it seems like we have a chance to access info that was much tougher before.

I was thinking that maybe we could get a group of people together who would collaborate on research. We could use shared Google Docs and the like to gather information on different athletes, and put that together (possibly in a series of articles.) I imagine if each person took 1 player (or one team etc) but also kept an eye out and shared info on anything else they came across), we might be able to find some really interesting things.

Having people across the country might also allow us to find relatives of deceased players, and build out the story in ways that we otherwise would not have been able to.

I was hoping to get any thoughts/comments/critiques on the idea and see if anyone was interested in working on something like this?

Jeff there are literally hundreds SABR members doing this work each day. I would suggest contacting SABR and joining the Negro Leagues Committee.

They erect a number of grave stones and monuments annually and lobby HOF voters for candidates each year. I am amazed at the tenacity of many of the SABR researchers.

Correct. In fact, a new book was just published by SABR on the 1948 Negro League World Series. My contribution starts on page 285!

Bittersweet Goodbye: The Black Barons, the Grays, and the 1948 Negro League World Series (The SABR Digital Library) (Volume 50) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1943816557/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ECCNzbZZHW845

Well done Mike!

While SABR is a great organization it is a lot larger, and thereby a bit less intimate, than our forum. If some of our members want to organize something for our members to do, please let me know if the board can help in any way?

I agree, I wish there was a forum (or similar) that SABR members could easily communicate. However, if someday the '54 community were to collaborate on something that would be amazing, there is no group more knowledgeable on cards than there is here.

Owen

Thanks Leon.

I was thinking that using collaborative software (things like a shared Google doc, or possibly something more complicated like Basecamp) people would be able to collaborate on projects, working together to put something together that individuals may not be able to do on their own.

I know that without SABR, we would likely be duplicating some efforts, but I know there are people like myself who have some level of knowledge and are willing to invest time and effort into a project, but probably are not planning on writing a book independently.

If there is enough interest to build a small team here, I think we can pick a topic that interests people, and break it down into pieces to try and build something. Then people can leverage a range of resources (subscriptions to places like newspaper.com, geneology.com, local library and other resources) and we can uncover elements to the story that may not have been to this point.