SABR Negro Leagues Committee awards $2,500 scholarships in 2014 essay contest

SABR’s Negro Leagues Research Committee is pleased to award $2,500 scholarships to two high school seniors in its sixth annual national essay contest. 

Tiffany Bowman, a senior at Troy High School in California, and Abraham Griesbauer, a home-schooled senior from Troy, Missouri, were selected as the 2014 winners.

Bowman plans to attend California State University at Fullerton in the fall and will be a member of the University and Business Honors Program.  She plans to major in Business Administration with a concentration in Entertainment and Tourism Management. In high school, she belonged to the Future Business Leaders of America club for three years and won numerous awards through this group. She also belonged to her school’s Environmental Club, took part in peer tutoring, and volunteered at the local library and senior center in her community.

Griesbauer was a National Merit Finalist and will be attending the University of Dallas to study either Chemistry or Physics. He has played baseball since he was 10 years old and got to visit the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City with his American Legion team. He plans to continue playing baseball at the University of Dallas. He also works as an umpire and enjoys playing the piano at the virtuoso level and teaches piano lessons, as well. In his community, he volunteers at a soup kitchen and food pantry.

The contest was open to high school seniors and carrying a minimum GPA of 2.5 at the end of their junior year. Students had to write a 1,000-word essay answering one of the following questions: “Who is Rube Foster and why is he significant to Negro League History?” or “Explain who Sam Lacy is and his significance to Black Baseball History.”

The students will be recognized at the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference on August 14-16, 2014, in Detroit, Michigan. More than 100 candidates from 35 states and countries applied to the essay contest this year. The selection committee was comprised of educators Tom Garrett, Stephanie Liscio, Mel May and Josh Salvner.

The Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference is the only symposium dedicated exclusively to the examination of black baseball history.



Originally published: May 15, 2014. Last Updated: April 22, 2020.