Black Quotidian: Everyday History in African-American Newspapers

February 26, 1949

On February 26, 1949, the Baltimore Afro-American reported on the start of spring training. The paper focused on the travel plans of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Cleveland Indians, the first two major league baseball teams to integrate. “Larry Doby and Satchel Paige are expected to be in the [Indians] contingent,” the Afro-American reported. “The Tribe’s third tan star, Art Wilson, ex-Birmingham Barron shortstop, will report to Tucson immediately after the conclusion of the Caribbean world series, currently under way in Cuba.” The article noted that the Dodgers would be training in Vero Beach, Florida after spending the last two pre-seasons in Havana, Cuba, and Ciudad Trujillo, Dominican Republic. The Afro-American described how the Dodgers would have several black players in camp: “Accompanying the Bums’ regulars, Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella, will be Dan Bankhead, St. Paul pitcher; Don Newcombe, pitchers; and Sam Jethroe, outfielder, both of Montreal” (click to view PDF).

A different article on the same page of the Afro-American, described how the Cleveland Indians had added Homestead Grays slugger Luke Easter to their farm system (click to view PDF). These articles are a good example of how, after Jackie Robinson joined the Dodgers and integrated Major League Baseball in 1947, the black press reported on black players and their major league teams.  

This page has paths:

This page references: