The World War's Effects on Black Athletics
Category
Business, Education and Humanities
Department
History
Student Status
Undergraduate
Research Advisor
Dr. Kyle Thompson
Document Type
Event
Location
Student Center Ballroom
Start Date
10-4-2025 2:00 PM
End Date
10-4-2025 4:00 PM
Description
This article examines the effects that World War I and World War II had on black athletics, specifically the Negro Baseball League. The objective of this paper is to determine if the World Wars had a hand in the decline and subsequent shutting down of the Negro Baseball League. The forming of the Negro Baseball League and its status as a league is set perfectly in between both World Wars, with it forming in 1920 and declining towards the end shortly after World War II. Due to World War I, plans for a league were out on hold and would eventually be created in 1920. The much greater impact is World War II. The war surprising would result in an attendance boom for the Negro Baseball League. Due to Americans having more disposable income due to the war effort, the league was able to grow in popularity. A big factor that could have played a role in the integration of baseball came in 1941, when Franklin D Roosevelt established the Fair Employment Practices Committee. They would push for the inclusion of black players in baseball. Ultimately, this study shows that World War II would have monumental impacts on black culture as a whole. The war would help push for integration in baseball, which would be a catalyst for future integration. This integration would see the decline and shut down of the Negro Baseball League. This would help out black culture and athletics, but the findings in this article suggest that while it helped the overall impact of black integration and culture, baseball went from being a significant part of black business, to having little impact.
The World War's Effects on Black Athletics
Student Center Ballroom
This article examines the effects that World War I and World War II had on black athletics, specifically the Negro Baseball League. The objective of this paper is to determine if the World Wars had a hand in the decline and subsequent shutting down of the Negro Baseball League. The forming of the Negro Baseball League and its status as a league is set perfectly in between both World Wars, with it forming in 1920 and declining towards the end shortly after World War II. Due to World War I, plans for a league were out on hold and would eventually be created in 1920. The much greater impact is World War II. The war surprising would result in an attendance boom for the Negro Baseball League. Due to Americans having more disposable income due to the war effort, the league was able to grow in popularity. A big factor that could have played a role in the integration of baseball came in 1941, when Franklin D Roosevelt established the Fair Employment Practices Committee. They would push for the inclusion of black players in baseball. Ultimately, this study shows that World War II would have monumental impacts on black culture as a whole. The war would help push for integration in baseball, which would be a catalyst for future integration. This integration would see the decline and shut down of the Negro Baseball League. This would help out black culture and athletics, but the findings in this article suggest that while it helped the overall impact of black integration and culture, baseball went from being a significant part of black business, to having little impact.
