Willie Mays, SF Giants baseball player, has died
sfchronicle.com
sfchronicle.com
I think it will be very interesting here in the next few years as MLB adds more of the Negro Leagues' data to the official stats. Willie's official stats have already been increased. If you would like to assist in the effort to recognize the efforts of those men, then please consider volunteering time here: https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/NegroLeagues.html
I know for a fact that they are in dire need of coders and programmers to help with web development for submitting newspaper clippings and other records.
Additionally, if you or anyone you know has access to old newspaper clippings and other records, say in an attic or basement, please get in contact with the above people.
Men and women! Let's not forget that three women played in the Negro Leagues - Toni Stone, Connie Morgan and Mamie Johnson.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toni_Stone
Clearly I'm missing a history lesson here.
Was curious enough to look into this, and here's the front page Chronicle article from when this happened and a EBT article with more detail: https://www.sfchronicle.com/chronicle_vault/article/Chronicl... https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2007/11/15/discrimination-s-f-s...
SF (and the whole Bay Area, frankly) is unfortunately very segregated even today: http://radicalcartography.net/bayarea_race.jpg
St. Francis Wood is the area around this point: https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=37.7348&mlon=-122.468&zo...
Integration never really stuck.
And if you look beyond the military towards support folks, the Bay Area saw a huge influx of immigrants during WW2 (e.g. for ship building). One look at Marin City and you'll notice the white immigrants got out ASAP.
Quite frankly I'd be careful calling San Diego "integrated". Perhaps the city proper is, but in my experience the burbs aren't necessarily (especially the more posh ones). Once you hit north county it turns in to duelling banjo country right quick. They don't call it Klantee without reason.
I don't think it's particularly reasonable to paint black neighborhoods as uniquely or even inherently segregated. One of the things I loved about Oakland was how diverse it is across pretty much any criteria (economic, cultural, gender, racial, etc.). Even in the hills. And that's something sorely missing from San Francisco (and most parts of the Bay Area).
Someone (upper manhattan born and raised) once commented to me that they felt New York City was quite segregated. From their POV whatever integration you see is a result of folks commuting for (typically service industry) work. At the end of the day they'd just return home to their segregated communities.
He grew up on a houseboat in Sausalito, during WWII, and mentioned while the parents were working at the shipyards the kids would all go to a big gym and watch from a projector. Think they were given warm milk too.
He has a few stories that make Marin/East bay seem so small town. Times before the Richmond-San Rafael bridge.
The Bay Area used to have a large ferry system as well so suppose ship building makes sense.
Nearly all episodes of that show are available on YouTube. Much like that one, they're all time capsules.
Seeing Willie and the Giants at the games when I was a kid are some of fondest memories of when life was simple.
He passed away less than two days before Major League Baseball would be playing a regular season game in recognition of the Negro Leagues for the first time at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Willie Mays played for the Birmingham Black Barons before he was picked up by the SF Giants.
Mays wouldn't have been at the game due to health problems, but he was the oldest living Baseball Hall-of-Famer when he passed today. He was interviewed for the story and was rightfully honored when the announcement was made last year.[0] He almost made it.
[0]https://www.mlb.com/news/cardinals-giants-to-play-at-rickwoo...
When he would come to games I remember people being extatic that he was just attending that day. Imagine seeing him play.
A truly beloved man, and deservedly so.
It’s too close to cricket.
Massive basketball (top 5 domestic league, huge NBA market) but baseball is relegated to a 2-month semi-pro competition in front of maybe a thousand people.
Which is a shame, a lot of the enjoyment (some of it, I'm a Cubs fan, I get enjoyment out of baseball where I can) I get out of Baseball is the same as Cricket
The first game was 17-13, which is quite high. Bugs Bunny baseball slugfest.
I was hoping after the London visitors got a taste of that extreme game that the next day it go the other way and would be one of those grinding, 15 inning, 1-0, pitching duels.