Where would baseball be without the legacy of the Negro League players. In the famous words of Negro League founder Rube Foster, “We are the ship, all else is the sea.” African-Americans weren’t allowed to play in the major leagues so he had the audacity to establish the Negro Leagues and made it great.
We all know about players such as Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron. Did you know that Booker T. Washington High School (Atlanta, GA) graduated a respected Negro League player?
James Moore, commonly known as “Red” was born in Atlanta, GA in 1916. He played on several Negro League teams but played his best ball with the hometown Atlanta Black Crackers.
“Red” is a living legend. I have had the pleasure of meeting him on several occasions listening to great stories. He expressed how proud that he was of me for establishing L.E.A.D. in his hometown.
There are thousands of African-American males in Atlanta that would love the opportunity to embrace this game that “Red” still lives for. How can it continue to be said that inner city boys don’t want to play baseball? We are talking about baseball. African-Americans have been playing baseball since the days of slavery.
Our country has a problem. There are less than 8% of African-Americans playing baseball at the major league level and less than 5% in the NCAA. Every problem creates an opportunity and L.E.A.D. is the solution. Check our success rate of converting raw African-American talent to college strident-athletes at www.Lead2Legacy.org.
Thank you for inspiring me Mr. James “Red” Moore.
