05/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/08/2024 10:56
Press Release - For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Mary Amelia Taylor
[email protected] or (334) 353-4692
FOOD FOR THOUGHT LUNCHTIME LECTURE AT THE ARCHIVES
THURSDAY, MAY 16 AT 12:00 PM
BIRMINGHAM & BLACK BASEBALL
PRESENTED BY LAYTON REVEL
Historian Layton Revel will discuss the projects of the Center for Negro League Baseball Research, as well as the work of the Negro Southern League Museum in Birmingham. Revel is the founder of the Center for Negro League Baseball Research, which partnered with the City of Birmingham to open the Negro Southern League Museum in 2015. In addition to the exhibits at the museum located adjacent to Regions Field in Birmingham, the museum also maintains an extensive website on the history of Black baseball in the South.
The Negro Southern League was formed in 1920 by a group of African-American businessmen and baseball enthusiasts. The Birmingham Black Barons were among the first teams organized in the league. The Negro Southern League served as a feeder route for many players who found success in the Negro American League and Negro National League. Many stars began their careers on Negro Southern League teams, including Leroy "Satchel" Paige, Willie Mays, Hilton Smith, Norman "Turkey" Stearnes, and George "Mule" Suttles. Formalized play for the League ended in 1951, but some teams, including the Black Barons, continued as barnstorming teams until the early 1960s.
The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the state's government-records repository, a special-collections library and research facility, and home to the Museum of Alabama, the state history museum. It is located in downtown Montgomery, directly across Washington Avenue from the State Capitol. The Museum of Alabama is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 to 4:30. The EBSCO Research Room is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:30 to 4:30. To learn more, visit www.archives.alabama.gov or call (334) 242-4364.
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