The Story of Integration Through the Lens of American Baseball

and Soccer

Ben Franks

Hist. 498

Prof. Burgos

Why?• Baseball and Integration focus of

class• What about other sports? Can other

sports provide a necessary discourse on integration in America?

• The U.S. national team contains many African-Americans

• Own experiences-soccer since kindergarten -why so little diversity in sport that every race/ethnicity plays around the world?

Eto’o

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQv4aIXaGQ4&feature=related

• U.S. players have experienced racism playing for European clubs too

• What has the experience been in the U.S.?

Timeline that Caught My Eye

• 1946-Gilbert Heron signs with Detroit Wolverines of NAFSL-becomes “first” black pro in the U.S. (Gonsalves and others were playing before this-got pass the color line)

*born in Jamaica• 1950-Haitian-born Joe Gaetjens scores goal over England• 1971-Howard University wins NCAA D-1 title• 1972-Otey Cannon becomes first African American to play in NASL• 1984-Eddie Hawkins becomes first American born black player to

play for U.S. National team• 1990-Desmond Armstrong and Jimmy Banks become first

American-born blacks to play in World Cup• 1994-Cobi Jones becomes first African American to play in English

Premier League

Intro

• Discussion of Joe Gaetjens (the man who scored the goal to beat England in the 1950 World Cup)

• Haitian man thought of as “foreign” on the team despite having dark skin

• Correlation with the fluctuating color line in baseball

Thesis

• “These differences of thought toward the two groups provides a realistic discourse on why American-born black men were kept from mainstream professional baseball diamonds and soccer fields for so long.”

Sections

• Definition of American Born/Foreign Born Black Men

• Immigrant Industrial Workers and Their Impact on Both Sports

• Focus on the Capitol and Other Cities

• TBD

• Post Racial-Lines in the Sports

Definition of American Born/Foreign Born Black Men

• Section will discuss the fluctuating color line in baseball and soccer

• Why foreign born blacks are looked at differently in both sports

• Adelino “Billy” Gonsalves of Portuguese Descent

• Giles Hernon breaks soccer color line in 1946

Immigrant Industrial Workers and Their Impact on Both Sports

• Section will discuss how teams in both sports started around industrial towns

• Gives workers a chance to “blow off steam after work”

• Barnstorming connections

• “Pilgrims” primary source

Focus on Capitol and Other Cities

• Washington D.C. and the Grays

• Howard University’s soccer team

• Primary source from Chicago Defender

• St. Louis and racism (St. Louis University v. Howard University in soccer)

TBD

• Need another section that will connect to the next

• Any suggestions?

Post Racial-Lines in the Sports

• Section will focus on blacks in the sports today

• Why did black rise in the game and then decline

• RBI program• Similar programs for inner-city

soccer• Similarity b/w traveling youth

teams-what demographics play on these teams

Conclusion?

• As of right now….

• The story of integration in America can easily be seen through the lens of the institution of baseball, but by the story of soccer integration provides a significant compliment to the overall framework

Questions? Suggestions?