Wilmington Mayor Issues Proclamation Celebrating 100th Anniversary Of The Negro Major Leagues And Judy Johnson Memorial Foundation

From the City of Wilmington:

September 11, 2020

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki today issued the following Proclamation commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Negro Major Leagues and The Judy Johnson Memorial Foundation. This City Proclamation will be included as part of a special exhibit at the Christina Cultural Arts Center’s Edward R. Loper Sr. Gallery, 705 North Market Street in Downtown Wilmington, entitled “The 100th Anniversary of The Negro Leagues Featuring Judy Johnson – Delaware’s Local Hero.” The exhibit opens Monday, September 14, and continues through Friday, October 30, 2020.

City of Wilmington, Delaware

Office of the Mayor

PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, Andrew “Rube” Foster, owner of the Chicago American Giants, formed the Negro National League in 1920, resulting in colored teams from across the country joining the NNL and forming rival leagues such as the Eastern Colored League and the American Negro League; and

WHEREAS, the Negro Leagues became very popular, enjoying a golden age in the 1930s-1940s, with skilled athletes who rivaled the best players of white leagues at the time, including Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, Smokey Joe Williams, and Wilmington’s own William “Judy” Johnson (1899-1989), widely regarded as one the greatest third basemen of the Negro Leagues and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame since 1975; and

WHEREAS, in 1933 Gus Greenlee started the East-West All-Star Game to showcase star Negro players at an annual event drawing 20,000 to 50,000 fans to Comiskey Park and rivaling the World Series in popularity, thereby paving the way for Jackie Robinson to finally break the color barrier in April 1947 and leading to the ultimate demise of the Negro Leagues by 1962; and

WHEREAS, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the Negro Major Leagues, an outgrowth of racism in the United States that prevented blacks from playing major and minor league baseball for decades, and which proved that black players could form their own league to demonstrate a talent level and popularity that was at least equal to that of their white peers before demonstrating that integration was not only possible but desirable; and

WHEREAS, the Judy Johnson Memorial Foundation was established in 1996 to educate the public about the important contributions of Negro League Baseball to America’s game and to appropriately credit and recognize the athletic and social justice accomplishments of its players over the years, all in the name of Judy Johnson, an exceptional African-American player who enjoyed a 17-year career in the Negro League before retiring and becoming the first African American assistant coach for a major league team, remaining as a scout and coach for almost 50 more years;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, MICHAEL S. PURZYCKI, Mayor of the City of Wilmington, Delaware, do hereby commemorate

The 100th Anniversary of the Negro Major Leagues and
The Judy Johnson Memorial Foundation

and encourage Wilmingtonians and baseball lovers from around the region to reflect on the important legacy left by the Negro Leagues and our own Judy Johnson to the history of our beloved national pastime.

This press release was produced by the City of Wilmington. The views expressed here are the author’s own.