Sunday, February 22 at 8:00 PM

Click here for the program's archived audio

Negro League Baseball was organized in February 1920 in Kansas City and included teams mostly in the Midwest like the Dayton Marcos and Cincinnati Cuban Stars. One could find black and white baseball teams playing each other in small towns across the country, but the major leagues were segregated until 1945. Up until then, Kenesaw Mountain Landis was the commissioner of baseball, and he opposed integration.

After the death of Landis in late 1945, the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson to their farm team in Montreal, and he subsequently joined the Dodgers in 1947. This ultimately spelled the end of the Negro Baseball League and segregation of leagues.

Baseball: A Little Known Chapter is a one-hour special hosted by baseball fan Mark Heyne which will air on 91.7 WVXU on Sunday, February 22, from 8-9pm. This special focuses on the experiences of three players, Charlie “Whip Davis, Tom Turner and Ron “Bunny” Warren, plus historical insights from Chris Eckes, curator of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum and John Erardi, sports writer and baseball historian for the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Baseball: A Little Known Chapter is a Black History Month special produced by Lee Hay with technical assistance from Seniors With a Purpose, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, and Kevin Rowinski.

A special thanks to Tony Williams and Seniors With a Purpose (SWAP), a non-profit organization composed of distinguished African-American men who played professional baseball in the Negro, Major and Minor leagues. The purpose of the group is to bridge communication gaps between today's youth through active participation in their lives through speaking engagements, personal appearances and baseball clinics.

Seniors With a Purpose
3808 Dunloe Avenue
Cincinnati OH 45213
513-794-1768
513-794-0659 (fax)