2026 SABR Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference Schedule
SABR’s Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference will be held on June 18–21, 2026, at the SpringHill Suites Memphis Downtown in Memphis, Tennessee. All baseball fans are welcome to attend.
Thursday, June 18
- 9:00-11:30 a.m.: Education Forum conducted by Dr. Leslie Heaphy
- 12:00-1:00 p.m.: Lunch on your own
- 12:00-4:30 p.m.: Registration open
- 1:00-4:30 p.m.: Bus Tour
- 4:30-6:00 p.m.: Black Diamonds, Blues City: Stories of the Memphis Red Sox film screening
- 6:30-8:30 p.m.: Meet and Greet at Withers Collection Museum & Gallery (333 Beale Street), with light refreshments and cash bar.
Friday, June 19
Panels and presentations will be held at the SpringHill Suites. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
- 8:30-9:00 a.m.: Coffee and Welcome
- 9:00-9:30 a.m.: James Brunson III, “Memphis Slow Grind Blues: Eureka-Eclipse Blackball Rivalry, 1884-1888”
- 9:30-10:00 a.m.: Neil Sharma, “Crump, Martin and the Memphis Red Sox”
- 10:00-10:15 a.m.: Break
- 10:15-11:00 a.m.: Special Presentation on J.B. Martin, by J.B. Martin IV
- 11:00-11:30 a.m.: Paul Spyhalski, “Verdell Mathis”
- 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.: Lunch on your own
- 1:00-1:30 p.m.: Stephen V. Rice, “Carl ‘Lefty’ Glass”
- 1:30-2:00 p.m.: Gary Gillette, “Martin Stadium at Lewis Park”
- 2:00-2:45 p.m.: Bob Boyd Panel, with Thomas Van Hyning and Alex Painter
- 2:45-3:00 p.m.: Break
- 3:00-4:00 p.m.: Special Presentation
- 4:00-4:30 p.m.: Tom Thress, “Who Pitched for the 1942 Cincinnati Clowns Under the Name ‘Matchett’?”
- 4:30-5:00 p.m.: Curt Hart, “Interviews with Negro Leaguers”
- 5:30-10:00 p.m.: Memphis Redbirds ballgame with dinner included at AutoZone Park (198 Union Ave.)
Saturday, June 20
Panels and presentations will be held at the SpringHill Suites. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.
- 8:30-9:00 a.m.: Coffee and Welcome
- 9:00-9:30 a.m.: Clem Hamilton, “From Segregation to Integration: How Black Ball Stars’ Careers Were Affected”
- 9:30-10:00 a.m.: Ryan Whirty, “Willie Foster”
- 10:00-10:30 a.m.: Loren Broaddus, “Wasn’t Any Maybe So—Poems through the Voice of Newt Allen”
- 10:30-10:45 a.m.: Break
- 10:45-11:15 a.m.: Chris Jensen, “Black Baseball Lives Stolen Too Soon”
- 11:15-11:45 a.m.: Ted Knorr, “Showin’ Off in Showa 2”
- 11:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m.: Lunch on your own
- 1:15-1:45 p.m.: Julia Bucci, “Cultural Importance of the Negro Leagues”
- 1:45-2:15 p.m.: Aram Goudsouzian, “’Something Out of a Book’: Satchel Paige and the 1960s”
- 2:15-2:45 p.m.: Daniel Torres, “Before the Color Line: Interracial Baseball in Reconstruction-Era New York”
- 2:45-3:00 p.m.: Break
- 3:00-3:30 p.m.: David Krell, “Ain’t No Man Got to be Common”
- 3:30-4:00 p.m.: Alan Cohen, “Negro League Home Run Project”
- 4:15-5:00 p.m.: Significa Contest preliminaries
- 5:30-6:30 p.m.: Reception and cash bar
- 6:30-9:30 p.m.: Awards Banquet, plus silent/live auctions and Significa Contest finals
Sunday, June 21
- 12:00-1:00 p.m.: Visit to National Civil Rights Museum (450 Mulberry Street); tickets are $23 on your own
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