Black Diamonds

Bob Kendrick discusses the epic feats of baseball’s greatest power hitter, Josh Gibson.  Hall of Famers Ted Williams, Satchel Paige and Roy Campanella all testified to his incredible ability. His peers recalled Gibson’s home runs as if they were measured in miles, not feet.  A larger than life figure, Gibson was often compared to Babe Ruth, with some even calling Ruth – “The White Josh Gibson.” Hear about his prodigious power,  the rarity of a catcher employing a five-tool skill set and how his life ended far too soon.  NL MVP Ryan Howard joins the conversation to reflect on Gibson’s legacy and place in the baseball record book.

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Bob Kendrick reflects on MLB’s Tribute to the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field. With emotions heightened by the passing of Willie Mays, Bob discusses the importance of Rickwood, America’s oldest ballpark and home of the Birmingham Black Barons, hosting an MLB game and the significance of the history making moment with ESPN’s Clinton Yates, Orioles great Adam Jones, Yankees legend CC Sabathia and comedian Roy Wood Jr.

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It’s a new era in baseball history as Josh Gibson now sits atop many MLB all-time leaderboards and numerous other great Negro Leaguers are now found in the top 10.  Bob Kendrick discusses the significance of Major League Baseball’s decision to finally incorporate the Negro Leagues into the MLB record book and what it means for the players and the leagues to be officially recognized.  Bob’s joined by historians John Thorn and Phil Dixon as they reveal how the committee uncovered the records,  which players are finally getting long overdue recognition and what their findings mean for baseball history. 

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, please visit Donate | Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

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Bob Kendrick explores the life and legacy of Willie Mays.  From his days as a teenager playing against adults in the Negro Leagues, his unique combination of speed and power in MLB with the Giants, to his impact on society before and after the Civil Rights Movement.  Biographer Jim Hirsch joins the conversation to discuss how the Negro Leagues influenced Mays on and off the field and how he broke the mold as a major league player and became an icon.  

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, please visit Donate | Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

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Black Diamonds is back! The award-winning podcast of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum returns with all-new episodes telling the sport's most incredible stories, starting August 14th. 

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, please visit Donate | Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

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Bob Kendrick reacts to the news of Negro Leagues statistics officially entering the Major League record books, following three years of intensive work by the Negro Leagues Statistical Review Committee. With the accomplishments of more than 2,300 Negro Leagues ballplayers from 1920-1948 being recognized, Bob looks at the path taken to reach the historic announcement, and examines the triumphs of Negro Leagues legends such as Josh Gibson, who becomes the all-time leader in several MLB categories. 

Audio of Ernest Burke courtesy of the University of Baltimore - Negro League Oral History Collection

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, please visit Donate | Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

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Bob Kendrick joins fans at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum's "Black Aces" exhibit for an in-depth discussion with two acclaimed authors.

Sridhar Pappu discusses his book, "The Year of the Pitcher", chronicling Bob Gibson's historic 1968 season, set "against the backdrop of assassinations, while boys boarded planes to Saigon and riots swept through American cities, forever changing the fabric of this country."

Then Luke Epplin sits down for a conversation about his book, "Our Team", "the story of the integration of the Cleveland Indians and their quest for a World Series title through four key participants: Bill Veeck, an eccentric and visionary owner adept at exploding fireworks on and off the field; Larry Doby, a soft-spoken, hard-hitting pioneer whose major-league breakthrough shattered stereotypes that so much of white America held about Black ballplayers; Bob Feller, a pitching prodigy from the Iowa cornfields who set the template for the athlete as businessman; and Satchel Paige, a legendary pitcher from the Negro Leagues whose belated entry into the majors whipped baseball fans across the country into a frenzy."

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Read Siridhar Pappu's "The Year of the Pitcher" - Amazon

Read Luke Epplin's "Our Team" - Amazon

To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

Follow Bob Kendrick on Twitter/X - @nlbmprez

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, please visit Donate | Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

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Join Bob Kendrick and comedian Greg Proops at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum's 2023 "Hall of Game" ceremony, as they celebrate the induction of the The Black Aces - Five of the 15 Black pitchers in AL/NL history to win 20 games in a Major League season, and five men who carried the spirit and style of the Negro Leagues through their whole career.

Hear Bob and Greg sit down with the legendary Al Downing (10:43) to talk about his 17-year career, from the 1961 Yankees and the chase for 61, to being a part of Henry Aaron's historic 715. Enjoy Dave Stewart's stories (24:02) of his friend and teammate, the great Mike Norris. Listen to story upon story about the late Vida Blue (42:52) from his son, Derrick. Laugh and learn with the always-hilarious, never-hittable Dontrelle Willis (59:40) as he remembers his career, and thanks his heroes. And experience the thrill of the career that was Dwight Gooden (1:11:05) with the Doc himself.

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

Follow Bob Kendrick on Twitter/X - @nlbmprez

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To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, please visit Donate | Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

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He was Ese Hombre. He was Sunny. He was Home Run Brown. He was Special Services for the US Army at the invasion of Normandy. And he was the Negro Leagues' greatest power hitter of the 1940's.

Meet Willard Brown, through the stories of Bob Kendrick and the archived voice of Brown himself. Hear how the late Hall of Famer planned to be a Kansas City Monarch from an early age, and ended up rewriting their record books. Hear about his legendary tape-measure shots, and game-winning heroics, his larger-than-life persona in his career in Latin America, and the joy he brought to European troops hitting home runs for the Army in World War II. And don't miss the story of Willard Brown's historic, yet ill-fated, stint as the first Black player (alongside Hank Thompson) in St. Louis Browns history, and why it paled in comparison the competitive levels of the Negro Leagues.

Interviews with Willard Brown recorded June 22, 1982, and appear courtesy of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries 

Follow Bob Kendrick on Twitter - @nlbmprez

To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

Follow Bob Kendrick on Twitter/X - @nlbmprez

Follow Bob Kendrick on Instagram - @nlbmprez

To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, please visit Donate | Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

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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!

Read Cam Perron's book "Comeback Season: My Unlikely Story of Friendship with the Greatest Living Negro League Baseball Players" - BOOKSOUP

Follow Bob Kendrick on Twitter - @nlbmprez

To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.com

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

Follow Bob Kendrick on Twitter/X - @nlbmprez

Follow Bob Kendrick on Instagram - @nlbmprez

To support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, please visit Donate | Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.com

See and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future

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