SABR 54: Listen to highlights from Bob Kendrick’s fireside chat with Stephanie Liscio
On Wednesday, July 29, 2026, Bob Kendrick of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum sat down for a fireside chat at SABR 54 at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown hotel in Cleveland, Ohio.
Kendrick has served as president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City since 2011. He has been responsible for the creation of several signature museum educational programs and events, including Buck O’Neil’s Birthday Bash and the Hall of Game. Kendrick has been associated with the museum for more than three decades, beginning as a volunteer during his 10-year newspaper career at the Kansas City Star. He was appointed to the museum’s Board of Directors in 1993, became its first Director of Marketing in 1998, and was named Vice President of Marketing in 2009 before accepting his current position.
The session was moderated by Stephanie Liscio, the author of Integrating Cleveland Baseball: Media Activism, the Integration of the Indians, and the Demise of the Negro League Buckeyes. She is a past president of SABR’s Jack Graney Chapter in Cleveland and a board member for SABR’s Negro Leagues Committee.
- Audio: Click here to listen to Bob Kendrick’s fireside chat at SABR 54 (35:57; MP3)
Here are some highlights:
On visiting League Park in Cleveland
- Kendrick: “I get the same emotion every time I step on what I consider to be sacred, very hallowed grounds as it relates to the history of the Negro Leagues. To think about all the legendary stars that called League Park home, what it would have been like to go to a game there, and the fact that that ballpark is absolutely gorgeous. It is beautiful. And to see it active again and to think about perhaps the next Sam Jethroe might come through that park at some point in time, or Quincy Trouppe or some of the other legendary stars that called Cleveland home. It just gives you goosebumps.”
On Cleveland baseball artifacts at the Negro Leagues Museum
- Kendrick: “One of our prized possessions came from the Archie Ware family. … Archie Ware was a tremendous first baseman for the Cleveland Buckeyes, helped them win the 1945 Negro League World Series. Of course, they swept the powerful Homestead Grays, who were prohibitive favorites to beat the Buckeyes. The Grays had Buck Leonard and Josh Gibson in the middle of a juggernaut offensive lineup. And the Buckeyes caught them at the right time because they swept them. I think they only gave up three runs in that entire series. But Archie Ware was a tremendous first baseman, and we have his collection. Young major league athletes, y’all, they get a kick because part of his collection is an old steel cup. As I tell people, it was crude but effective. We also have his travel bag. But the centerpiece of the collection is his championship ring that was won while playing in Venezuela. Think about what I just said. Venezuela just won the World Baseball Classic. And it speaks to the fact that the Negro Leagues had gone to those Spanish-speaking countries decades ago where they were treated like heroes. Staying in the finest hotels those countries could offer, eating in the finest restaurants those countries could offer, teaching the brand of baseball that you see so many Spanish-speaking athletes play to this day. I had the honor of taking our great catcher, who I think is going to be a future Hall of Famer, the great Salvador Perez [of the Kansas City Royals], through the museum. Needless to say, he was blown away by seeing Archie Ware’s championship ring playing in his native homeland of Venezuela.”
On the impact of Larry Doby
- Kendrick: “I was very fortunate to have Larry Doby Jr. as a guest on my podcast (Black Diamonds at SiriusXM). And it was really interesting talking to Junior because he’s so young that a lot of the history around his father, he didn’t really know. … I had the honor of meeting Larry Doby before he passed away. It was at the All Star Game, and I was hanging out with the legendary Buck O’Neil. Any time you hang out with Buck O’Neil, you get an opportunity to meet a lot of people. … And the first thing that struck me about Larry Doby was his tremendous graciousness. He was as gracious a human being as you will ever want to meet. And obviously, his journey into Major League Baseball was significant. The second man, as I like to say, to walk on the moon. Because for black folks, Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the color barrier carried the same level of euphoria we saw collectively as a nation when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. In many ways, Jackie was our Neil Armstrong. Well, Larry Doby was our Buzz Aldrin. People seemingly forget that Buzz walked on the moon. Buzz walked on the moon just seconds after Neil Armstrong. And poor Buzz gets no love. The thing that I find so intriguing, I guess you could say, is that both Larry Doby and Buzz Aldrin lived in Montclair, New Jersey, the two second men to walk on the moon. Larry’s story is so profound, and I’m so thrilled there’s a concerted effort to pay attention to Larry Doby’s pioneering role in this game. Because it’s almost human nature, we don’t necessarily celebrate number two. We always celebrate the first. We rarely ever celebrate the second and of course, if you’re number 16, then pretty much forget it. We have an exhibition at the museum called “Barrier Breakers.” It chronicles all of baseball’s integration pioneers, from Jackie joining Brooklyn through, of course, Elijah “Pumpsie” Green completing the integration cycle 12 years later. It took 12 years before every major league team had at least one Black baseball player, with Boston being the last. Larry Doby was 23 years old when he joined Cleveland. He was just a baby, thrown into a powder keg of racism. And he handled himself with the same great grace, class, and dignity that we rightfully celebrate Jackie for having demonstrated.”
For more coverage of SABR 54, visit SABR.org/convention.
Originally published: August 5, 2026. Last Updated: August 5, 2026.