SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A new traveling exhibit that is currently in San Diego aims to highlight the history of Black and Latino baseball players in the big leagues.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum opened its “Barrier Breakers” exhibit at the San Diego Central Library in conjunction with Jackie Robinson Day on Tuesday, April 15.
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The “Barrier Breakers” exhibit commemorates the people who broke the color barrier of their individual baseball teams, including the Padres’ own Johnny Ritchey who played in the Pacific Coast League in 1948.
The last Major League Baseball player to break the color barrier was Pumpsie Green, the first Black player for the Boston Red Sox, in 1959.
Exhibit coordinator Frank Jordan appeared on the FOX 5 morning show on Tuesday to speak about the significance of the exhibit. His interview can be viewed in the video player above.
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Jordan’s father played for the Negro Leagues in the South and shared his story with FOX 5 morning anchor Raoul Martinez.
“As a kid, I had the chance to travel on the bus that they had, and they had to take spare parts, extra gas…” Jordan stated. “My mom and the ladies would fix meals — biscuits and chicken– and wrap it in brown paper bags and pack it in shoeboxes so they would have something to eat, because they could not stop to get something to eat on the road.”
He added that his father’s team also made little to no money, recollecting the time when a game that garnered $80 had to be split among 20 men — resulting in $4 for each player.
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Jordan explained that despite being treated differently due to racial segregation, men like his father, Jackie Robinson and others, continued to play “for the love of the game.”
To continue sharing the legacy of men like Robinson and Green, the “Barrier Breakers” exhibit will showcase artifacts, jerseys and other memorabilia connected to the athletes who challenged segregation in professional baseball, with history dating all the way back to the late 1800s.
It is open at the San Diego Central Library at 330 Park Boulevard through May 31 and is available for public viewing during the library’s hours of operations. Check here for hours.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and accepts donations from the public to support its exhibits, annual events and other programming.
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To make a donation, visit the museum’s website. Information about other traveling exhibits can also be found on its website.
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