Black Baseball Players in the Adirondack Region in the 19th Century

Black baseball players were banned from the major leagues in the 19th century but were welcome in the Adirondack region. It wasn't so much motivated by inclusion and diversity, but by money. Black baseball teams boosted attending -- and revenue -- at financially struggling local ballparks. Still, in many cases, black baseball teams were forced to combine comedy with athleticism in order to be accepted.
In this presentation, Maury looks at traveling baseball teams and hotel worker teams that played in the region, including at Glens Falls and in Washington County, and local athletes that crossed the color barrier.
Speaker: Maury Thompson, author, freelance writer, and former reporter for The Post-Star
This talk was originally presented on Zoom on Tuesday, November 19.
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