SABR’s annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference was held on June 2-4, 2022, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama.
The conference was highlighted by the appearance of former Negro Leagues players, including the Rev. Bill Greason, and panel discussions on “The Negro Leagues Are Major Leagues: Statistically Speaking” and “Black Ball and the Hall: Justice in Cooperstown?”
Attendees enjoyed visits to historic Rickwood Field and Regions Field, the Negro Southern League Museum, and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Tour.
Presentations were given by Gary Gillette, Kimberly White-Glenn, Todd Peterson, Keith Crook, James Overmyer, Ken Bartelt, Clem Hamilton, Tom Thress, Duke Goldman, and Ben Alter. Click here to view the full schedule for the 2022 Malloy Conference.
Click here to view a photo gallery at Flickr.com, courtesy of Sherman Jenkins and John Wakelin.
About the Conference
The Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference promotes activities to enhance scholarly, educational, and literary objectives. Since 1998, 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. Each year, monies are targeted to donate books to schools or libraries; raise funds for the Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project; and award scholarships to high school seniors in a nationwide essay contest and an annual art contest.
The Negro Leagues Committee is one of SABR’s original committees, formed in 1971. It has continued to preserve and highlight the contributions of African-American players in baseball history. The committee published the landmark The Negro Leagues Book in 1994, which featured a complete register of more than 3,000 players, team rosters and in-depth histories from leagues of the late nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth.
Essay Contest
SABR’s Negro Leagues Research Committee is pleased to award $1,000 scholarships to four high school seniors in its 14th annual Thomas R. Garrett Scholarship essay contest in 2022. Click here to download the application forms.
The contest is open to high school seniors and carrying a minimum GPA of 2.5 at the end of their junior year. Students have to write a 1,200-word essay answering a question related to one of the Negro League figures who are the namesakes of the scholarships.
Art Contest
The 12th annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference Art Contest is open to all artists in 2022 with the theme, “Looking Back on the Negro Leagues.” Art from the winners will be on display at an upcoming Jerry Malloy Conference. The winning entry in the professional and amateur categories will receive a $150 prize and a certificate from the conference and the youth winner will receive a set of art supplies. Photos of the art will also be included in an upcoming issue of Black Ball: A Negro Leagues Journal, published by McFarland & Co. Deadlines to enter: July 30, 2022 (professional/amateur) or September 12, 2022 (youth). Click below to download an application form. Questions can be directed to Leslie Heaphy (Lheaphy@kent.edu).
Dick Clark Memorial Library Grants
SABR’s Negro Leagues Research Committee will award two $500 Dick Clark Memorial Library Grants for 2022. School and community libraries from across the country are invited to submit grant proposals centering on educating students and the community about black baseball and American history. Click here to download the PDF application. Deadline to apply: June 10, 2022. Questions can be directed to Leslie Heaphy (Lheaphy@kent.edu), Mark Moore (mmoore@cpl.org), Tim Bottorff (tbottorf@mail.ucf.edu), or Marlene Vogelsang (mvogelsang@sbcglobal.net).
