Black Sports Heroes Featured in Films, Theater, and even an Opera!

My Dad loved baseball, listened to games on the radio and told me many stories about the great players of his day. Among these were two of the stars who played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords, a legendary Pittsburgh team in the Negro National League. Dad attended many of the Crawfords and Homestead Grays games in the 1930s. I remember how he’d rave about the phenomenal pitcher Satchel Paige.

Satchel Paige – the Play

Satchel Paige signed with the Crawfords in 1932 after six years of playing for semi-pro and pro teams. In 1934 the team played in an exhibition game with Major League’s St. Louis Cardinals. He struck out 13 of 18 batters, winning against star pitcher Dizzy Dean. On his 42nd birthday in 1948 he made history when he signed up with the Cleveland Indians and helped clinch the pennant. He played with the St. Louis Browns 1951-53. At age 59 he pitched three shutout innings with the Kansas City Athletics. In 1971 He became the first Negro League player to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

“My pitching philosophy is simple – keep the ball away from the bat.” “Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

“Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing” opened in March at the St. Louis Repertory Theatre.

Josh Gibson – the Opera

Josh Gibson played for both the Crawfords and the Homestead Grays. One of the best power hitters and catchers ever, he is also in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He had a .354 average and hit 962 homers throughout a 17-season career, with single season highs of .517 hits and 84 home runs. He’s been called the “Black Babe Ruth” and of Ruth “the White Josh Gibson.”

Monte Irvin once said, "I played with Willie Mays and against Hank Aaron," "They were tremendous players, but they were no Josh Gibson. You saw him hit, and you took your hat off.” A “gentlemen’s agreement” kept him out of the majors. It’s said that Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bill Benswanger actually signed Gibson to a Major League contract in 1943 that was vetoed by Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death in 1944.

"A homer a day will boost my pay.” “When you get hungry enough, you find yourself speaking Spanish

pretty well.” [while playing in Puerto Rico]

An opera “The Summer King – The Josh Gibson Story” plays at the Benedum April 29 & May 2, 5 & 7.

Jesse Owens – the Film

In 1936 the grandson of a slave and son of a sharecropper traveled to Berlin to compete in the Olympics. It was meant to showcase Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. He invited the first three gold medalists to his private box. Then two black athletes came on the scene. In the fourth event, Cornelius Johnson, with a record setting high jump won the gold, Hitler abruptly left the building. No more private box visits for any Olympic winner.

Then Jesse Owens, a world record holder, broke Olympic records with four gold medals. Of his 26-foot long jump, he said, “I decided…I was going to fly. I was going to stay up in the air.” Today, next to the stadium, there’s a street called Jesse Owens Alley.

But there was another snub. The hero comes home to acclaim. A dinner was held in his honor,at the fancy Waldorf Astoria Hotel. But he was forced to ride a freight elevator to the ballroom.

“Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.”

The film “Race” starring Stephan James, is in theaters around the country.

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These men were not only among the greatest players of all time, but what strikes me is their spiritual strength in overcoming the prevailing racism at a time when lynchings were commonplace. They continue to be a model for all of us as we struggle; to overcome hatred not by hating but through loving protest in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King. He offered a compelling vision of hope. That’s very hard as we watch on TV the pummeling of a young black woman holding a sign, “Black Lives Matter” at a rally for Donald Trump as he shouted “Get her out!” while the crowd cheered.

There couldn’t be a better time to remember and honor Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Jesse Owens as true heros.

Molly Rush is a TMC Board member and member of the NewPeople Editorial Collective.

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