Teacher's Guide for FOOTSTEPS Negro Leagues Baseball March 2000 Teacher Guide prepared by: Sheila Basile, 6th grade language arts teacher, Isaac E. Young Middle School, New Rochelle, N.Y.. Objectives to understand the historical impact of racism upon the development of African American Baseball while building reading and writing skills to develop note taking skills to refer to text and locate supporting details to outline key ideas to sequence information to develop reading comprehension and vocabulary to develop oral and written communication skills Materials Negro Leagues Baseball and timeline cards (Prior to the lesson, you will need to prepare 16 timeline cards on 16 sheets of 8 1 /2 X 11 paper. Write one of the following dates on each card: 1859 1867 1885 1889 1900 1908 1920 1924 1933 1937 1947 1960 1962 1963 1964 - present 1971.) All of these dates are found in the article, "The Negro Leagues," except for 1947 which is on page 41, 1962 which is on page 23, and 1971 which is on page 42. You will need to write the page numbers for each of these three dates on the reverse side of the timeline cards.) Procedure Introduce the lesson by writing the word "racism" on the board. Ask students what the word means. Write an appropriate student definition, or a dictionary definition, and use it to lead into the lesson. Distribute the magazines. Read the first article, "The Negro Leagues," by Larry Canale aloud or silently. Discuss the article as a group by asking how racism impacted opportunities for African Americans in baseball.
Introduce the timeline activity by explaining that you are going to construct a timeline to summarize the history of the Negro leagues. Model an example for the class. Write "early 1900s" on the board or on a blank timeline card. Ask students to refer to page 7 in the magazine to find what happened on that date. Record the information on the board / card when a student volunteers the answer. (Answer: unwritten rule that no black man could play in the major leagues.) Distribute the timeline cards. If you have more than 16 students, you can work in pairs. One student can be the researcher and the other the recorder. The researcher can find the information, and the recorder can write it on the card. Explain to students that all of the information for the timeline cards can be found in the article, "The Negro Leagues," except for the dates 1947, 1962, and 1971; the pages for these dates are listed on the reverse side of the timeline cards. Ask students to complete their timeline cards. Allow ten minutes for this activity. Circulate around the room to note students' progress and troubleshoot the lesson. When students finish, ask them to share their cards with the class; begin with the earliest date and end with the last date on the timeline cards. As each student shares, build the timeline by posting the student's card on a bulletin board or on a wall in your classroom. When students finish presenting, your timeline will be complete. Ask for a volunteer to summarize the lesson by explaining what he / she learned. Evaluation Students' timeline cards will enable you to evaluate students' performance. Extension Ask students to write a reflection about today's lesson. If students have never written a reflective piece, use the following sentence starters: Today I read about... I learned that... I would like to know more about... Answers For Timeline Cards 1859
African Americans form their own leagues because they are not allowed to play in major league baseball. 1867 First Colored World Baseball Championship, Brooklyn Uniques vs. Philadelphia Excelsiors 1885 Bud Fowler is first black player to cross the minor league color line on Iowa's Western League Team, the Keokuk 1889 Cuban Giants, Midstates League featured players of all races 1908 First black players join teams in Cuba and the Dominican Republic and play side-byside with Latinos and American Whites 1920 Rube Foster forms the Negro National League which lasted until 1931 1924 First Negro Leagues World Series 1933 A new Negro National League is formed 1937 A rival, the American Negro League is formed 1947 (page 41) Jackie Robinson joins the Dodgers as a first baseman becoming the first African American in the Major League 1960 The Negro American League is disbanded 1962 (page 23) Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
1963 The last black All Star game was played 1964 - present Baseball progresses toward equality 1971 (page 42) Negro Leagues recognized by Baseball Hall of Fame Lesson #2 Objective to learn about famous African American baseball players while building skills in reading and writing to develop note taking skills to refer to text and locate supporting details to outline key points to sequence information to develop reading comprehension and vocabulary to develop oral and written communication skills Materials Negro Leagues Baseball, baseball cards, markers or colored pencils or crayons, and graphic organizers for baseball cards Procedure Introduce the lesson by explaining that you will be learning about famous African American baseball players. Distribute the baseball cards. Ask students what kind of information they see on the cards. Chart the students' responses on the board. Introduce the activity by telling students that they are going to design baseball cards for famous African American baseball players. Distribute the magazines.
