Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference panels announced
SABR members and nonmembers alike can learn more about the Negro Leagues at the 15th annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference, scheduled for July 19-21, 2012, at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. Learn more at SABR.org/malloy.
The Malloy Conference, hosted by SABR’s Negro Leagues Research Committee, promotes activities to enhance scholarly, educational, and literary objectives. For the past 14 years, the event has been the only symposium dedicated exclusively to the examination and promotion of black baseball history. The conference is open to baseball and history fans of all ages.
Here are some details on the panels scheduled for this year’s Malloy Conference:
Player panel
Come one, come all to the only event in America that provides a forum to personally interact with former players of the Negro Leagues. Leading off on Friday is former pitcher extraordinaire for the Kansas City Monarchs, Mel “Slick” Duncan. Next in the lineup is Ted “Lefty” Toles, Jr., who pitched in 1946-47, 1949—for the Pittsburgh Crawfords of the United States League, Newark Eagles, Cleveland Buckeyes, and the Jacksonville Eagles, Last year, Toles was inducted into the Trumbull County Sports Hall of Fame, located in Warren, Ohio. We also have Gene Johnson, an outstanding first baseman and outfielder for the Detroit Stars in the 1950s. It is always a joy listening to his stories. To complete Friday’s Players Panel is Ernie “Cokey” Nimmons, an outfielder for the Indy Clowns, Monarchs and the Philadelphia Stars. The Sandusky (OH) Sports Hall of Famer, also tried out for the 1956 Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL. Nimmons and Hank Aaron played together on the 1952 Clowns.
Joining the team on Saturday is Minnie Forbes, niece of Ted Rasberry, owner of the Kansas City Monarchs and the Detroit Stars. At the age of 18, Forbes was hired as the team’s secretary and helped negotiate contracts, book games and promote Rasberry Enterprises. In 1955, Rasberry, who owned the Stars, wanted to buy the Monarchs from Tom Baird, but the league officials would not approve ownership of two teams in the same league. Forbes became owner for one season, before returning responsibilities back to her uncle Ted. Ms. Forbes is the last living female owner of a Negro League team. Hear her story!
Authors panel
Join authors Dr. Thomas Aiello, Dr. Lee Lowenfish, Byron Motley, and Terry Pluto, as they provide insight on how to research, write proposals, and get published. Thomas Aiello is author of The Kings of Casino Park: Race and Race Baseball in the Lost Season of 1932. He has published dozens of articles on American history, philosophy, religion, linguistics, and culture. Lee Lowenfish is the author of four books about baseball. His latest book is the award-winning Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman. Byron Motley is a singer/songwriter/filmmaker/lec turer who co-authored his father Bob Motley’s memoir Ruling Over Monarchs, Giants & Stars: Umpiring in the Negro Leagues & Beyond. His screenplay, EFFA (about the life of Effa Manley) is in development with actress Penny Marshall as Director. Terry Pluto is a nationally known author of several sports books, including The Cleveland Indians’ New Ballgame: How a Small-Market Team Reinvented itself as a Major League Contender.
To register: Register online for the Malloy Conference at SABR.org/malloy or find a registration form in the Negro Leagues Committee’s June 2012 newsletter, available as a PDF here.
For more information on the Malloy Conference, contact Leslie Heaphy or Larry Lester.
Originally published: May 31, 2012. Last Updated: May 31, 2012.