19 November 2008, 5:29 pm
The Knickerbocker Era formally had games in between 1846-1857. National Association of Base Ball Players came about in 1857 and had 16 teams that were only in New York City, Brooklyn (it's own city at the time) & Philadelphia though. It wasn't until the end of 1865 after the Civil War had ended when more teams had expanded into the league in the West & South when there 100 teams throughout the country. It later expanded to 400 teams by 1867. These teams were still small though but this was an idea of semi-pro baseball. A full sense of major league baseball didn't exist until 1869 which was when a color barrier was established. This would later be carried on through Major League Baseball which succeeded this league in 1876 and exists to this day. ''It permitted professionalism only for the 1869 and 1870 seasons. In its December 1867 meeting, its rules committee voted unanimously to bar any club "composed of one or more colored persons", effecting the first known color line in baseball.'' http://www.library.fordham.edu/cubanbaseball/photoimages/e_bellan_7X13.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bellan http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/race/EndSlave.htm So through all that study, it's determinable that there couldn't have been a pro baseball player of American citizenship who owned a slave. This would be true being that organized baseball didn't exist in the south until the end of 1865 which after the Civil War ended and 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. However, there may have been a player in major league baseball who legally owned slaves. Not in America, but in Cuba. And it's possible Cuban baseball player Steve Bellan owned slaves. Slavery wasn't abolished in Cuba until October 7th, 1886. ''Under the terms of the Pact of Zanjón, which ended the The Ten Year War in 1878, slaves who fought on either side of the war were set free, but those who did not fight had to endure almost another decade of slavery.'' ''Two years later the Spanish Cortes approved an abolition law (1880) that provided for an eight-year period of patronato (tutelage) for all slaves liberated according to the law. This only amounted to indentured servitude, as slaves were required to spend those 8 years working for their masters at no charge. On October 7 1886, slavery was finally abolished in Cuba by a royal decree that also made the patronato illegal.'' Enrique ''Steve'' Bellan played in organized pro baseball leagues in America from 1871-1873. Steve Bellan was well-educated. Many people back than weren't even literate. He and his brother went to St. John's College (now Foredam University). He also become one of Cuba's greatest player-managers. So it's obvious he was apart of the upper class. The Cuban economy in the 1870's thrived off of agricultural labor similarly to how it was in the south in the United States pre-Civil War because of it's climate. The way to be wealthy in the south in America back than was for a white male own property and to own slaves. So it's very likely if not himself, family members of his had owned slaves while he was playing pro baseball in America.... Read More »
Share on del.icio.us
Share on digg
Share on Technorati
Share on reddit
Share on Yahoo!
Share on Furl