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Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
 The Negro Leagues

The Negro Leagues
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   9.3

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    historic, yearly, pitchers, popularity, majority, founded, fans, network, all-black, competitive, colonial, unknown, gain, wherever, early, pastime
     content words:    Civil War, Cuban Giants, New York, Rube Foster, Negro National League, Eastern Colored League, Negro American League, National League, American League, Negro Leagues

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The Negro Leagues
By Sharon Fabian 		  
1     Games something like baseball were played in America as early as colonial times, but it wasn't until the mid-1800's that baseball became the sport we know today. Baseball began to really gain in popularity after the Civil War. At the same time that baseball was becoming America's pastime, it was also becoming more segregated.
 
2     By the 1870's, black athletes were excluded from major baseball clubs, but many black pitchers, catchers, outfielders, and infielders wanted to keep playing the game that they loved. They found their opportunity in all-black teams that were forming across the country.
 
3     The Cuban Giants, who by the way were not from Cuba, was one of those teams. At first, they played against white teams wherever they could find a game, but this became more and more difficult. At the same time, other black teams were also forming, and soon a network of black baseball teams developed. Teams from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Norfolk, and other eastern cities met in competition. Eventually, there would be as many as 200 African-American baseball teams.

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