Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI) and executive produced by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson (Oscar-winning SUMMER OF SOUL), THE LEAGUE celebrates the dynamic journey of Negro League baseball's triumphs and challenges through the first half of the twentieth century, all told through previously unearthed archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with legendary players including Buck O'Neil and Hall of Fame Inductees Monte Irvin, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, whose early careers paved the way for the Jackie Robinson era. From entrepreneurial titans Cumberland Posey and Gus Greenlee, whose intense rivalry fueled the rise of two of the best baseball teams ever to play the game, to Effa Manley, the activist owner of the Newark Eagles and the only woman ever admitted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, THE LEAGUE explores Black baseball as an economic and social pillar of Black communities and a stage for some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game, while also examining the unintended consequences of MLB integration.
Image Credit: The Newark Eagles in Dugout in 1936, from THE LEAGUE, a Magnolia Pictures release. © Yale University Art Gallery. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
show less
Image Credit: The Newark Eagles in Dugout in 1936, from THE LEAGUE, a Magnolia Pictures release. © Yale University Art Gallery. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI) and executive produced by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson (Oscar-winning SUMMER OF SOUL), THE LEAGUE celebrates the dynamic journey of Negro League baseball's triumphs and challenges through the first half of the twentieth century, all told through previously unearthed archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with legendary players including Buck O'Neil and Hall of Fame Inductees Monte Irvin, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, whose early careers paved the way for the Jackie Robinson era. From entrepreneurial titans Cumberland Posey and Gus Greenlee, whose intense rivalry fueled the rise of two of the best baseball teams ever to play the game, to Effa Manley, the activist owner of the Newark Eagles and the only woman ever admitted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, THE LEAGUE explores Black baseball as an economic and social pillar of Black communities and a stage for some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game, while also examining the unintended consequences of MLB integration.
Image Credit: The Newark Eagles in Dugout in 1936, from THE LEAGUE, a Magnolia Pictures release. © Yale University Art Gallery. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
read more
Image Credit: The Newark Eagles in Dugout in 1936, from THE LEAGUE, a Magnolia Pictures release. © Yale University Art Gallery. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
show less
Date/Times:
The Best Events
Every Week in Your Inbox
From Our Sponsors
UPCOMING EVENTS
Great suggestion! We'll be in touch.
Event reviewed successfully.