49–010 

Calendar No. 387 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 109–228 

NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM 

APRIL 3, 2006.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. Con. Res. 60] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 60) to designate the 

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, as 

America’s National Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment 

and an amendment to the preamble and recommends that the resolution, as amended, do pass. 

The amendments are as follows: 

On page 2, in the first whereas clause, strike ‘‘1988, as’’ and insert ‘‘1988 as’’. 

On page 3, strike lines 9 and 10 insert the following: 

‘‘(2) supports the efforts of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to recognize and preserve the’’. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. Con. Res. 60 is to designate the Negro Leagues 

Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, as America’s National 

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

During the first half of the 20th century, racism and segregation 

laws barred African-Americans from playing baseball on major 

league teams. Black baseball players formed their own teams, and 

in 1920, eight of those teams formed the first Negro baseball 

league. Over 70 teams existed at one time or another between 1920 

and 1955. Until the 1940s, the teams thrived. 


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In 1946, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier when the Brooklyn Dodgers recruited him from the Negro Leagues. Other major 

league teams followed suit and began recruiting star players from 

the Negro Leagues. Attendance at Negro League games dropped, 

and the last of the Negro League teams went out of business in the 

early 1960s. 

In 1990, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was established in 

Kansas City, Missouri to preserve and interpret for present and future generations the history of the Negro Leagues and the story of 

its players. Although the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York recognizes the achievements of baseball’s greatest players of all races, the Negro Leagues Museum tells the remarkable story of the black athletes who built a successful baseball 

league in the face of racial segregation. As the Museum’s Chairman, John Jordan ‘‘Buck’’ O’Neil, who played in the Negro Leagues 

himself, testified, ‘‘Negro Leagues baseball helped to drive social 

change in a segregated America.’’ The Museum provides ‘‘a gentle 

explanation of a harsh time in our Nation’s history,’’ and in doing 

so, serves as ‘‘a tool for improving race relations by sharing this 

overlooked and yet very important history.’’ S. Con Res. 60 recognizes the importance of the Museum’s efforts 

to preserve and interpret this important aspect of our history by 

designating the Museum as ‘‘America’s National Negro Leagues 

Baseball Museum.’’

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. Con. Res. 60 was introduced by Senator Talent on October 25, 

2005. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 

Con. Res. 60 on November 15, 2005. At its business meeting on 

March 8, 2006, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

ordered S. Con. Res. 60 favorably reported as amended. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on March 8, 2006, by unanimous voice vote of a 

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. Con. Res. 60, 

if amended as described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During consideration of S. Con. Res. 60, the Committee adopted 

two technical amendments. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs of this 

measure has been requested but was not received at the time the 

report was filed. When the report is available, the Chairman will 

request it to be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice 

of the Senate. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

S. Con. Res. 60. The resolution is not a regulatory measure in the 


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sense of imposing Government-established standards or significant 

economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. Con. Res. 60, as ordered reported. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The views of the Administration on S. Con. Res. 60 were included 

in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on the bill on 

November 15, 2005. This testimony follows: 

STATEMENT OF DON MURPHY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present 

the views of the Department of the Interior on S. Con. Res. 

60, designating the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in 

Kansas City, Missouri, as America’s National Negro 

Leagues Baseball Museum. Since the concurrent resolution 

involves a statement expressing the sentiment of both the 

Senate and the House and would not become law, our comments are limited to providing background information for 

the consideration of the committee. 

African-Americans began to play baseball in the late 

1800s on military teams, college teams, and company 

teams. They eventually found their way to professional 

teams with white players. Because of racism and segregation, laws forced them from these teams by 1900. These 

black players then formed their own units, ‘‘barnstorming’’

around the country to play anyone who would challenge 

them. 

In 1920, an organized league structure was formed 

under the guidance of Andrew ‘‘Rube’’ Foster—a former 

player, manager, and owner for the Chicago American Giants. In a meeting held at the Paso YMCA, the center for 

black culture and life in Kansas City, Missouri, he and a 

few other Midwestern team owners joined to form the 

Negro National League. The Kansas City Monarchs were 

charter members of that league. Rival leagues were soon 

formed in eastern and southern states, bringing the thrills 

and innovative play of black baseball to major urban centers and rural countryside in the United States, Canada, 

and Latin America. 

The leagues maintained a high level of professional skill 

and became centerpieces for economic development in 

many black communities. The Kansas City Monarchs introduced night baseball five years before the major leagues 

did and won their first Negro Leagues World Series title 

in 1924. In 1947, Major League Baseball’s Brooklyn Dodgers recruited Jackie Robinson from the Kansas City Monarchs. When he left the Monarchs to move to New York, 

Robinson became the first African-American in the modern 

era to play on a Major League roster. While this historic 

event was a key moment in baseball and civil rights hisVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:29 Apr 05, 2006 Jkt 049010 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR228.XXX SR228

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tory, it prompted the decline of the Negro Leagues. The 

best black players were now recruited for the Major 

Leagues, and black fans followed. The last Negro Leagues 

folded in the early 1960s, but their legacy lives on through 

the surviving players and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM). 

Through the inspiration of Horace M. Peterson III 

(1945–1992), founder of the Black Archives of Mid-America, a group of local historians, business leaders, and 

former baseball players came together to create the Negro 

Leagues Baseball Museum in the early 1990s. It functioned out of a small, one-room office in the Lincoln Building, located in the Historic 18th & Vine Jazz District of 

Kansas City. The museum opened in 1991 as a tribute to 

some of baseball(s best unknown players. In 1994, it expanded to a 2,000 square-foot space in the Lincoln Building. 

During the late 1990s, plans were underway by city officials to create a new home to showcase Kansas City’s jazz 

heritage and to revitalize the Historic District. A new facility was built to host the new American Jazz Museum and 

a new, permanent, expanded home for the Negro Leagues 

Baseball Museum. This new 50,000 square-foot building 

opened in September 1997 and the Baseball Museum 

opened in November. It has welcomed several thousand 

visitors, including school groups and dignitaries. The 

NLBM also has developed a traveling exhibit to help bring 

the history of black baseball to people outside Kansas City. 

The NLBM was created to remember the often-forgotten 

stories of legendary athletes who built a baseball league in 

the midst of segregation and helped make baseball one of 

America(s national pastimes. It was conceived as a museum to preserve and interpret the legacy of Negro 

Leagues Baseball, telling the complete story of the average 

players to the superstars. It tells the story of a vibrant and 

compelling center of American history that has not been 

told before. The National Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, New York, recognizes baseball’s greatest players. 

However, the NLBM provides special recognition to those 

Negro Leaguers who have been honored in Cooperstown. 

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I would be 

pleased to answer any questions you or other members of 

the subcommittee may have. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the resolution S. Con. Res. 60, as ordered reported. 

Æ 


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