Pittsburgh is the Place!!! Exhibit that celebrates Negro League

By The Tribune-Review Saturday, June 24, 2006

The Pirates on Monday will unveil a unique, permanent exhibit at PNC Park which pays tribute to the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords.

The display, located behind the left-field gate entrance, will include a theater, statues and interactive features. It will highlight some of the greatest players -- such as Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and Buck Leonard -- from the era of segregated baseball.

"It's about tapping into baseball history and Negro Leagues history, and how it really parallels the history of Pittsburgh," Pirates spokesman Brian Warecki said.

"It's a sort of celebration, but it's also an educational exhibit -- more than just a statue or some signage. It's truly going to be hall of fame-like."

The exhibit has been in the planning stages for more than a year. It was pieced together with the help of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo.

"We're very excited Pittsburgh continues to be one of the leaders among major-league teams in celebrating the heritage of black baseball," said Bob Kendrick, the museum's director of marketing. "The Pirates have been at the forefront of this for a long time."

In September 1988, on the 40th anniversary of the Grays winning the final Negro League World Series, the Pirates held a pregame ceremony to honor the Negro Leagues. That event, the first by a major-league team, helped spark a nationwide resurgence of interest in the Negro Leagues.
"The Pirates, for all their ineptitude on the field, ought to be given a lot of credit for staying with this topic," said Rob Ruck, a Pitt professor and Negro League historian.
There are small exhibits for the Negro Leagues in Kansas City and Milwaukee, but nothing on the scale of what the Pirates are doing. Kendrick hopes this starts another trend at big-league ballparks.

"Our dream would be to have these types of satellite exhibits in every city that had a Negro League team," Kendrick said. "There are so many stories that still need to be told."