The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is a very special place. An American gem, located in Kansas City, Missouri the venue has attracted more than two million visitors since 1997. The history that is housed is a glorious celebration of the Negro Leagues that began playing in 1920 and has produced so many stars from Josh Gibson to Willie Mays. There were also many contributors to the leagues that many people aren’t but should be familiar with.
Bob Kendrick is the president of the museum and has seen the museum up close and personal for a long time.
“For me it began in 1993 as a volunteer,” he told MLBbro.com. “When I walked into a one room office 32 years ago, I walked into what truly has become my passion and career” Kendrick expanded. If you were an African American baseball player in the first half of the 20th century things weren’t easy. That’s one reason that Kendrick has been involved in this museum for so long. “There was a lack of bitterness” he stated. “Not a single player that I’ve ever met had any bitterness or expressed any ill will against anyone who may have tried to perpetrate something as they were trying to play baseball in this country” he shared.
Negro League Museum President Bob Kendrick Talks With MLBbro.com
The 63-year-old Kendrick is well positioned to explain and share stories about what many of the Negro League players went through on a regular basis.
“These guys would ride into a town and help fill the ballpark. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get a meal in that same town or have a place to stay afterwards. They would eat peanut butter and crackers and sleep on the bus” he explained. “Their souls and spirit allowed them to prevail and enjoy the American pastime” he concluded.
The museum itself is laid out very nicely from the introductory movie to game used gloves to autographed baseballs.
“For me the field of legends, the baseball diamond that features the lifestyle statues of Negro League greats and their positions as if they were playing a game” he shared as an exhibit that he truly admires. “I think it’s one of the most iconic displays of any museum of any type in the world” Kendrick proudly stated. “The statues are amazingly life-like. The simplicity of them without a lot of fanfare is part of what makes it unique” he explained. “They represent the first group of Negro Leaguers to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown” he told MLBbro.com
It’s no secret that there aren’t as many African American baseball players as there were in years past. The Kansas City Royals have an urban youth academy adjacent to the Negro League Baseball Museum.
“We feel like we play an important role in bringing this game to urban kids in particular” Kendrick expressed. “It’s important for an urban child to walk through that museum and see people who look just like them,” he said. “Not only as players, but as coaches, managers, and even traveling secretaries,” Kendrick tells MLBbro.com
MLB The Show Was A Game-Changer For Negro League Museum Connection With Younger Generation
History in any subject as we know is very important and how a youngster retains information in the 1980’s or 90’s is different than in the 21st century.
The presentation has to be different since learning styles have changed.
“We have partnered with Sony and MLB The Show to have the Negro Leagues involved” he shared. “It has literally become a game changer for this museum and the history of the Negro Leagues” Kendrick explained.
“Millions of younger people are now not only learning about the Negro Leagues but falling in love with it because they can engage with it through a video game” he proudly told MLBbro. “I narrate the storylines, so I’m in the video game, I never dreamed that something like that would happen” he concluded.
The combination of Mr. Bob Kendrick, the Negro Leagues, and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is a lot to take in. Please stay tuned for part two next Monday.
