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Soul of the Game (1996)
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3/18
3/18:
Whenever you're in Kansas City, be sure to check out the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum as it's an inspiring place to be at.
Then, watch the film Soul of the Game which explains how black ballplayers labored for the chance to play in Major
League Baseball (MLB). Countless people think Jackie Robinson was the first black ballplayer to play in the league, but
that's not true. The true answer is Moses Fleetwood Walker of the Toledo Blue Stockings. However, after playing just one
season, there wouldn't be another for fifty-eight years until Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson.
Yet some historians say it's William Edward White, but nobody knew he was black, so he doesn't count. But let's give
credit where it's due: Jackie Robinson held up to scrutiny so well that the color barrier was finally demolished forever.
That's why Branch Rickey went with him in the first place.
But who was the greatest and the most famous star of the Negro Leagues? It's Satchel Paige. The Kansas City Monarchs
pitcher attracted hordes of fans wherever he went. He finally played in MLB at age 42 and retired from the game
five years afterwards, winning one World Series title with the Cleveland Indians. My grandfather was a newspaper reporter
for The Plain Dealer and said the greatest highlight of his career was interviewing Satchel Paige when
he played for the Indians.
During the same time, there was a black Babe Ruth, and his name was Josh Gibson. He never played in MLB, dying of a stroke at
age 35 due to years of headaches and mental illness, possibly from alcohol and drug abuse. Because the Negro Leagues
didn't keep much of statistics or game summaries, nobody knows how many home runs Josh Gibson hit during his lifetime.
Some say it's somewhere between 800 and 1,000.
Soul of the Game is a superb historical film with great performances, most especially by Delroy Lindo as Satchel
Paige. If you keep in mind of the museum in Kansas City, you can feel the significance of history while watching the
picture. It's smart of the filmmakers to include Willie Mays in the manner of passing the torch to him.
All in all, Soul of the Game is black history of professional baseball at its finest.