During 2020, the Community Cup Classic Foundation, in partnership with The Josh Gibson Foundation, Lifeline Sports and several core partners, planned to host multiple events throughout the calendar year to celebrate the Negro League Baseball Centennial in Cleveland and the 75th Anniversary of the Cleveland Buckeyes first and only Negro League World Series title.

Along with many other national events, COVID-19 seriously impacted the implementation of these signature events. However, despite the grim realities of the health crisis, these core partners remain steadfast and committed to continue with our efforts to commemorate these monumental dates and educate the community and raise awareness of the impact these important historical events had on America as well as Cleveland, Ohio.

As such, we transition to a virtual worldwide platform to celebrate these historical accomplishments with a series of presentations by Ike Brooks, Negro League Baseball Historian.

This presentation will discuss how players of color became legends playing among themselves before they were officially re-admitted to Major League baseball. It will also chronicle the pioneers on each big league team beginning with Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby through Elijah ‘Pumpsie’ Green. It will show how some of them made the national pastime bigger and better than ever – how their emergence became one of the most fascinating chapters in not only baseball history, but an inspiration to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and an accelerant of the Civil Rights movement.

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