Negro Leagues probed for Hall of Famers

By Laura Ziegler

Kansas City, MO – Because of the Negro Leagues Museum here in Kansas City, some might think we have a unique window on the history of the negro leagues. That might make the findings of a special committee designed to investigate the contributions of blacks to baseball all the more surprising. The committee has been researching blacks in baseball for the past five years, and has nominated 39 players for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The Hall of Fame commissioned the study with a 250 thousand dollar grant from Major League Baseball, and some of the best historians and scholars in the country have shed new light on the accomplishments of thousands of African-American players.