SABR Negro League Baseball Grave Marker Project to honor William Binga on June 28
The SABR Negro League Baseball Grave Marker Project will honor the life and baseball career of William Binga with a grave marker dedication ceremony at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, 2014, at Crystal Lake Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Prior to the integration of baseball, William Binga was a great third baseman for some of segregated baseball’s greatest teams, including the Page Fence Giants, Philadelphia Giants, Chicago Leland Giants, St. Paul Colored Gophers, and Minneapolis Keystones. Had the color line not existed, William Binga might have been a star in Major League Baseball.
Funeral services for William Binga were performed on October 17, 1950, and he was interred at Crystal Lake Cemetery without any marker to identify his final resting place.
The Negro League Baseball Grave Marker Project (NLBGMP), along with The David Winfield Foundation and The Donaldson Network, has collaborated to right a nearly 65-year wrong. By identifying, procuring, and installing a grave marker for Binga, we will return the spotlight to one of baseball’s greatest forgotten stars.
Together, we will remember the great baseball career of William Binga and show the world we have not forgotten his contributions to the national game.
The color line stripped Binga of his opportunity to develop a lasting legacy. It is important today that we not apply the same standard to how Binga is remembered. We must not take part in robbing him of his legacy again.
Related links:
- Ryan Whirty: William Binga gets a legacy boost (April 16, 2014)
- To donate to the Negro League Baseball Grave Marker Project, click here
- Join us in Detroit on August 14-16 for the 2014 Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference
Originally published: June 4, 2014. Last Updated: June 4, 2014.