It is pretty ironic that the start of Jackie Robinson into the Major Leagues and the breaking of the color barrier was also the beginning of the death of the Negro Leagues. By 1961, the Negro Leagues were dead. The great players of the Negro Leagues signed with the major leagues. They had finally received what they had been reaching for many years. The fans had joined them as well. Games were not only integrated on the field, but in the stands too. The fans deserve a great amount of credit them selves. If it was not for them, the Negro Leagues could have never gotten the appreciation they had gotten, and would not have people there to back them up. The fans helped decipher some of the finest black athletes on the field. Some of the greatest baseball players in the Hall of Fame are black baseball players. The Negro League?s even have a Hall of Fame in Kansas City dedicated to the great players of the Negro Leagues and remembering their past.
The Negro Leagues had some of the greatest baseball players of all-time and had a great love for the game that was all its own. Today many African- Americans thank Jackie Robinson for doing what he did to show African-Americans are just as good as anyone else. He really helped lead the way for Negroes, and helped lead the way for future baseball stars. Buck O?Neil once said a very interesting quote. He stated, ?Don?t feel sorry for the black baseball player: Feel sorry for the ones who didn?t get to see them play?. I believe this is very true. It shows how strong the Black baseball players really are, and how they did not let the color barrier get in the way of Negro players doing something they loved to do. Play baseball, just as any other American loves to do.