September 21 - October 29
East Side Library
2559 Hubbell Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa 50317

Pride and Passion is an exciting new traveling exhibition that opened at the East Side Library on Monday, September 21 examines the challenges faced by African-American baseball players as they sought equal opportunities in their sport beginning in the post-Civil War era.

In the 1880s, more than 30 African Americans were on teams in baseball’s major and minor leagues. But opportunities diminished as Reconstruction ended and segregation became entrenched as part of American culture. During the 1887 season, league owners agreed to make no new contracts with African-American players. From that time on, until Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, baseball was a segregated sport.

In response, more than 200 independent all-black teams organized and barnstormed around the country, developing a reputation for a fast-running, power-hitting game. By the 1920s, black baseball had its own successful professional leagues. Negro league baseball grew into a multi-million dollar enterprise and a focus of great pride in the African-American community. Legendary figures such as Rube Foster, Buck Leonard, Oscar Charleston, James “Cool Papa” Bell, Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige thrilled audiences and helped pave the way for integration of the major leagues in the mid-20th century.

In 1971, Satchel Paige became the first player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame based solely on his performance in the Negro leagues. In the years that followed, more than 35 players and managers from such powerhouse Negro league teams as the Chicago American Giants, Kansas City Monarchs, St. Louis Stars, Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays have been voted into the Hall of Fame.

“We are delighted to have been selected as a site for this exhibition, “ said Carolyn Greufe, manager of the East Side Library. “Players in the Negro leagues were some of the most talented and inspiring sports figures of their day. This exhibition shows that, in spite of segregation, black players helped advance the game of baseball in many ways. The Kansas City Monarchs, a Negro league team, were the first to develop a successful lighting system for night games, five years before Major League Baseball played its first night game. They carried their own generators and light stands with them on the road. The exhibition tells many more remarkable stories of players and teams who were shut out of major league baseball, but persevered in a sport they loved.”

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and the American Library Association Public Programs Office organized the traveling exhibition, which was made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): great ideas brought to life. The traveling exhibition is based upon an exhibition of the same name on permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

The traveling exhibition is composed of colorful freestanding panels featuring photographs of teams, players, original documents and artifacts in the collections of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and in other institutions and collections across the U.S. “Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience” will be on display at the library until October 30.

Art "Superman" Pennington and Ernest "Schoolboy" Johnson
Monday, October 5, at 6:30 PM at the East Side Library
Meet baseball legends, Art “Superman” Pennington and Ernest “Schoolboy” Johnson during the “Pride and Passion: The African American Baseball Experience,” a traveling exhibition telling the struggle of what African American baseball players faced in the U.S. over the past century and a half. Join us for an entertaining evening as these two baseball players reminisce and share their stories about their experiences.

Saturday, October 3: East Side Library:
Watch baseball films: Field of Dreams and The Last Season, with friends and family or meet new people who share an interest in baseball.

Monday – Thursday, October 12 – 15: East Side Library:
Spend time with friends and family while making baseball crafts during regular library hours.

Thursday, October 15, 10:30 AM: East Side Library:
Enjoy a baseball storytime for preschoolers with a visit by Cubby Bear, from the Iowa Cubs. Make
new buddies and enjoy snacks.

	Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience, a traveling exhibition for libraries, was organized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, New York, and the American Library Association Public Programs Office, Chicago.The traveling exhibition has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life.