The Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues: Invited Articles

We have commissioned articles from prominent Negro League historians, family members of Black baseball players, and others to explain to our audience the context behind the rise of Black baseball, how it operated, who was involved and its part in the history of the game. The game and its players are not just their numbers, so we strongly urge you to read these pieces as you visit the new pages on our site.

• Welcome to the Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues by Sean Forman, President of Sports Reference, LLC: Opening remarks at the press conference for The Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues.
• Negro Leagues By The Numbers by Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, with Joe Posnanski: A look at what the statistics of the Negro Leagues mean.
• Negro Leagues = Major Leagues by Todd Peterson: An analysis of the quality of play of the Negro Leagues and the White major leagues.
• A Love Story by Adam Jones, 14-year MLB veteran: What the Negro Leagues mean to a modern Black star.
• The Black Boys of Summer: A statistical observation by Larry Lester: A look at how the Negro League stats were compiled and the effect on the record books.
• Gibson Family Reflections on the Publication of Baseball Reference’s Negro Leagues Statistics by Sean Gibson, great-grandson of Josh Gibson: What it means to family members of Negro League stars to see this update.
• Women in the Negro Leagues by Leslie Heaphy: A discussion of the women who were executives and players the Negro Leagues.
• A Black Baseball Legacy by Michael E. Lomax: The evolution of Black Baseball from the 19th through the 20th century.
• Turkey Stearnes and the Inclusive Grand Slam by Vanessa Ivy Rose, granddaughter of Turkey Stearnes: A reflection on the legacy of Hall of Famer Turkey Stearnes.
• Building the Seamheads Negro Leagues Database by Gary Ashwill: A look at how the data that you see on the site today was collected.
• Historiography of Black Baseball & Negro Baseball Leagues by Gary Gillette: A timeline of important Black Baseball and Negro League histories and reference works.
• Still Standing: Where to See Extant Negro League Ballparks by Gary Gillette: A look at which Negro League ballparks are still standing.
• The Long Road to Jackie Robinson: Nineteenth Century Pioneers in Black Ball by Ryan Swanson: From Charles Douglass (son of Frederick) to Octavius Catto, all the way to Jackie Robinson.
• Latinos in the Negro Leagues by Adrian Burgos, Jr.: The history of Latin stars in the Negro Leagues from Alex Pompez to Luis Tiant.
• The Major Negro Leagues by Adam Darowski: A look at the seven major Negro Leagues.