“P ride and Passion: The African-
American Baseball Experience,” a national traveling exhibition that chronicles the history of baseball’s Negro leagues and the challenges and successes of African-American baseball players, will be on display at the Ocean County Library, 101 Washington St., Toms River, from Aug. 15 through Sept. 28.
Legendary players like Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, James “Cool Papa” Bell and Satchel Paige barnstormed around the country for decades, thrilling audiences with a fast-running, power-hitting style of play, according to a press release.
Several New Jersey players from the league, including Larry Doby, Monte Irvin, Ray Dandridge, Leon Day and John Henry “Pop” Lloyd, are all enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Effa Manley, the owner of the Newark Eagles, was the first woman inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The Toms River branch will host two special events to accompany the exhibit. A special reception will be held on Aug. 18 at 2 p.m. and open the exhibition.
The library will screen the award-winning documentary “Before You Can Say Jackie Robinson: Black Baseball in America in the Era of the Color Line” on Sept. 18 at 2:30 p.m.
Both programs, as well as the exhibit, are free and open to the public. Registration is not required.
“Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience,” a traveling exhibition for libraries, was organized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, N.Y., and the American Library Association Public Programs Office, Chicago.
The traveling exhibition has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The traveling exhibition is based on an exhibition of the same name that is on permanent display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.