Lawrence D. Hogan: The Negro Leagues Discovered an Oasis at Yankee Stadium
[Lawrence D. Hogan is a senior professor of history at Union County College in Cranford, N.J.]
On July 5, 1930, about 20,000 fans filed into seven-year-old Yankee Stadium for a baseball doubleheader. What made this day special was that the teams, the New York Lincoln Giants and the Baltimore Black Sox, were the first Negro leagues clubs to play at the Stadium, which was essentially for whites only, like so many other public places in the United States at the time.
Jacob Ruppert, the owner of the Yankees, had donated the use of the Stadium for the games to benefit of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the nation’s first successful black union. Between games, the tap dancer Bill Robinson, known as Bojangles, ran backward, outracing several Y.M.C.A. track stars. The band from the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hell Fighters, entertained the crowd. And when the day’s receipts were tallied, $3,500 was donated to the Brotherhood’s treasury.
One player received special note: John Henry Lloyd, affectionately referred to as Pop, the manager and first baseman for the Lincolns that day. He went 4 for 8, stole a base, was credited with a sacrifice and played errorless defense....
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On July 5, 1930, about 20,000 fans filed into seven-year-old Yankee Stadium for a baseball doubleheader. What made this day special was that the teams, the New York Lincoln Giants and the Baltimore Black Sox, were the first Negro leagues clubs to play at the Stadium, which was essentially for whites only, like so many other public places in the United States at the time.
Jacob Ruppert, the owner of the Yankees, had donated the use of the Stadium for the games to benefit of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the nation’s first successful black union. Between games, the tap dancer Bill Robinson, known as Bojangles, ran backward, outracing several Y.M.C.A. track stars. The band from the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hell Fighters, entertained the crowd. And when the day’s receipts were tallied, $3,500 was donated to the Brotherhood’s treasury.
One player received special note: John Henry Lloyd, affectionately referred to as Pop, the manager and first baseman for the Lincolns that day. He went 4 for 8, stole a base, was credited with a sacrifice and played errorless defense....