By Cherranda Smith
Jan 13, 2021
February 13, 2020 marked the 100th anniversary since the Negro League was founded. The players of the league blazed trails in the sport and are set to be honored by the Negro Southern League Museum this Sunday (January 17) at 7 p.m.
The Museum, located in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, will celebrate the milestone in a virtual ceremony. It will include honoring those whose names have gone unknown for years, while their contributions on the sport continue to be felt.
“The establishing of the Negro Leagues is a significant milestone in American history,” Museum Director
Rube Foster, the Father of the Negro Leagues, accomplished the unspeakable by organizing for African Americans what was considered by many then, and equally many now, the opportunity to play professional baseball in the Negro Leagues,” Williams said.
Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
For The Birmingham TimesÂ
 James âJakeâ Sandersâs voice was hoarse but that didnât stop him from expressing his joy that Major League Baseball now views the Negro Leagues as major league.
âThatâs the greatest thing that could have ever happened for the Negro League ballplayer because we have been left out of everything,â said the 86-year-old former outfielder whose Negro League career in the 1950s included stints with the Kansas City Monarchs, Raleigh Tigers, Birmingham Black Barons, New Orleans Bears and Detroit Stars. âThatâs the best thing that could have ever happened.â
Major League Baseball announced in mid-December that it is reclassifying the Negro Leagues as a major league.
Former Birmingham Black Barons player grateful MLB recognizing Negro League stats
Negro League players now recognized as major leaguers By Josh Gauntt | December 17, 2020 at 11:25 PM CST - Updated December 18 at 6:42 AM
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - A former Negro League player is calling a recent decision by Major League Baseball an honor. Up until this week, MLB didnât officially consider the Negro League as a major league.
William âBillâ Greason had a pretty mean curve ball and could strike you out in a heartbeat with his fastball.
âIf I got two strikes on you, it was over,â Greason said.
Greason, now 96, reminiscing of the days when he played for the Birmingham Black Barons which is a part of the Negro League. Before that, he was a member of the Montford Point Marines , Americaâs first group of African Americans to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. He ended up on Iwo Jima.