A lot of times people of color only think that the only opportunity in the game is if you play.

At this point in my career, I'm always about paying it forward and trying to arm that next generation of the young Michael Hill from 30 years ago

to give him all the tools to join that group of general managers of baseball leadership.

On February 13th, 1920, in a meeting that took place here in Kansas City at the Pasell YMCA,

and of course we're renovating that building as we speak to convert it into the Buckle-Neil Education and Research Center, which will be part of a much

larger development for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, including a brand new 30-plus thousand

square foot Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, creating the nation's first Negro Leagues campus

as the gateway into historic 18th and Vine.

But it was in that historic landmark that Andrew Rube Foster led a group of eight independent

black baseball team owners into a meeting, and on February 13th, 1920, they walked out of that meeting, having established

the Negro National League, the first successful organized Black Baseball League.

Rube Foster was just one of many brilliant black baseball minds

who honed their craft in a league of their own.

And to give you an indication of Rupert's visionary prowess,

he thought that when he created his new Negro National League,

that he would create a league that was so dynamic

that it would force Major League Baseball's hand to expand.

And we've talked about this on this program in previous episodes.

But think about the merger of the NFL and the old AFL.

And of course, for you who are basketball fans, think about the merger of the NBA and the APA.

Well, that was Rube Foster's thinking in the 1920s.

And he was almost right.

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