MLB Pioneers ⭐ All these gents played in the Negro League and also made it to The Show.
The roughly 100 or so players who starred in the Negro Leagues and later reached Major League Baseball represent one of the most extraordinary—and poignant—groups in American sports history.
Many were already great before MLB opened its doors to black men. Stars like Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Roy Campanella, Monte Irvin, Minnie Miñoso, Larry Doby, and Satchel Paige proved immediately that Negro League competition was and had been first-rate. Their success exposed the myth that segregation reflected talent differences.
Many more were never given a meaningful opportunity to succeed in MLB because they were past their prime.