The Negro Leagues were known for their brash, daring and exciting style of play. In this episode, Bob Kendrick discusses the speed, athleticism and bold base running that was routinely on display. He’s joined by Hall of Famer Tim Raines, whose own unique style was reminiscent of the Negro Leagues. 

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Bob Kendrick discusses the impact of the 1976 sports comedy film “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings”, loosely based on the barnstorming days of the Indianapolis Clowns. Bob remembers the life and legacy of James Earl Jones, who stars alongside Richard Pryor and Billy Dee Williams.  

Bob also talks with author William Brashler, whose fictional novel inspired the film, about his motivation for penning the book and its place in Negro Leagues lore.     

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

Approximately 40 percent of Negro Leaguers were college educated – more than the players in the Major Leagues during that time. Bob Kendrick discusses the impact of black college baseball and how HBCU programs helped disprove the perception of that time that Negro League players didn’t have the intelligence required to play in the Major Leagues. How the college baseball programs acted as the minor leagues for the Negro Leagues and the impact the Negro League players had in their community following their playing careers.  

Bob also talks with Hall of Famer and Florida A&M alum Andre Dawson about being one of three HBCU alumni enshrined in Cooperstown and the influence the school had on his life and career.

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

The East-West All-Star Game was a showcase of baseball talent that drew fans from all over.  A game so grand, it consistently drew more fans than the MLB All-Star Game.  Bob Kendrick reflects on the origin of the East-West game, its impact on the community and talks about the legacy of the game with Tony Gwynn Jr. and Josh Barfield, two former players who participated in the East-West Classic game played at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. 

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

Bob Kendrick discusses the epic feats of baseball’s greatest power hitter, Josh Gibson.  Hall of Famers Ted Williams, Satchel Paige and Roy Campanella all testified to his incredible ability. His peers recalled Gibson’s home runs as if they were measured in miles, not feet.  A larger than life figure, Gibson was often compared to Babe Ruth, with some even calling Ruth – “The White Josh Gibson.” Hear about his prodigious power,  the rarity of a catcher employing a five-tool skill set and how his life ended far too soon.  NL MVP Ryan Howard joins the conversation to reflect on Gibson’s legacy and place in the baseball record book.

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

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Bob Kendrick reflects on MLB’s Tribute to the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field. With emotions heightened by the passing of Willie Mays, Bob discusses the importance of Rickwood, America’s oldest ballpark and home of the Birmingham Black Barons, hosting an MLB game and the significance of the history making moment with ESPN’s Clinton Yates, Orioles great Adam Jones, Yankees legend CC Sabathia and comedian Roy Wood Jr.

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

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It’s a new era in baseball history as Josh Gibson now sits atop many MLB all-time leaderboards and numerous other great Negro Leaguers are now found in the top 10.  Bob Kendrick discusses the significance of Major League Baseball’s decision to finally incorporate the Negro Leagues into the MLB record book and what it means for the players and the leagues to be officially recognized.  Bob’s joined by historians John Thorn and Phil Dixon as they reveal how the committee uncovered the records,  which players are finally getting long overdue recognition and what their findings mean for baseball history. 

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

Bob Kendrick explores the life and legacy of Willie Mays.  From his days as a teenager playing against adults in the Negro Leagues, his unique combination of speed and power in MLB with the Giants, to his impact on society before and after the Civil Rights Movement.  Biographer Jim Hirsch joins the conversation to discuss how the Negro Leagues influenced Mays on and off the field and how he broke the mold as a major league player and became an icon.  

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

Black Diamonds is back! The award-winning podcast of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum returns with all-new episodes telling the sport's most incredible stories, starting August 14th. 

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

Bob Kendrick reacts to the news of Negro Leagues statistics officially entering the Major League record books, following three years of intensive work by the Negro Leagues Statistical Review Committee. With the accomplishments of more than 2,300 Negro Leagues ballplayers from 1920-1948 being recognized, Bob looks at the path taken to reach the historic announcement, and examines the triumphs of Negro Leagues legends such as Josh Gibson, who becomes the all-time leader in several MLB categories. 

Audio of Ernest Burke courtesy of the University of Baltimore - Negro League Oral History Collection

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

Bob Kendrick joins fans at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum's "Black Aces" exhibit for an in-depth discussion with two acclaimed authors.

Sridhar Pappu discusses his book, "The Year of the Pitcher", chronicling Bob Gibson's historic 1968 season, set "against the backdrop of assassinations, while boys boarded planes to Saigon and riots swept through American cities, forever changing the fabric of this country."

Then Luke Epplin sits down for a conversation about his book, "Our Team", "the story of the integration of the Cleveland Indians and their quest for a World Series title through four key participants: Bill Veeck, an eccentric and visionary owner adept at exploding fireworks on and off the field; Larry Doby, a soft-spoken, hard-hitting pioneer whose major-league breakthrough shattered stereotypes that so much of white America held about Black ballplayers; Bob Feller, a pitching prodigy from the Iowa cornfields who set the template for the athlete as businessman; and Satchel Paige, a legendary pitcher from the Negro Leagues whose belated entry into the majors whipped baseball fans across the country into a frenzy."

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Read Siridhar Pappu's "The Year of the Pitcher" - Amazon

Read Luke Epplin's "Our Team" - Amazon

To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

Follow Bob Kendrick on Twitter/X - @nlbmprez

Follow Bob Kendrick on Instagram - @nlbmprez

To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future