In 1947, Jackie Robinson (1919–1972; see entry under 1940s—Sports and Games in volume 3) became the first African American to play major league baseball (see entry under 1900s—Sports and Games in volume 1) in the twentieth century. Before the late 1940s, African American players could not pitch, hit, and field alongside such greats as Babe Ruth (1895–1948; see entry under 1910s—Sports and Games in volume 1), Ty Cobb (1886–1961; see entry under 1900s—Sports and Games in volume 1), Lou Gehrig (1903–1941), Walter Johnson (1887–1946), and other white baseball heroes, but that did not deter them from playing the game. The best black ballplayers swatted home runs, stole bases, and hurled shutouts in leagues of their own, all of which are informally known as the Negro Leagues.

All-black baseball clubs existed in the nineteenth century and even took on white opponents. Back in 1869, the Pythian Baseball Club of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an all-black team...