Model an example for the students. (See attached answer key for baseball cards and select one to model.) Write the player's name that you select on the board and the page numbers where information about the player is found. List the following under the player's name: position(s), league(s), team(s), dates of career, batting average, honors, and why remembered. Ask students to refer to the appropriate pages in the magazine to find the information. Chart the information on the board as students find and volunteer the answers. Assign a baseball player to each student. (See attached answer key for baseball cards.) If you have more than 14 students, you will have to duplicate players, or pair students. If students work in pairs, one student can locate the information and the other can write it on the graphic organizer. List each player's name on the board along with the corresponding page numbers in the magazine where the information on each player is found. Distribute the graphic organizers; ask students to locate information about their players in the magazine and write it in the appropriate spaces on the organizer. If the information for a particular item on the organizer is not given, instruct students to write "not given" on the organizer. Allow 10-15 minutes for this activity. Circulate around the room to note students' progress and troubleshoot the activity. When students finish, ask them to complete their baseball cards by drawing a picture of their player in the space provided on the graphic organizer. (Not all players' pictures are included in the magazine, so students can be creative and draw what they think their player looked like.) When the cards are finished, ask for volunteers to share them with the class by reading them aloud and showing the pictures. Post the cards in your classroom. You can post them above the timeline if you completed the previous lesson. Evaluation Students' baseball cards will enable you to evaluate their performance. Extension Ask students to complete another baseball card for current famous African American
baseball players. Answer Key for Baseball Cards Oscar Charleston (pages 5, 8) Position(s): Center field and First Base Team(s): Indianapolis ABC'S and the Pittsburg Crawfords Dates of Career: 1915-54 Batting Average:.434 Honors: 1976 Baseball Hall of Fame Why Remembered? He led his league in home runs, triples, doubles and stolen bases Josh Gibson (pages 4, 8) Position(s): Catcher Date of Career: 1930s Honors: 1972 Baseball Hall of Fame Why Remembered? He was known for power hitting and was frequently called "The Black Babe Ruth." Buck Leonard (pages 4, 8) Position(s): Outfielder Team(s): Homestead Grays Dates of Career: 1930s and 40s Batting Average: lifetime.328 Honors: 1972 Baseball Hall of Fame Why Remembered? He was known as a dependable clutch hitter and called "The Black Lou Gehrig." John Henry "Pop" Lloyd (pages 4, 5, 8) Position(s): Shortstop Team(s): not given Date of Career: 1906-1932 Batting Average:.353 Honors: 1977 Baseball Hall of Fame Why Remembered? In 1928 he batted an amazing.564; Babe Ruth called him the greatest player of all time.
Satchel Paige (pages 4, 40, 41, 42) Position(s): Pitcher and Major Leagues Team(s): Pittsburg Crawfords and Kansas City Monarchs; St Louis Browns and Cleveland Indians Date of Career: 1930-65 Honors: 1971 Honored as the first Negro Leagues Baseball Player to be inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame Why Remembered? He is best remembered as a master showman, and the greatest pitcher of all time with a blazing fastball, laser-beam control, and his famous "hesitation pitch." He was also a master of folk wisdom; he said, "Don't look back, something might be gaining on you!" Jackie Robinson (pages 20, 21, 22, 23) Position(s): First Baseman, #42 and Major Leagues Team(s): Kansas City Monarchs, Dodger's Montreal Farm Team and Brooklyn Dodgers Date of Career: 1944-1956 Batting Average:.311 with 137 home runs and 197 stolen bases Honors: 1962 Baseball Hall of Fame Why Remembered? He was the first African American recruited into the American League. All of baseball retired his number, "42," in 1998. He was the first black member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Hank Aaron (Pages 32, 33, 34, 35) Position(s): not given and Major Leagues Team(s): Indianapolis Clowns and the Atlanta Braves Date of Career: 1954-1976 Honors: Baseball Hall of Fame Why Remembered? He is remembered as the "Home-run King" with 715 homeruns; he broke Babe Ruth's record. (He received death threats and had to have body guards.) Jim Armstead (Pages 36, 37, 38) Position(s): Pitcher, outfielder and manager Team(s): Baltimore Elites, Philadelphia Stars, New Orleans Creoles, Cleveland
Buckeyes, and the Indianapolis ABC'S Date of Career: 1939-49 Honors: not remembered in history or in books, never a star Why Remembered? He was a solid player for ten years in the Negro Leagues earning $450 / month as a semi-pro with the Philadelphia Stars. He left baseball to pursue a career in bricklaying. In 1949 when he quit, he was too old to be considered for the integrated Major Leagues. He is still living. Monte Irvin (pages 4, 8) Position(s): Outfielder League: Negro Leagues and Major League Team(s): Newark Eagles and New York Giants Date of Career: 1930s and 40s Honors: 1973 Baseball Hall of Fame Why Remembered? He won two Negro League batting titles; he lost his chance to break the color barrier while serving in World War II. Wilbur "Bullet" Rogan (Pages 4, 7, and 8) Position(s): Hard-hitting Outfielder Team(s): Kansas City Monarchs Date of Career: not given Batting Average: twice batted.412 Honors: 1998 Baseball Hall of Fame Why Remembered? He was a powerful cleanup hitter and posted best winning percentage in black baseball history. He was nicknamed "Bullet" because of his unhittable fastball. Bullet once struck out 17 batters while pitching a perfect game. Andrew Rube Foster (Pages 3, 8) Position(s): Pitcher and Owner / Manager Team(s): Chicago American Giants Date of Career: 1902-30 Honors: 1981 Baseball Hall of Fame Why Remembered? The Chicago American Giants was one of the greatest teams in Negro Baseball history. In 1902 they won 51 games against all levels of competition. Foster put together the Negro National League, so he is known as the "Father of the Negro Leagues." He defeated famous white Major Leaguer, Rube Waddell of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1902 and earned the nickname, "Rube."
John W. Bud Fowler (Pages 3, 6, and 8) Position: Second Baseman and the white Minor Leagues Team(s): Keokuk, Iowa's Western League Honors: none mentioned Why Remembered? He was the first black professional player. Moses Fleetwood (Page 6) Position(s): Catcher League(s): American Association Team(s): Toledo Date of Career: 1883 Honors: none mentioned Why Remembered? Moses was the first black player in the Major Leagues. His career was cut short by injuries. His brother, Weldy, also played. Frank Grant (Page 7) Position(s): Second Baseman League(s): White Major Leagues and the International League Team(s): Buffalo Date of Career: 1886 Batting Average:.340 Honors: none mentioned Why Remembered? Frank was "a great all around player, accurate thrower... and swift. He was the best black player in the white Major Leagues before 1900. BASEBALL CARD GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
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