Cam Perron and Al Holt | The 1948 Birmingham Black Barons

Black Diamonds

SiriusXM

History, Baseball, Black History, Sports, Negro Leagues, Documentary, Equality, Society & Culture, Civil Rights

4.8 • 617 Ratings

🗓️ 31 August 2023

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The last Negro Leagues World Series was held in 1948, and one of the teams playing was the Birmingham Black Barons. Why was that '48 squad so special, and how did a young white kid become so involved in preserving the legacy of Black baseball in Birmingham and beyond? Find out as Bob chats with Cam Perron, author and Negro Leagues researcher, along with Al Holt, and former third baseman and outfielder for the Black Barons. Hear Cam discuss how his interest in the Negro Leagues began in his pre-teens, which has led to friendships with over 100 former players and helping dozens of them secure pensions from Major League Baseball, with the help of Dr. Layton Revel. Cam also talks about the distinct honor of having Hank Aaron, Bob's childhood idol, write the foreword to his 2021 book, "Comeback Season: My Unlikely Story of Friendship with the Greatest Living Negro League Baseball Players." Hear Al Holt explain why it was always his dream to play for the Black Barons and what it was like to see a 17-year-old rookie named Willie Mays join the team in 1948, in addition to his disappointment in the decline of the Negro Leagues and Industrial League teams contrasted with his joy over the Negro Leagues now being recognized as part of the Major Leagues since 2020. And Bob, Cam and Al look ahead to the Negro Leagues tribute set to take place at the historic Rickwood Field in June 2024!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Jim Candidate, he was the manager when I came.
0:11.1	He said, anytime you put this uniform on and you represent Birmingham BlackBow,
0:18.0	you're a major dick ball player.
0:26.6	For this episode of Black Diamonds,
0:30.7	we're going to take a look back in time at the year 1948.
0:41.5	And 1948 was a milestone moment of sorts for the Negro Leagues because it represented the very last year that a Negro League's World Series would be played. A year prior to this, as we all know,
0:49.2	Jackie Roosevelt Robinson had broken the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Larry Dobey had then followed
0:56.5	Hank Thompson, Willett Brown, and Dan Bankhead with joined Jackie breaking the barriers over in
1:04.8	Major League Baseball. Larry Dobie, of course, with then the Cleveland Indians, now the Cleveland
1:10.4	Guardians.
1:11.8	Hank Thompson and Willett Brown would join the St. Louis Browns.
1:15.4	And Dan Bankhead would join Jackie over at Brooklyn.
1:20.7	The handwriting was certainly being inscribed on the wall for the Negro Leagues.
1:28.3	It wasn't a matter of if.
1:31.6	It was quickly becoming a matter of when the Negro League were going to fold.
1:40.5	I recall my friend Monty Ir, talking about how black fans essentially left the Negro
1:49.0	leagues the minute that Jackie took field with Brooklyn.
1:53.4	There had been so many fans who would come over to watch the Newark Eagles play.
1:57.7	And almost the minute that Jackie signs with Brooklyn and starts to play there,
2:02.7	those fans went across the river to go watch Jackie and the Newark Eagles,
2:07.6	unlike a lot of the Negro League teams, had a quick debt.
2:11.8	They tried to relocate out to Houston, but it just didn't work,
	...

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