Cheyney University News February 14, 2013 Arts and Lectures Series Features Lecture "The Negro Leagues and the Desegregation of Baseball," by Dr. Terry Rodenberg on February 27 On Wednesday, February 27, Dr. Terry Rodenberg, retired professor of sociology and Director of International Programs at Western Illinois University and University of Central Missouri, will present a lecture on "The Negro Leagues and the Desegregation of Baseball - The Rest of the Story." The 1:30 pm lecture in Dudley Theatre on Cheyney University's campus is free and open to the public. Dr. Rodenberg has presented similar lectures to scores of Americans and students and is "surprised that so many people know so little about the history of the Negro League and the impact that it had on our society." He has even spoken to students in Kansas City, MO where the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum has stood since 1990 "and many of them had never heard anything about it," he said incredulously. Rodenberg grew up on baseball as his father, Victor, played in all of the Semi-Professional and Hardball Leagues, as well as the Fast Pitch Softball Leagues. In fact, he's in the Iowa Fast Pitch Hall of Fame. "My dad was an unbelievable first baseman," Rodenberg remembers. Rodenberg's dad even batted against Satchel Paige, one of the most entertaining pitchers in baseball history. He still has his father's scrapbooks filled with memories. According to Rodenberg, major league players such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Bob Feller organized the travelling barnstorming teams that travelled all over the country after the Major League Baseball season ended, playing in any city where people would pay to watch them. His dad, Rodenberg explained, "played against all of the black players. He and the other white players knew that the blacks could really, really play but they weren't allowed in the major leagues," he said. Rodenberg and his brother spent every weekend either at baseball or softball tournaments so they, in turn, played baseball, too. Rodenberg played all through college and even played against one of the last barnstorming teams, the Indianapolis Clowns. He went on to coach baseball for 12 years at Central Missouri State where his teaching specialty was the sociology of sports. Rodenberg's lecture comes just before the April release of the movie 42, a biographical film about the life of baseball player Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era. In addition to talking about how sports, the desegregation of baseball and the Negro Leagues changed our society, Rodenberg will also discuss what is happening to African American baseball players today. The lecture is part of the 2012-2013 schedule for the Arts and Lectures Series at Cheyney University which features ten programs with a variety of speakers, artists, musicians, singers and dancers from throughout the US and abroad. All programs are held on the Cheyney University campus and are open to the public. The Arts & Lectures Series is sponsored by a grant, Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Title III). Doors open 30 minutes before each event and parking is free. For more information, call 610 399-2365. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-520-0593 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.