Miami University Hamilton is hosting "The Game for All Races," a lecture to be given by Adrian Burgos, Jr. at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the Wilks Conference Center.
Burgos, associate professor of history at the University of Illinois, will provide a brief history of Negro League baseball players and their transition to Major League Baseball. He will then discuss how Latinos were a major part of baseball's racial divide and take a look at how both blacks and Latinos were affected.
According to senior administrative secretary of multicultural services at the Hamilton campus, Katina Chandler, who organized the event, Burgos can illuminate a completely new aspect of competition and collaboration among different races.
Following the lecture, a roundtable discussion will be held with former Negro League baseball players Leo Cardenas, Charlie Davis, Chuck Harmon, Don Johnson, Carl Long and Bunny Warren.
The Negro League disbanded after the 1949 season as a result of Jackie Robinson's affect on the sport. Robinson broke the color barrier by signing with the Dodgers April 18, 1946 and sustaining a successful career.
According to Chandler, these players played a pivotal role in breaking down the race barrier in America's pastime and continue to do so by sharing the history they helped create. Cardenas, born in Matanzas, Cuba, was the first Negro League player to play for the Cincinnati Reds and Harmon was the first black American to play for the Reds. Cardenas signed with the Reds in 1960 and Harmon signed in 1954.
Ann Michelle Jarrett Bromberg, assistant professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Miami Hamilton, helped put the idea in motion through her connection with Davis. Davis is from the Cincinnati area and has spoken about his experiences before. He provided the connection to the other panel members to get them on board.
According to Chandler, most of the players are from the Cincinnati and Kentucky area and their ages range from 69 to 83. Harmon will be celebrating his 84th birthday the day after the lecture.
Burgos is a lifelong baseball fan, player and historian. He said that by knowing Latinos actually played in the Negro League before the Major League was desegregated will provide a new understanding of race in baseball.
"We don't know as much as we think we know," Burgos said.
Burgos said he wants to share the story of the shear willpower these baseball players had to not let segregation dominate who they are.
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"Today, Latinos and African Americans are viewed as having no history together and having nothing in common-but they do," Burgos said. "And we need to realize this."
Burgos said he wants to evaluate the current political black-versus-white scale by using the history of the Latinos in baseball to illuminate the need of social justice among all races.
"What we see when we look at this history is team officials who manipulated racial understanding," Burgos said. "So, ultimately, we needed a Jackie Robinson."
Although there were dozens of players-both black and Latino-who were better players than Jackie Robinson, according to Burgos, no one was better suited to break the color line.
"His task was not to be a great player, but a great man to break down the barriers," Burgos said.
Chandler, who organized the lecture, praised the players coming to the discussion.
"The importance for bringing this (issue) up is for the sake of history and to give praise and thanks to these forerunners who allowed others to play the game," she said.
According to Chandler, the lecture was originally scheduled for February during Black History Month, but due to poor weather conditions, it was moved to April.
Burgos said he found this date switch somewhat ironic because April is actually Latino History Month, so the lecture time remained very relevant.The program is dedicated to William (Sonny) Webb, a Negro League player, an original panel member who passed away in December, according to Chandler.
"This (lecture) is a way to let (the panel members) know that they are not forgotten, but are loved, just like so many people love America's game-baseball," Chandler said.
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