As the nation celebrates America’s semiquincentennial, the Washington Nationals continued to celebrate and reflect on baseball’s place in our country’s 250-year history with Negro Leagues Night at Nationals Park.
To shine light on the history of the Negro Leagues and the Homestead Grays’ impact on baseball in Washington, D.C., the Nationals hosted the Negro Leagues Legacy Panel ahead of last Tuesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals. The panel focused on the legacy of the Negro Leagues and its lasting impact on Major League Baseball and included the following individuals:
- Sean Gibson, the great-grandson of Josh Gibson and executive director of the Josh Gibson Foundation
- Doug Foster, great nephew of Andrew “Rube” Foster and grandson of William (Bill) Hendrick Foster, two Baseball Hall of Famers
- Jamall McKay, League Director of Banneker City Little League and Head Coach of Howard University’s Club Baseball team
Gibson and Foster highlighted their families background in shaping baseball, including Josh Gibson’s lasting impact on the sport and leading the Homestead Grays to two Negro Leagues World Series titles during his National Baseball Hall of Fame career. When MLB merged Negro Leagues statistics into baseball’s all-time records, Gibson became MLB’s all-time leader in batting average (.371), slugging percentage (.719) and OPS (1.176).
“We talk about legacy, for me, it’s more of carrying on tradition,” Sean Gibson said. “For myself, that was passed on to me from my grandfather. Now I pass it on to my kids and so on. But also having the legacy with the Josh Gibson Foundation.” Through the game of baseball and educational activities, the Josh Gibson Foundation has carried on Josh Gibson’s legacy including through its collaboration with Washington Nationals and DCPS.
Gibson pointed to the impact Doug Foster’s great uncle, Rube Foster, had on the game. Without Rube Foster, the founder of the Negro National Baseball League, there would be no Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Cool Papa Bell. Doug Foster also discussed the legacy of his grandfather, William (Bill) Hendrick Foster through the Foster Legacy Foundation. Foster played for the Homestead Grays (1931) and is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. To Doug Foster, creating the Foster Legacy Foundation was about continuing the legacy of his great uncle and grandfather.
“My uncle, as much as he loved baseball, he viewed baseball as a way to uplift the community through the sport of baseball,” Foster said. “During that time, obviously African Americans were suffering and the way that they could find success and find a level of richness, a higher level of living, was through the sport of baseball. So my uncle was always about, how could he improve the lives of others?”
With several of his 10U All-Star players in attendance, McKay emphasized his work in growing the game of baseball in Washington, D.C. As the league director of the Banneker City Little League, McKay had all teams in the organization adopt a name from a Negro Leagues team. He also pointed out coach Jimmy Williams, who every year hosts the Metropolitan Junior Baseball League Inner City Classic / Black World Series in Richmond, Va.
“I think that’s how we keep the legacy going,” McKay said.
Ahead of Tuesday’s game, 20,000 fans received Homestead Grays jerseys - a nod to the impact the Grays had on Washington, D.C. The Grays played at Griffith Stadium, which was located in Shaw, claiming nine Negro National League Titles and three Negro World Series Championships. During a special on-field Legacy Ceremony, the Nationals recognized the past, present and future of African Americans in baseball featuring former Negro Leagues players, current and former Nationals players and coaches, high school students and Nationals Academy participants. President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Bob Kendrick threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
“Stuff like this, when we have these Negro Leagues history nights, this helps a lot,” Gibson said of continuing the legacy of the Negro Leagues and the Homestead Grays.
